Come As You Are Ch. 14

Brenda's eyes went towards the ceiling, noticing that one of the tiles was much cleaner than the ones surrounding it.

Michelle found an interesting discoloration on the floor and slightly rubbed at it with her foot.

Sadie however barely swallowed her laughter. She had to put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to contain herself. "I... promise we will try to be on our best behavior... scout's honor..." Brenda elbowed Sadie in the ribs. She tried to put an annoyed look on her face but it was obvious to everyone but Vienna that Brenda was holding back a smile of her own.

"I'm not worried about you guys," Vienna continued. "He's just... not exactly a man of the world." She took a deep breath. "Look, don't tell him I told you this, but Garrett's not exactly a pro when it comes to sex... OK, come on, it's not that funny."

Brenda now had her face in her hands. Her entire body shook as she attempted to maintain a sense of personal decorum. Sadie's face was buried in Brenda's shoulder, both hands clutching at her friend who was biting her lower lip in an attempt not to break out into a gale of laughter. Colette was simply staring down at the floor, quivering slightly as she also tried to keep her composure.

It was Michelle who kept a deadpan, neutral, completely normal expression on her face. "I don't think Garrett's going to have a problem talking about sex around us. Call it a hunch."

As opposed to the barely contained amusement of the four young women, Vienna's face had taken on a tinge of annoyance. "I might be the new girl here," she said with narrowed eyes, "but if you guys are going to spend the night making fun of my best friend..."

A slight snort, barely audible, escaped Michelle's lips before she caught hold of herself. "I promise we're not laughing about Garrett. Although I can't promise not to laugh at his reaction once he sees the four of us."

"I swear," Colette said, looking at her with tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, "we're really looking forward to seeing him."

The annoyed look on Vienna's face gave way to vexation. "Something's going on here," she said to everyone but primarily to Colette. "Why the hell..."

The blonde's head slowly tilted to one side as her brain became locked in a processing loop. The four women stood by silently, Sadie's body still hitching slightly in amusement, while Vienna worked through the last minute of conversation, until finally stating in disbelief, "Oh holy BALLS. He slept with one of you, didn't he? Besides Colette?"

"That's technically correct," Brenda offered.

"Technically? He slept with two of you?" The disbelief was now replaced by utter shock. Vienna stood up straight, shoulders back, mouth wide open as she glanced back and forth between Brenda, Sadie, and Michelle. The three women stared back, Michelle with a reserved smile, Brenda with a shy grin, and Sadie looking like the cat who ate the canary and didn't care that she had been caught with feathers in her mouth. It took Vienna an extra moment to come to the necessary realization. "All of you?!? Garrett's slept with all of you?!?"

"I think it's more appropriate," said Michelle, "to say that Garrett's fucked all of us, or that we've all fucked Garrett."

Vienna's blonde bangs gently bounced as she shook her head. "I'm going to kill him. All these years worrying that he was going to marry the next woman he slept with and it turns out he was the freaking Casanova of Emerald Pines!"

Brenda shook her head firmly. "It's not his fault. We all just found out last night over dinner. They were one-night stands or fleeting encounters, and each of us made Garrett promise to keep it secret for a bunch of different reasons."

Vienna rubbed her face, carefully avoiding smearing the small amount of makeup she had put on. "Ten years. Ten damn years. Only he could keep a promise for that long." After letting out a deep sigh Vienna pointed at Sadie. "That's why you ran up to Gio's house after graduation. You hooked up with Garrett... on prom night. You two hooked up on prom night after we all left you alone." Sadie responded with a proud nod. "And that explains why Garrett let Gio go on and on about that chick he met on Spring Break. You two got together when they went to Jackson Hole their junior year."

"Blackcreek," Michelle corrected, "but yeah. Gio got with Irina and I ended up with Garrett."

"Gio would not shut up about Irina while Garrett barely said a word. Now I know why." Lastly, Vienna's gaze turned to Brenda, who straightened her shoulders and met Vienna's eyes. The two blondes stared at each other, Vienna studying Brenda while Brenda refused to flinch. "The blizzard. Somehow you two hooked up during the blizzard. That would explain why Danny beat Garrett up the first day back from winter break and why Garrett was making stupid googly eyes at you the rest of the damn year."

Colette gently leaned in and kissed Vienna on the cheek. "That's my girl," she said proudly. "Philip fucking Marlowe."

"For the record, Danny didn't know we slept together," Brenda said. "Otherwise he would have probably murdered Garrett. That's why we never told anyone, for his safety."

"How did you two hook up during the blizzard?" asked Vienna. "You couldn't even walk outside, the storm was so bad."

