Come As You Are Ch. 07

"Do you want a hand?"

Garrett waved off Michelle's offer. "You guys had a crap morning. Sit, relax, enjoy your lunch. As soon as you guys are done we can go hit the slopes. Hopefully, the rest of today will go a lot better than your morning did!"

X X X X X

"Whiteout." Garrett laughed at the name of the nightclub. "I wonder if a person can get whiteout drunk."

"You can," explained Irina. "Blackout drunk is when you forget things because you can't make new memories. Whiteout drunk is when you forget things and instead start inventing stories to fill in the gaps. Usually stupid, overly embellished stories."

"In either case, I'm not coming anywhere close to being whiteout drunk or blackout drunk." Michelle looked at the other three members of the group. "Two drinks, and then one drink per hour until we go home. If I look like I'm getting sloppy, cut me off."

As the entry line to the nightclub slowly shuffled forward, Gio turned to Garrett. "You sure you're OK being the sober guy? I'm pretty sure tonight's my turn."

"It is, but it's cool," Garrett said with a wave of his hand. "I'm not in the drinking mood tonight anyway."

Michelle turned to face Garrett. "Does this mean if you're not drinking, you're going to dance?" She couldn't help but laugh as a horrified look slowly manifested on his face.

"No," he said. "I am NOT..."

"Nope!" She lightly poked him in the chest, catching both him and Irina off guard. "I remember prom night, and I remember your attempts to dance."

"In my defense, Sadie caught me off-guard because I had just gotten gut-punched. She had to literally drag me onto the dance floor." Garrett used his arms to recreate Sadie's actions by pulling his elbows towards him, causing Gio to laugh.

Irina put a hand on Garrett's shoulder. She batted her eyelashes at him as her voice adopted a coy tone. "So what's it going to take to get you to dance tonight then?"

"An overwhelming quantity of booze that would end up killing me. You three can do all the dancing for me. I'm just going to stand on the edge of our little circle and look like I belong."

The thumping rhythm of the music grew louder as the group moved closer to the front door of Whiteout. By the time Gio and Garrett were paying the cover charge for the four of them (both young men had insisted) Michelle could feel the vibrations in her feet from the strong bass. Once inside the club, she expected the music to assault her ears to the point of discomfort. She was pleasantly surprised to find that while the bass still sent firm sensations through the floor, the volume of the music was at an acceptable level - loud enough to be heard but low enough to ensure that a proper conversation could be held without yelling.

Whiteout was a two-storied club. The dance floor sat on the lower floor surrounded by round tables and a large bar on one wall. The top level consisted of two sides, both with seating areas, and a smaller secondary bar. The other two sides were a series of walkways that ran along the outer edges of the building. A set of parallel walkways crossed over the dance floor, giving whoever stood on them a view of the dancers below.

The foursome checked their coats. Michelle had come prepared to dance, wearing comfortable flats along with a red sleeveless top and a short black skirt with a pair of black leggings to protect her from the cold. Irina's outfit was along the same lines, but she had gone with a black blouse and crimson skirt, with ankle-length black boots completing her look. Garrett wore a faded blue dress t-shirt and dark blue jeans to go along with his brown shoes. Gio was the snappiest of them, in black pants and a violet silk shirt.

They managed to snag one of the last available high tops on the ground floor. Garrett offered to get the first round. After taking their requests, Irina teasingly locked her arm with Garrett's. "Now Garrett," Michelle heard her say as the duo headed over to the bar, "how much alcohol did you say it would take to get you out on the dance floor?"

"Has your day gotten better since this morning?" asked Gio from across the table.

"Absolutely." Michelle reached out to put her hand on top of Gio's, giving him a warm smile in the process. "Thank you so much for taking us. If it wasn't for your kindness the two of us would be spending the rest of Spring Break in Salt Lake City."

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do. We had the extra space and I wasn't going to abandon my friend in her time of need." He turned his hand over to give hers a gentle squeeze. "Besides, you and I haven't really talked since graduation. We can catch up over the next three days, you know? Reminisce about the old times, make some new memories, all that stuff."

"It'll be nice to catch up. When you're not with Irina. You two seemed to have hit it off."

Gio sighed wistfully. "She's pretty awesome. Cute, smart, easy to talk to..."

