Come As You Are Ch. 01

"Sure Danny. Taking you off speaker." Brenda picked up her phone and headed towards the foyer. Once she had put enough distance between herself and Garrett, she sighed, "Babe, I am so sorry..."

"It's not your fault. It's fucking West's. He couldn't have kept an eye on the time?"

"He did. Believe me, Garrett was trying to beat the clock."

"He didn't try hard enough."

Brenda put her head against the doorway, fighting the urge to sigh. "Garrett doesn't want to be stuck here with me any more than I want to be stuck here with him. Do you think I want to be stuck here with someone I barely know? This whole thing, it's a bad bounce." Danny was silent for a few seconds, forcing Brenda to continue speaking. "I'll stay away from him except to make sure he's not dead or dying. He's gone as soon as the roads are clear. I'll even call Mr. Hansen and have him make my driveway a priority. Colette's right up the road so Garrett should be out of here Tuesday afternoon at the latest. That's less than 48 hours from now."

After another long silence, Danny declared, "You tell Scarecrow to be on his best behavior, or else I will make him wish he took that incomplete."

"I'll tell him."

"Good. Sorry to get worked up, babe. Just... fucking West. Fuck."

"Go blow off steam, Danny. I'll get Garrett situated and call you later tonight."

X X X X X

Garrett looked up as Brenda walked into the kitchen. "Everything cool with Danny?"

"Ish. He understands that the storm caught everyone off guard, including you," she said while opening the fridge. "Would you like something to drink? We have water, orange juice, milk, Dr. Pepper..."

"Water's fine." Garret motioned towards the TV in the corner of the kitchen. "They just had an update. It's supposed to snow for the next 30-plus hours and they're calling for three-and-a-half, maybe four feet of snow. This might end up being a once-in-a-century storm."

"Are you hungry?"

"Kind of, but not enough to eat just yet."

After some deliberation, Brenda began pulling ingredients from the fridge. "Tell you what. I'm in the mood for chicken soup, with the storm and all. I'll make a batch now, and if you get hungry later you can just reheat it."

"If it's not a hassle. I feel like I'm imposing on you enough as is."

"It's no hassle," Brenda said with a reassuring smile. "It's easier to make a big batch of chicken soup than just one bowl."

Garrett stepped closer to the counter. He looked at the carton of chicken stock, stalks of celery and carrots, and the skinless chicken breasts leftover from yesterday's cooking. "You're gonna make soup from scratch? Wow. Anything I can do to help?"

"Not really. Chicken soup's about as simple a dish as it gets. Before I get started though, here's what I was thinking. I was going to spend tonight and tomorrow doing homework and watching TV. I can do all that upstairs in my bedroom and you can hang out in the living room. No offense, but Danny's kind of right. Having you in the spare bedroom across from mine would be weird."

"It's cool. I'd prefer crashing on the couch. I don't sleep well in new beds. I end up tossing and turning all night long. There's a good chance it'd keep you awake."

"Then I'll grab the quilt and pillows from the spare room after I finish dinner. As long as we stay out of each other's way, I think we can get through this just fine."

X X X X X

Brenda caught a glimpse of the time on the digital clock sitting on her nightstand. "11:30," she exclaimed with surprise. Fatigue suddenly set in, and she put down her pencil to rub her eyes. Having broken her concentration, the trigonometry equations Brenda had spent the last two hours working on became blurry. Any understanding of functions and variables instantly jumbled and scrambled in her mind. At least she had almost finished her math homework.

Allowing herself a small yawn, Brenda reached for her cell phone. Hey, she texted Danny. Still awake?

Barely, came an answer almost immediately. I tried shoveling our porch as well as Simon's and the Jackson's to squeeze some cardio in. Talk about a losing effort.

She frowned at Danny's text. Simon was Danny's next door neighbor, a widowed retiree in his 80's who had served as a babysitter to the Eastmans for almost two decades, coming to see Danny and his siblings as surrogate grandchildren. Living on the other side were the Jacksons, a married couple with a reputation of being truly horrible people. Their oldest daughter, Anne, was a classmate of theirs who was nicknamed the town ski lift -- "everyone has taken a ride on her," according to popular rumor. While Brenda couldn't speak of that fact, she did know that Anne had absolutely no qualms about flirting with Danny, sometimes directly in front of Brenda.

