Come As You Are Ch. 02

"What? Danny, Garrett's been a perfect gentleman this entire time! He's left me alone and spent this morning digging us out!"

"Sure, and then taking a shower in your parents' bedroom?"

"Because I didn't want him catching pneumonia! Did you want me to have to take care of a sick... look, Danny, you're not being fair right now. Garrett's fine, I'm fine, and you don't need to worry about anything, OK?"

"I'm just being a good boyfriend!"

"No, you're being a dick."

"Whatever. Tell Scarecrow not to try anything funny. I'll call you later."

Brenda cursed as Danny hung up. She gripped the phone and gritted her teeth, her entire body shaking as she spat out a few venomous words.

"Is everything OK?"

In her anger at Danny, her libido allowed itself a moment to take in the sight of Garrett, hair and skin dripping wet, holding a towel closed around his waist. "Danny's just being jealous. No, it's not your fault," she said, interrupting Garrett as he started to speak. "Go ahead and dry off. I'll pull out something for you to wear."

Brenda shut the bathroom door behind her and tossed her phone onto the bed. It wasn't OK, and it wasn't Garrett's fault. Danny was being a jerk. But then again, what boyfriend wouldn't get jealous if his girlfriend was snowed in with another guy? What if it had been the other way around and Danny had gotten snowed in with, say, Amy Yates or even Anne Jackson? It was just bad fortune that the guy in question happened to be the one guy in the senior class that her boyfriend didn't get along with.

As Brenda grabbed a pair of thick athletic shorts and a white tank-top undershirt from her Dad's dresser, her phone chimed. She didn't want to get drawn into a fight with her boyfriend. But if Danny was trying to apologize, she owed it to him to at least acknowledge that he was trying. She laid the clothes on the bed before picking up her phone.

I'll be over in a few minutes. Brenda's being a fucking bitch right now and I need to blow off steam. Do you still have the condoms from last time or need me to grab mine?

X X X X X

"That bastard! That cheating bastard!"

On the other end of the phone, Colette was silent as Brenda let out her frustration. The anger inside of Brenda was the only thing stopping her from breaking down in tears at the end of a year-and-a-half-long relationship. "Anytime I brought up Anne Jackson flirting with him Danny just blew it off like I was being hysterical! Even after I called him about the text he kept fucking denying it! And then, and THEN, when he DOES admit he's been fucking her behind my back since last summer he just turns it around and says it's my fault!"

"What did you say to Danny?"

"I told him we were over and done. He... the bastard just hung up on me! He's probably over at Anne's house right now banging her!"

"So you're broken up with Danny?"

"Yes!"

"Officially and completely?"

"The bastard has been cheating on me! Of course, it's over."

"So when he shows up the first day we're back at school and he gives you the puppy dog eye routine and asks for you to take him back, you're not going to fall for it right?"

"No. No, I'm not." She flopped backward onto her bed. "We're done. Absolutely positively done. You're my witness, and if I get back together with him you have permission to kick my butt."

"Noted. At least you found out he was cheating on you. Better to know than not know, right?"

After a few more minutes of girl talk, Brenda said, "I need to go clear my head. I'll text you later tonight. Don't tell Sadie or Michelle yet. Keep this between you and me for a little bit."

"OK. And don't you dare call or text Danny. The bastard made his bed. Let him fuck Anne in it."

Brenda dropped her cell phone on her nightstand. She let out a deep sigh as she looked up at the ceiling. In the silence of her bedroom, the emotions that she had managed to keep in check slowly began to surface. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Damn it," she whispered. Her body began to quiver as the wetness ran down her cheeks. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

She had the presence of mind to roll over and bury her face in her pillow before the dam burst inside of her. Her pillow quickly became saturated with tears while her body was wracked with sobs. How could she have downplayed Anne Jackson flirting with Danny? How could she have not seen Danny's hypocrisy at hinting Garrett might make a pass at Brenda when he was fucking sleeping with Anne behind her back? How could she have been so blind? Less than 48 hours prior, in the very bed Brenda lay in, she had given herself to Danny and told him she loved him. And Danny had told her he loved her.