"Good in bed?"

"I never kiss and tell," he answered, his words accompanied by a small grin. "Neither of us is expecting anything to happen beyond this week, so we're both just going for it. As often as we can."

"Hey, whatever works. Though I am a little surprised by the whole thing," Michelle said. "You were never like this in high school. Well, you were never like this that I knew of. You had half the girls at school throwing themselves at you on a daily basis and you just smiled and played it off. How come?"

"Easy. Huge Italian Catholic family. I had a few aunts and uncles getting married at 19, not to mention stories of my ancestors in the old country who went off to a convent for roughly nine months and miraculously came back with a baby they decided to adopt." Gio tapped his fingers against the black wooden surface of the table. "Sex is a huge deal that can have life-ruining consequences, and I realized I didn't know jack about it outside of health class. So I decided not to have sex until I was ready." He gave a quiet, body-shaking laugh. "Vienna teased me about it, but she had my back like always. I didn't lose my virginity until my freshman year of college. Once that happened though, the gloves were off."

Michelle met his laugh with one of his own. "Same here. Spring semester of my freshman year. I just wasn't interested in sex in high school... that's not accurate. None of the guys did anything for me. I really didn't think about sex until senior year, and by then I knew too much about all the guys in school to even consider letting them in my pants. Colette had a few encounters, Brenda had Danny of course, and Sadie was the more wild one. Although," Michelle added, "she waited until senior year before becoming a turboslut. Her words, not mine. She wears it like a badge of honor."

"Vienna was the first for us. Some guy in Aspen who worked in a music store. She did it just to get it out of the way. Garrett lost his senior year."

Michelle rubbed her chin as she pondered Gio's statement. "That would explain the personality change."

"That's one way to put it. Tuesday after Labor Day he dove into the pool and never stopped swimming. Something happened to Garrett that flipped a switch, especially after the blizzard. Graduating high school was the best thing that ever happened to him."

"What about you? How's post-high school life treating Anthony Giovanni?"

"Pretty well. Passing all my classes with at least a B, got an IT internship lined up this summer with a riverboat casino in Missouri, and I'm still in touch with my best friends from high school." Gio nodded, a sincere smile on his face. "The only thing missing is easy access to a real ski resort. And how is Michelle Min holding up?"

She gave him a shrug. "Straight A's, good weather, awesome roommate, and I still talk to the girls at least once a week. One drunken freakout aside, I'm straight-out kicking ass."

"That's the Michelle I remember. The more things change..." Gio looked over his shoulder. "I should be toasting you right now with a drink. Where are they?"

"Ask and we shall appear." Garrett and Irina stood behind Gio's other shoulder, smirking at the tall Italian as he turned to face them. "We're toasting something?" Garrett asked.

"Michelle kicking ass," Gio answered.

"I can drink to that. Corona with lime for Gio, gin and tonic for Michelle, Long Island Iced Tea for Irina, and Scotch on the rocks for yours truly."

Once the drinks were handed out, Gio took his bottle of beer in hand and held it up towards Michelle. "As I was saying, a toast to Michelle, who after graduating high school continues to kick butt."

"Here here," Garrett and Irina said simultaneously. The four of them clinked their glasses together before taking their first sips of alcohol for the evening.

X X X X X

"Seriously?" Irina twirled away from Gio for a second. She came to a stop in front of Garrett. "Two drinks and you're still dancing like this?"

"I warned you! I'm not a good dancer!" Garrett shuffled in place, his hands and arms barely moving. Next to him, Michelle had been lost in the music from the moment the four of them had stepped onto the dance floor, while Gio and Irina had been dancing together from that very same moment as well. While the pair had been outright flirting with each other from the first song, Irina would send an occasional glance in Garrett's direction. Polite smiles had given way to friendly chuckles which then gave way to shocked laughter until finally, Irina had made her way to the young man.

"Loosen up a bit," she grinned.

"I am loosened up!"

"You are not... come here." She reached out and put her hands on his hips. "Just sway with the music. That's all you have to do." Irina began to dance along to the medium-tempo beat of the techno song. As she did so, she helped Garrett move his hips in time with the rhythm. "Just like that," she exclaimed. "All you have to do is keep doing that!"