She almost sent Danny a text asking if Anne had asked him to shovel her porch, but refrained. Danny texted her a moment later. How's your evening been?

An hour of history and two hours of math homework, she responded. Going to turn in after I check on Garrett.

What's he been doing?

Reading in the living room, I think. He's been quiet ever since I came upstairs.

And he's all set up to sleep down there?

Yes.

Good. Less chance of him 'sleepwalking' in on you.

Really?

I'm sorry babe, but a strange guy is trapped in your house because of a snowstorm. I've seen enough horror movies to know what can happen. And I'm sure he's seen enough porn to know what 'can' happen.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. If it does, I'll smack him.

Promise?

:p

Hopping in the shower now. Love you! Good night.

Night Danny! Love you too!

She plugged her phone into its charger before rolling her shoulders. Danny was taking Garrett being snowed in with her a lot better than she thought he would. Maybe the next two days wouldn't be as bad as she had feared.

Now that she was out of her academic zone, her body was letting her know how sore it was from sitting in one place for three straight hours. Brenda groaned as she stood up. The thought of a hot shower crossed her mind for a moment, but she decided to save it for the morning. After a moment's deliberation, she walked to her window and unlatched it intending on a quick peek to satisfy her curiosity about how much snow had fallen.

Immediately she was blasted by a gust of freezing wind that tore into her bedroom. She flinched at the sudden burst of biting air against her face and neck. The backs of her hands became wet as the wind blew the thin line of snow that had gathered against her window. Opening her eyes, Brenda was greeted with a sea of white air. The snow was still falling hard and fast, obscuring the trees that lay less than a dozen yards from her front porch. The streetlights that ran along the road at the bottom of the hill were nothing more than dim pinpricks against the fluffy white flakes.

The chill remained with her body as she closed the window. Even her breasts had reacted to the frigid air. Brenda could feel her nipples pushing against the fabric of her bra underneath her sweater.

Maybe the hot shower wasn't a bad idea after all. She should check on her houseguest first though. Brenda rubbed her hands together in an attempt to drive off the cold as she walked out of her bedroom and down the front steps. The kitchen lights had been turned off, but to the right, however, a soft light shone from the far side of the dining room. As she reached the threshold to the living room, she started to call Garrett's name.

His name got caught in her throat as she pulled up short, momentarily taken aback as she saw Garrett, standing in front of a large bay window, pulling his purple t-shirt off. He tossed it onto the floor where it landed beside the duffel bag that served as his emergency kit. Brenda watched as Garrett, still wearing his jeans, stretched his arms out to the sides.

"That's... not a shameful back."

Brenda was caught off-guard from seeing Garrett shirtless and standing up straight for the first time. He had the upper body of a young man who had recently discovered exercise, although it was nowhere as defined as Danny's. Which wasn't fair, since Danny had been training and conditioning for basketball since the sixth grade. She was about to call out to Garrett when a staticky voice cut through the silence.

"So how are you handling being snowed in?"

Brenda recognized the voice of Vienna Polley, Garrett's best friend since kindergarten. A feeling of slight dread formed in her chest upon hearing Vienna's question. Had Garrett broken his promise and told her about being trapped with Brenda?

"It's a non-stop party over here," Garrett deadpanned. "I was watching the snow through the window before you called. It's really pretty from the living room."

"Yeah," Vienna snarked, "it's a damn Winter Wonderland. Even the streetlamps are covered up. This is worse than the blizzard we got last year." The voice sounded like it was coming through a speaker.

"Are they calling it a full blown blizzard?" Garrett asked as he flopped onto the couch.

"If they're not, I am."

"Because you're a credible source."

"Who are you going to believe, your best friend or the National Weather Service?"

"Considering you called this beast earlier than they did, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this one."

"Damn right. How are your folks?"

"Haven't talked to them since the storm started. I probably won't see them until it's done snowing." Brenda found herself nodding in agreement with the half-truth.

"Grandpa's down in the basement listening to the emergency band. What about you?"

"I'm currently locked in my room with my iPod on full blast so I don't hear my mom and stepmom getting it on," Vienna said, her annoyance evident over the speaker. "They're like teenagers in heat, I swear."