She allowed herself to sink into the pool of despair that had been filling up over the past half hour. Walking into school next week would be the ultimate embarrassment. Everyone would be looking at her and whispering behind her back. No doubt Amy would be igniting the rumor mill the second she heard. Valentine's Day? Ruined. Prom? No longer guaranteed. Her entire life had been shattered by one wayward text.

She was no longer sinking into the pool of despair. Brenda had dived in head first, seeking out the depths of her sorrow and giving herself over to the leaden heaviness in her soul. Her thoughts were a jumble of happy memories, each one now looked at through the lens of having a wayward boyfriend, turning vibrant colors into a dull, lifeless gray. Surrendering to the wave of negative thoughts, Brenda became motionless. Her remaining tears fell into her pillow as the soreness from her crying fit and the pain of Danny's betrayal settled over her.

X X X X X

"Brenda?"

The sound of her name roused Brenda from her state of semi-consciousness. Her bedroom door was cracked open. She could barely make out the form of Garrett standing on the other side. "Brenda?" he called out quietly.

"I'm fine, Garrett," she answered. "Just leave me alone."

The door opened further. A hand holding a pint glass of ice water came through the gap. "I will, but I got you a glass of water," he said hesitantly. "Can I put it on your dresser or something?"

At the sight of the pint glass, Brenda became aware of her parched throat. "Thank you. Leave it on my nightstand, please."

Wearing the tank top and athletic shorts she had laid out for him, Garrett warily walked into her bedroom. As he saw Brenda's tear streaked face, Garrett gave her an expression of sympathy that sent an arrow straight into her heart. It was the same look she would get when she went back to school, maybe even the same look she'd get when she next saw Colette and Sadie. At least Michelle would be angry and looking for an excuse to flay Danny alive.

He set the glass on the nightstand. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Brenda watched as Garrett headed towards the door. As she did, another chime of sorrow rang sourly against her heart. "Garrett?" He looked back over his shoulder at her. "Would you mind sitting with me? I don't want to talk but I don't want to be alone."

Garrett ran a hand through his messy brown hair, still damp from the shower, before nodding. "Sure. Do you want me to grab you some Kleenex or a washcloth?"

Brenda couldn't quite suppress her laugh as she pointed towards the door in the corner. "I could use a wet washcloth." All this trouble and here she was directing him towards her bathroom anyway. By the time Brenda had fished the small pack of Kleenex from her nightstand, Garrett had returned, washcloth in hand. The cold water felt good against her face as she wiped away the remnants of her tears. The ice water going down her dry throat felt even better, quenching her thirst.

Garrett pulled the chair over from her vanity and turned it to face the window. The snow was coming down in sheets of pure white. Individual snowflakes could only be seen when they blew against the glass before melting. As he sat down, Garrett gave Brenda what she hoped was a reassuring smile before crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair, looking out the window at the raging blizzard.

The quiet sound of Garrett's gentle breathing helped her mind drift away until she was half-asleep. The flood of memories still persisted, but they were tempered by the comfort of her bed. Her tears threatened to well up at the memory of her and Danny's impromptu Labor Day weekend picnic at the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, specifically driving back that night, Danny behind the wheel and Brenda curled up next to him, all briefly right with the world.

"I'm an idiot," she murmured.

"That's a matter of opinion." She opened her eyes to see Garrett with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry. I'll be quiet."

Brenda pushed herself up, ignoring her body's protests as she managed to get her legs underneath her. She sat cross-legged while dabbing her eyes with the washcloth. "It's fine. I'm not OK but I'm not going to wallow."

"Can I ask what's wrong? I heard you yelling and swearing for like half an hour."

"You didn't listen in?"

"I didn't want to eavesdrop," he responded. "I only came to check on you when I heard you crying. You weren't fighting with Danny about me, were you?"

She met Garrett's eyes. His hair still had a few damp spots however his skin wasn't red and he no longer smelled of snow and sweat. "Turns out the bastard has been sleeping with Anne Jackson since last summer. We got into a little bit of a fight about you using my parents' shower, and he accidentally sent me a booty call text meant for her. I called him out on it. I called Colette too, but that was more yelling with her than at her."

It took Garrett a few seconds to process what Brenda had told him. She watched him blink, trying to figure out what he could and should possibly say in this particular instance. "I'm... sorry? That's a real dick move on his part."