After a few seconds, she took her hands off Garrett's hips. Almost immediately, the sense of timing and motion that the young man vanished. He looked embarrassed as Irina took hold of him again. "No, no... just exactly what I have you doing! Focus Garrett! Move to the music. Move to the music."

She held on a little longer, but it didn't help as Garrett fell instantly back into a slow shuffle. Irina laughed good-naturedly as she put a hand on his chest. "No offense, but you have absolutely no rhythm."

"That's what I keep saying!" Garrett glared at both Gio and Michelle who were sharing in Irina's friendly laughter. "I have absolutely no rhythm. None!"

"They say people dance like they make love. Please say you don't fuck like you dance."

Now it was Garrett's turn to laugh, a bit of confidence returning to his voice. "No, I definitely do that better than I dance."

Irina pushed herself away from Garrett, extending her arms as she did so. After a few steps, she fell backward. Immediately Gio's hands were under her shoulders, pulling her back to her feet and wrapping his arms around her upper body. The pair danced, Irina's back to Gio's chest while their hips swinging back and forth in time with the song.

The quartet was their own island amidst a sea of people. Whiteout was packed to capacity with young college students on the prowl for a good time. To anyone watching them, and there were several who had their eyes turned in their direction, the four friends comprised a lopsided diamond. Garrett barely moved from his position, his feet moving only inches from their central location and his arms being held close to his body. Gio and Irina were pressed together, their movements in almost perfect harmony with one another, leaving no doubt that the pair were a couple with definite plans for later in the evening. That left Michelle, once again dancing by herself. She spun and swayed her body using not only her personal space but also the space not being used by Garrett. It gave her more room to dance, to drop and lift back up, to twirl in place.

Just like the other night Michelle gave herself over to the music. The DJ at Whiteout seemed to prefer lower BPM songs with strong basslines. Occasionally Michelle could feel the thrum of the music in her feet as it shook the dance floor. She was free in her movements, holding nothing back as she danced.

Time passed without Michelle noticing as one song rolled into the next. Her entire world was herself, with a glance thrown over to Garrett and a few looks in the direction of where Gio and Irina were seemingly rehearsing what they planned on doing once they got back to the lodge. It wasn't until Garrett tapped Michelle on the shoulder that she was broken from her reverie. "I'm gonna go get a glass of water!" he called over the music.

"I'll go with you! I should probably keep hydrated."

Garrett turned to Gio and made a drinking motion with one hand. Gio's response was to shake his head. Irina's response was to take Gio by the chin and turn his face towards hers before planting a deep kiss on his lips.

"I think we both know what they're doing later tonight," Michelle remarked as she and Garrett sat down.

"Later tonight? At this rate they might not make it off the dance floor," Garrett said in a tone half-joking, half-serious.

An image flashed in her head for a brief moment. Hazy, unclear, fuzzy, it involved Gio and Irina and Michelle, but she couldn't bring the memory into focus before it slid away. Michelle fanned herself with her top as a momentary warmth rolled over her.

Garrett flagged down the waitress as Michelle attempted to cool down. "Two glasses of ice water please," he said, putting a five dollar tip on her tray in the process.

As the waitress headed towards the bar Michelle asked, "How much longer until I can get another drink? I'm in the mood for another one."

"Seven minutes," he answered after checking his smartphone. "I'm probably going to order one after I finish my water. Want to kill two birds with one stone?"

Michelle nodded in agreement while she continued to fan herself. "Another gin and tonic. I'm sticking with just those tonight."

Garrett followed Michelle's lead, pulling his collar out to force air down his neck and torso. "You look like you're having fun out there," he said. "I'm glad today turned out OK for you and Irina."

"Right now the two of us would be bored out of our minds in SLC. Instead, I'm dancing and she's... dancing, but she's really close to the line." Michelle turned toward the dance floor. Between the crush of bodies, she could make out the tall form of Gio, a smile of temptation on his face as he looked down at the unseen Irina. "The fuck-up with our room aside, the past two days have been exactly what I needed. This is what I came up here for - skiing, dancing, and reconnecting with an old friend." After a second Michelle reached across the table and put her hand on Garrett's. "And making a new one. Thanks for taking us in, thanks for dragging me home, and thanks for our mountaintop talk. And last time, I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you Tuesday night."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry for pushing your buttons in high school. I don't know why or how, but... "

"Here you go." The waitress put the two tall glasses of ice water down on the table. "All good?"