"Says the teenager in heat," quipped Garrett.

"Says the teenager who can deal with her heat." Vienna's comment made Garrett smile as she continued, "So, Brenda Lattimore. How did that go?"

"Danny was here, but once he left it was smooth sailing. Brenda's kind of cool. Between you and me, she makes a top notch cup of hot chocolate." A hint of pride replaced the feeling of dread at Garrett's praise of Brenda's cooking skills.

"At least she's got something going in her favor. You done your stretches yet?"

"Do I have to?"

"Uh uh," Vienna immediately answered. "This is a stretching night. Get your ass in gear."

"God I hate you," Garrett complained as he got up from the couch.

"You wish you hated me."

With a mix of a resigned sigh and a chuckle of admittance, Garrett stretched his arms over his head, his back still turned to Brenda. After he reached for the ceiling, Brenda watched as Garrett put himself through a series of stretches. Some involved single limbs while others saw him twisting his whole body in one direction or another. By the time he finished up, with his hands on his hips and his body bent backward, Brenda had come to realize two things - Garrett was more flexible than she had thought, and Garrett was more muscular than she thought.

'Scarecrow' was being set in the rearview mirror. His body wasn't quite anything to write home about, however, Brenda could see herself sending an email.

He slowly straightened back up. "I'm going to regret this tomorrow when I'm shoveling snow," he groaned.

"You'd regret it more if you didn't do it," Vienna answered. "Remember, you don't have to exercise. You get to exercise."

"I'm gonna jet, try to get some sleep. Enjoy the sounds of your parents banging."

"Yeah, fuck you too. Night, Garrett."

"Night, Vienna." Garrett stretched one more time, his arms slowly moving through the air before he began to unbuckle his belt.

"Turn away! We're peeping!"

"One little peek isn't going to hurt."

The mental stalemate meant that Brenda didn't move as Garrett slid his jeans down his legs. She was mildly surprised Garrett hadn't been wearing Denver Majesties boxers to match the rest of his clothing. But underneath those dark blue boxers, there was a damn good chance that there was a fine, fine butt...

That was enough to shake her from her reverie. Brenda quietly stepped backward through the dining room, trying her best not to make a sound. She was aware of her erect nipples rubbing against her bra, a coincidence from the cold that she hoped would be hidden by her sweater. Once she reached the foyer, she took a moment to shake out her sweater before counting to ten. "Garrett," she called softly. "You awake?"

"Yeah. One second." Brenda waited with her back to the doorway until she heard Garrett call out, "Alright, come in." She strode into the living room without pausing, trying her best to act natural, to find Garrett sitting on the couch unfolding his quilt.

"I'm about to go to sleep," she told him. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah." Garrett had thankfully put some clothes on - a dark blue tank top and black shorts. A glass of water sat on a coaster on the living room table alongside a small iPod Nano with a pair of white earbuds plugged into it. Next to the Nano was Garrett's cell phone. Where the charger would normally be plugged in was the cord for a small two-way speaker, the kind used to have a hands-free conversation. "I'm gonna be listening to music," he warned, "so you'll have to yell or flip the lights on and off to get my attention."

She pointed to a small lamp sitting in the far corner of the living room next to a chair tucked against the wall meant for reading. "If you want some light, that one shouldn't be too bright to keep you awake. Want me to turn it on for you?"

"No thank you." Garrett gestured to the large bay window. "My bedroom window backs right to a rock wall, so I never really get to see snow while it's falling. I'm going to put on my headphones and watch the snow while I fall asleep."

"What are you listening to?"

"A mix that Vienna made for me. She throws song lists together all the time for me and Gio."

"Cool. Have you talked to them tonight?

"Just before you came down. Texted Gio, talked to Vienna. I promise I didn't tell them where I am and where I'll be sleeping tonight." Running a hand through his messy mop of brown hair, Garrett asked, "You hear from Danny?"

"He says it's just as bad in town. And before you ask, he didn't say anything about you." One little white lie couldn't hurt, right?

"How about the girls? What are they up to?"

"Sadie's already nose deep in a new video game," Brenda laughed, "Colette's lined up a bunch of winter-themed movies to watch, and Michelle's bitching about Sapphire Drop being closed and all the fresh powder she's missing out on."