"No shit," she answered with more anger than she intended. "Seriously, Anne Jackson? Her legs are harder to close than the JonBenet Ramsey case!"

Brenda watched as Garrett tried to choose his next words carefully. "I know that sounds hollow coming from me of all people, but Danny's an idiot for cheating on you. I've never gotten along with him, and you and I don't know each other all that well. But you've been nothing but nice to me this entire time, and I'd like to think I've been a good houseguest. If I had anything to do with this..."

"It's not your fault Garrett. It's Danny's. You were just the catalyst for me finding out. And to be honest, I don't want to talk about it right now." Brenda grabbed the pint glass and finished the remaining ice water in one fluid gulp. "I know we were going to work on the extra credit this afternoon but I'm really not in the mood to do homework right now. I just want to collapse for a little bit. Probably end up crying again with my luck."

"Take all the time you need. I'll work on it. Go over it, take a few notes, make some suggestions for later on. Sounds good?"

"Works for me." Brenda looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. "If you could pull the venison out of the deep freezer in the garage so it can dethaw a bit, I'll start cooking dinner around 6:30, and we'll eat around 7. There are two packages wrapped in brown paper on the left side, you can't miss them." Garrett nodded in agreement. "And you have that six-pack of beer in your trunk, right? How about you put it in the fridge? Cold beer would go nice with the venison. And don't worry about dressing up for dinner," she joked. "What you have on right now is just fine."

Garrett smiled and got to his feet. As he walked away, Brenda pushed up onto her elbows. In the gray light of day, seeing Garret in motion as opposed to stretching or showering, two words came unbidden to Brenda's mind.

"Nice butt."

X X X X X

Brenda scolded her brain as she ran a brush through her hair one final time before tucking it behind her shoulders. "I just want to look nice."

"And smell nice too?"

It was just her body wash, which she couldn't help since she was fresh from the shower fifteen minutes earlier. Putting on a bit of perfume would have been just a bit much for a casual dinner. Just body wash, her brushed hair hanging loose, and comfortable clothing in the form of a pair of faded pink shorts and a black t-shirt over one of her everyday bras.

"And shaved legs," her inner voice proclaimed. "We shaved our legs."

"They were getting hairy."

"Stop being in denial. We're going to try to bang Garrett."

She stood up from her bench in front of the mirror and smoothed her shirt down her sides. "I want to be comfortable and have a nice, easy, casual dinner. What else is there to do tonight?" The news report on the radio confirmed that the storm wouldn't end until just after midnight. The yardstick in the back garden was completely buried in the snow, and the drifts against the side of the house were easily pushing five feet.

"What else is there to do tonight? Apparently Garrett. Look, the guy's been a sweetheart this entire time, and yeah it's fun to stare at him. But as a rebound to Danny? Even as revenge? We can do better."

"Nothing is going to happen!" Brenda paused in mid-step as she realized she was yelling. "Nothing is going to happen," she repeated. After one last look in the mirror to double-check how she looked, she headed downstairs.

Sitting at the kitchen table, a small pile of papers next to him, was Garrett, still wearing her Dad's shorts and tank-top. As she walked into the kitchen, Garrett looked up and gave her a warm smile. "Hey. I was just going over our notes..."

"Put them away. No talking about homework or schoolwork or anything academic tonight. Shove all that in your bag and grab us both a beer."

Garrett did as he was asked, both in putting the homework away and following Brenda towards the refrigerator. He grabbed two bottles of Ruby Red while she turned on the oven and ignited the gas burners underneath the grill built into the middle of the stovetop. "You don't want to save them for dinner?" he asked.

"They're a vital part of the process." She took one from Garrett after he used an opener on his keychain to pop the caps from both bottles. "One bottle for cooking, one bottle with dinner, and one bottle for after dinner." She held out her bottle towards Garrett. They tapped the glass necks together and took simultaneous swigs. "Wow," she remarked, setting the bottle down on the counter next to the venison, "that's pretty good."

"Ever have Ruby Red before?" Brenda shook her head. "My granddad knows the brewer," Garrett said as he took another sip. "He's actually the guy who got us Majesties tickets for Opening Day. So, what can I do to help out?"

"I'll handle the steaks. Feel like chopping up some carrots?"