"Actually, could we get two gin and tonics, please?"

As the waitress headed back to the bar to get their drinks, Michelle said, "I thought you were going to be the sober guy tonight?"

"I'm upgrading to the tipsy guy. A couple of drinks and I might get funky out there."

"Never say those words again." Michelle picked up her glass. "How about we toast to a fresh start? Put the past behind us and begin again here and now?"

"I can get drunk to that," Garrett said as the pair clinked their glasses together.

X X X X X

"I thought you'd be loosened up by now!" teased Irina.

"I'm trying!" Garrett yelled back, a grin on his face as he continued to shuffle and move in the same two-foot circle he had all night.

"It's a lost cause!" Gio had his arms wrapped around Irina's shoulders, holding her tight against his body. "Vienna tried for years!"

Michelle held up a hand as she danced her way in between Garrett and Gio. "Leave him alone!" She turned and smiled reassuringly at Garrett. "Garrett's out here having fun, right? That's the most important thing!" Another playful bump, this time with her hip, caused Garrett to raise an eyebrow.

"How much have you had to drink?" he asked.

"Same as you, plus the two I started with!" Michelle grooved in front of him as she held up one hand with all five digits extended. "So... five! Yeah, five drinks. My limit. How many have you had, just the three?"

"And that's my limit for the evening!" Garrett pointed over to their friends. "How many do you think they've had?"

Irina's butt was firmly pressed against Gio's hips while the duo swayed and rubbed against each other in time with the music. Michelle watched as Irina put her hands up around Gio's neck, exposing her neck to him. He answered by leaning down and placing his lips against her. Irina closed her eyes and pushed against him, causing Gio to squeeze her with his arms around her waist. The sea of humanity around them was mimicking their actions with their own personal style, each couple locked in their private world of booze and dancing.

"I want to tell them to get a room, but I don't think they'd make it there in time!" Michelle heard Garrett's comment, but her focus was on Gio and Irina as they lewdly danced with one another. Irina quickly pulled her arms from Gio's neck and spun around in his embrace. She pushed against him until there wasn't any daylight left between them, eyes looking up at him hungrily. She lowered herself towards the ground before moving back up Gio's body.

While Irina's hands slid up Gio's thighs, Michelle couldn't help but notice that her high school friend had a tent in his pants. Even in the darkness of the nightclub, Michelle could make out the rough outlines of Gio's cock as Irina teasingly ran her hands around it. For a brief moment, Michelle wondered just how big Gio was under the hood.

The exact measurements flashed through Michelle's mind unbidden. It wasn't a guess or an estimate. For some reason, she knew what her former teammate's penis looked like. As Michelle wondered how she knew that fact, a series of images appeared in her head; Irina slowly taking Gio in her mouth, carefully working to take it all as she knelt before him...

The warm flash that ran through her body snapped Michelle back to reality, returning her to the loud music and sweaty bodies surrounding her. "Where the hell did that come from?" she muttered to herself. She did her best to put the image of her roommate blowing her high school friend out of her mind. With the music pulsing through her body Michelle resumed dancing. There was less space due to the number of people surrounding her, but Michelle worked with what she had, though she had to squeeze closer to Garrett in the process.

As she danced, Irina and Gio were dipping and rising in time with the music, arms around each other, eyes locked together while the short-stacked blonde rode and pressed against his thigh. Irina's head rolled back, a sigh escaping her lips as she pushed down.

...Irina, her head thrown back on the bed, Gio's hands on her hips as he drove into her...

The flash of heat caught Michelle off guard. A pleasant flush rocketed through her body, combining with the warmth she felt from working up a sweat. Her body relaxed after a moment, but her breath was caught in her throat. She stumbled in place, one hand reaching out for something to balance against. In this case, it was Garrett who managed to catch her. "Whoa," he proclaimed. "You OK?"

She shook her head. "I'm good," she said as she extracted herself from Garrett's grasp. "Got dizzy for a second. I'm good, I'm good."