Blizzard Ch. 05

" 'In Summer', from Frozen," she said after a good pause. "You know, because since Nightmare didn't count for you, Anastasia totally doesn't for me."

"Good plan, keep me asking questions. Best Anastasia song?" I hadn't seen that one since I was fourteen. None of the songs were standing out to me.

" 'In the Dark of the Night.'" She grinned, then looked ashen at my confused face. She shrunk her shoulders a bit. "It's the bad guy song and..."

"And bad guys do it the best." I picked up her trail-off.

"Damned straight they do!" Max swung in at my side. Sam hovered over with her hands on her hips pleading at her friend. Max gave me those couple of inches I was planning to force upon Sam. I didn't make the decision. "And Alex loves bad guys. You should rob a bank and poison the water supply."

"Build an army of murder-bots," Alex added helpfully.

"Ma-ax," Sam pouted.

"Oh, fine." Max took a big slurp of Sam's vanilla shake.

"You had your mouth on my straw..." Sam stepped back as Max swung around the table. When Sam caught us looking at her, she added: "Gross."

"I think she'll get over it." Max turned her naughty smile from Sam to me and gave me a wink. I think that was the first thing that got me to blush. Just for a moment. Had it come from Alex or Sam, I'd have been ready for it. I picked up my glass and drank down the bottom of my shake.

"Hey there, been keeping our seat warm?" Sam said, with her big eyes meeting mine. The moment between the girls had passed. Sam slunk in right up against me. I was putting down the glass when her hand slid over my thigh and made an aggressive fondle of my dick. The glass hit the table with force.

"No," I said sternly. I picked up her hand. I put my hand on her hip and I walked her out of the booth. I was on my feet, I put her back down. I was drawing out my wallet as I looked over. "Girls, I hope you listened to what I said today."

"Sam, what the hell did you do?" Max growled. I laid four twenties and two tens on the table.

"I said I had this." Sam looked like a deer in headlights.

"Goodbye, girls," I said, stopping Max. "No, stay, sit, talk. I said it enough today. I'm sure you can work out what I wanted." I waved to the waitress as I left.

I walked home. I felt gross. I had been living alone for too long. I missed Sam's body against me. The light playing of her hand on my leg. Alex's foot on my thigh. Max jumping on my back. I had been looking forward to a proper hug goodbye from each of them.

This was for the best, I told myself as my steps slowed and my shoulders drooped a little. I should've felt good. I'd done the right thing. I didn't feel any sense of success or justice. I kicked some snow; the sidewalks were a mess, and I found myself climbing over hills as the city just seemed to arbitrarily leave some of the cleanup unfinished. The cold wind cut through me. I was almost home.

"Oh hi!" I was startled by the blue-eyed girl at the door next to mine. These apartments weren't the greatest. I didn't often see women renting them. She must've just moved in. I realized she was going to be right below mine. "Are we neighbors?"

"Looks like. Hi, I'm Gene." She took my hand while wearing leather driving gloves. She popped around from her door's lock, to land on her heels. She was pretty, beautiful, a woman, not the teens I had spent the day with. She wore her platinum blonde hair in a pixie cut. She was dressed for winter in dark blues and greys. She was tiny. After Alex, Max, Sam, and the many-named Gretchen, I found the five foot nothing thing quite alluring.

"I'm Winter," she said. "So you're number two?"

"Yeah," and I pointed to the door next to hers. "I'm up the stairs and over your head. If I'm too loud, just bang the ceiling with a broom. I'll quiet up."

"Huh? I'd just knock on your door," she said without humor. I wrote her off completely.

"Say hi to your whatevers for me." She waved, and entered her apartment. I gave her a perfunctory smile. I was having strange luck with women lately. I tried my door and it rattled. Locked.

Shit! Max must've locked it when we went out for breakfast--No, I had come back home. My whatevers? Shit. I pounded my door. It clicked, and swung open.

"I didn't invite you over" I said in exhaustion to the smile that disappeared from Alex's face.

"I know." She walked backwards up my stairs. I guess I had to come in, kick off my slush-covered sneakers, and follow her in.

"I should've taken a cab, and I could've locked you out."

"That was me!" Max leaned over the railing and said down to me. "It's a habit. You should really take your keys with you, though."

"Then how would you ambush me?" I climbed the stairs.

"We talked to Sam, about taking things slow. She wanted to apologize," Alex said. She and Max had aligned themselves to block me from passing my bathroom and into my apartment. I saw Sam unzipping Faye's boots. She kicked one off.

"Hey, sorry!" she grinned impishly. "Can I do anything to make you forgive me?"