X X X X X

"Brenda," Garrett said with a content grin on his face, "this is legit the best venison steak I've ever had. It's so damn juicy and isn't gamey at all! Is this an original recipe?"

"Kind of." She took a bite from her own cut of meat, washing it down with her second bottle of Ruby Red. "Normally I marinate the meat for a couple of hours in a red wine vinegar and lemon pepper brine, but tonight I had to improvise. What about the carrots?"

"The carrots are good too. Soft but not mushy."

"Excellent." The next few moments passed in silence as Brenda and Garrett, both who had skipped lunch, attacked their dinners with gusto. Aside from the venison, Brenda had whipped up a side of carrots along with baked potatoes roasted in the oven. Both young adults were on their second beer. Brenda felt a little warm. There was that lovely sense of vertigo and dizziness hanging around at the edges of her vision. Prepping and cooking dinner had gone swimmingly as the classmates worked around each other without issue, Brenda giving directions and locations and Garrett doing exactly what she told him to do.

"Thank you for cooking dinner," Garrett said to her.

"You're welcome. It was either this or more chicken soup," she joked. "The Hansens pile us up with venison after deer season. You're actually doing me a favor by helping me clear out the freezer. And it helped to pass the time. As she cut her remaining venison into several pieces Brenda asked Garrett, "What would you be doing if you were stuck at home right now?"

"Probably just finishing off my homework and shooting pool in the basement with my grandfather. What about you? What would you be doing right now?"

"Homework. Talking to the girls on the phone. Oh, and not realizing my ex-boyfriend was cheating on me with the girl next door."

"Ex-boyfriend? So it's official?"

"I said it to Danny and I said it to Colette. We are done." Her eyes drifted over to Garrett who was digging into the potato with his fork. "Why? You interested?" By the time he looked up, Brenda was chuckling. "I'm kidding," she grinned when she saw a look of embarrassment on Garrett's face. "You're turning back into a lobster."

He brushed at one cheek with the back of his hand. "I probably wouldn't have any idea how to go about even trying to hit on you, to be honest."

"Why not?"

"Oh boy, here we go."

Brenda put the nearly empty bottle of beer on the table and leaned her chin against her clasped hands. She looked at Garrett, her head tilted playfully, while he struggled to choose his words. "You're stupidly hot," he finally said, wincing even as he blurted out that statement. "Wow. OK, let me try again. You're really attractive... oh God."

He put his head in his hands. Brenda could see him laughing quietly to himself behind his fingers. When he looked up, she noticed for the first time that his green eyes were a deep emerald in their shading. "We've never really talked before this weekend. We've never had a class project or even a study hall together. Since kindergarten, we've rolled with different groups of friends, different social circles. That's why I've felt so weird this weekend -- I'm crashing in your house, you cooked me dinner, you've seen me naked... OK, almost naked... practically naked... and we don't know each other. I'd feel weird making a pass at someone I only kind of know, especially someone who just broke up with their boyfriend."

"You think I'm attractive?"

"Hell yeah," he answered quickly. "All the guys at school drool over you and your friends. You four are the hottest... I'm... wow, that sounds offensive...."

Her laugh caught Garrett off-guard. "You didn't offend me. So guys think we're hot?"

"A couple of girls too." Garrett held up four fingers. He pulled back each one as he spoke. "Michelle's the athletically hot one, Colette's the hot offbeat one, Sadie's the hot wild one, and you're the elegantly hot one."

"Careful Garrett," Brenda said with a bright grin. "Flattery will get you everywhere." Her grin softened but still held its energy as she saw Garrett's skin redden slightly before he took a long pull from his beer. "That's nice to hear. Sometimes I wondered if people only liked me because I was dating Danny."

Garrett tried to bite back a loud, barking laugh and failed miserably. "I might be biased, but I thought Danny was punching above his weight by dating you."

"That's not fair. Putting aside that he's got a shot at a full basketball scholarship, he can be sweet and he's been there for me when I was going through some rough personal stuff." Brenda finished her beer before continuing. "The way you're talking, it was like I was pitying Danny by dating him or something. That's not fair to him. He might be an asshole, but he wasn't one the entire time we were dating."

"That we know of."

"You're right. I don't get along with Danny, but you wouldn't have gone out with him if there wasn't something positive about him."