"Sounds about right. And here you are having to play host." A genuine smile of appreciation crossed his face. "Thank you for everything, Brenda. I know this isn't what you had planned for tonight."

"You're welcome." The tank top showed off his arms and forearms. Once again his arms weren't as big as Danny's, however...

Brenda shook her head and flashed Garrett what she hoped was a non-nervous smile. "Yell if you need anything. Good night. See you tomorrow morning."

"Night!" Garrett put his headphones in as Brenda turned and headed back towards the stairs, walking a little faster and trying to ignore the fact that her heart was beating a little more rapidly in her chest.

X X X X X

Brenda had kicked her slippers off and was sitting against the headboard of her bed. Her fingers tapped against the keypad of her cellphone as she debated texting one of her three best friends about today's events. She had made a promise to Danny, but she had to tell somebody so she could gain some perspective. Every time she started to type a message, however, she found herself deleting it leaving herself with a blank screen and emotional confusion. Snowbound for two, maybe three days with the worst enemy...

"No, call it like it is. The primary bullying target."

...of her boyfriend. Brenda could only imagine the reactions of her friends.

Sadie, the group's resident wild child, would tease Brenda about having a strange boy over and joke about the two of them hooking up.

Colette would urge caution but stress that Brenda be a polite and accommodating host.

Michelle? She'd suggest kicking him out of the house and only be half-joking, considering that she and Garrett rarely got along.

And Danny... she had to give her boyfriend credit. He had a right to be jealous and concerned, even if Garrett was the furthest thing from a threat to their relationship, despite the somewhat attractive body he had displayed tonight.

"Didn't display. He was peeped on. Be honest."

Garrett, always with his head down, rarely making eye contact, his words spoken just below normal volume. The odds of him making a pass at Brenda were slim to none. Chalk it up to a lack of self-confidence and what seemed to be a deep abiding fear of Danny.

Brenda got up from the bed and plugged her phone into the charger on her desk. Stretching her arms high into the air, she sighed. She'd wait until she was face-to-face with her friends before telling them she had been snowed in with Garrett. Let the whole weekend play out so she could present them with all the facts. No jokes, no comments, and no risk or rumor of innuendo getting out. One harmless offhand comment could lead to a rumor that Brenda and Garrett hooked up, and no matter how untrue that rumor was it would only end with Danny taking his frustrations out on an innocent Garrett.

Normally her nighttime attire would have just been a long t-shirt and underwear, but with the storm and with Garrett sleeping downstairs Brenda decided to go with a full set of pajamas. The loose ponytail she had worn all day was almost undone. It took little effort on her part to shake her blonde hair loose, letting it fall to her shoulders. Next came the young woman's sweater. She pulled it over her head and set it on her bed before unbuttoning her jeans and sliding them down her legs. They joined her sweater on the bed, soon followed by her socks, leaving Brenda standing in a white bra and a pair of pale blue panties.

As she threw her socks into the bed with her other clothing, Brenda couldn't help but notice that her nipples were still hard. "Come on," she told her breasts. "We're not cold anymore."

"You know, it might not be the cold."

"Stop it," Brenda scolded herself. She had caught a blast of frigid air and her body was still reacting to it. That concept ignored the fact that her room was warm and she had been wearing a sweater the entire time. Shaking her head, she walked over to her dresser to pick out a pair of pajamas to wear, but her focus wasn't on the clothing in the drawer as much as the clothing she was currently wearing. The fabric of her bra was rubbing against her, creating friction that wasn't doing Brenda any favors other than the enjoyable kind. And now she was becoming aware of a different pressure, this one lightly pulling at the portion of her panties that ran between her legs...

"Stop it," she repeated in annoyance. Brenda recognized the signs her body was giving her but refused to admit that it was because of what she had seen of Garrett West fifteen minutes earlier. It was because of the cold. It was because she was tired. It was because she missed Danny and would have rather been snowbound with him. All perfectly good reasons.

"So why are we still thinking of Garrett?"

One hand had unconsciously found its way to her chest. As Brenda argued with herself, the side of her fingers lightly ran its way down from her shoulder, over the top portion of her right breast, and to where her nipple poked out from the fabric, begging for attention. The light gasp that escaped her mouth as her hand ran over the erect nub was the final piece of evidence her body needed to present.