"Garrett got snowed in at my house. We were doing an extra credit project and the storm blew in earlier than expected. He ended up spending three days stuck with me, and when I found out Danny was cheating on me, I needed a shoulder to cry on and one thing led to another. And another. And another. He honestly never mentioned it to you?"

"Not a word. I asked him about the blizzard and he said he did homework." Vienna shook her head. "I know my boy is good at keeping secrets but damn. Banging three... well, four," she said, giving Colette a saucy gaze, "of the hottest girls in high school and he didn't even drop a hint about it. I'm kind of impressed."

The front door opened. Five sets of eyes turned to see a slender young man pulling a purple knit cap off his head. He exhaled slowly, shoving the cap as well as a pair of black gloves into the pockets of his faded purple parka before rubbing his bare hands against cheeks painted a rosy red from the below-freezing temperatures. A deep sigh escaped from the depths of his soul while he looked around the lobby before turning in the group's direction. When he recognized Vienna and Colette, a warm smile crossed his face. "Wow Vienna," Garrett called out, "you look incredible!"

Garrett had gone with a pale blue dress shirt, navy blue tie, and tan slacks, with a brown belt and matching brown shoes. For the first time that the three girls could remember Garrett's hair looked formally styled. The tangled brown mop stood straighter than normal, hanging from a loose part in the middle. Brenda's eyes briefly fell on his shoulders and chest, while Michelle idly wondered if his butt still looked as good as it had seven years ago.

Sadie's heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

"And Colette," Garrett said as he approached. "You two make..."

His foot hung an inch off the ground as he laid eyes on the three women standing opposite his best friend and her girlfriend, before walking over with a friendly grin and an enthusiastic wave. "Hey! Gang's all here, huh?"

"Except for Gio, but he's running late," Vienna responded. "We were just waiting for you."

"We all know the women usually come first when you're involved," smirked Michelle.

"Should we go ahead and head on in then?" Garrett asked. "That way Gio can make his grand entrance when he gets here fashionably late."

"Not quite yet." Crossing her arms under her ample chest, Sadie raised an eyebrow as she looked at Garrett. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to stand here and stare at you for a bit."

"You're quite the popular guy," remarked Vienna. "I had no idea."

The initial excitement that Garrett had shown upon meeting the five women slowly morphed into wary caution, causing Brenda to shake her head. "Sorry about this," she said, motioning to her friends. "But after last night's discussion..." She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words, but instead she gave a simple shrug.

Garrett turned towards Colette. "You guys had dinner together last night. Did you say something about me?"

"Technically Brenda said it first. Then Sadie talked about it. Then Michelle chimed in, and I went last."

"...oh fuck..."

"That's definitely what we talked about," confirmed Colette.

It was hard to tell if Garrett's step backward was a deliberate attempt to run or an involuntary reaction to Colette's statement and the intense scrutiny he felt at that moment. However, Vienna's hand shot out to gently grab his shoulder. The emotional resonance of her action, not the physicality of it, is what kept him in place. "Nope. You do not get to squirrel away from this one." She gestured with her other hand. "I want to hear you say it. Did you sleep with all four of these women?"

Garrett's hands were in his pockets, his eyes looking anywhere but in the directions of Brenda, Sadie, Michelle, and Colette. "Yeah," he answered sheepishly. "I was sworn to secrecy." He turned his head to look Vienna directly in the eyes. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

In a gesture familiar to Colette, Vienna put her hand on the back of his head and pulled her friend close, putting her forehead against his. "I'm not mad. You were asked to keep secrets and didn't even hint at them. That's pretty fucking amazing, and that's why you're a good man Garrett West." The look of worry on the young man's face was replaced with a small smile of relief. After pulling back, she added, "But now that the secret's out, at some point you and I are going to sit down and you are going to tell me everything. To borrow one of your baseball terms this is a fucking Murderer's Row of attractive women right here. I want to know all the details."

Garrett gave a small, forceful laugh in response. "Who was the one who said I wasn't allowed to even imagine you and Colette's sexytimes together? Which," he added, leaning to one side to look at Colette, "I'm apologizing for in advance. Sorry."

"That's different," Vienna countered. "She's my girlfriend. I'm asking about your ex's."

"Technically I'm still sworn to secrecy. And a gentleman never tells."

Laughing at both Garrett's answer and the flustered look on Vienna's face, Michelle took a step forward. "Hello Garrett." She leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "It's good to see you again."

"Hey Michelle," he answered quietly. "You still look amazing."

"What about me?" Sadie bounded up to Garrett once Michelle stepped back. "Right here," she told him, patting a spot on her cheek with one finger, "so I don't smear my lipstick." As Garrett's lips lightly pressed against her skin, Sadie felt her heart skip another beat.

Brenda was last. She threw her arms around Garrett, giving the slender young man a firm hug. "Hey you," she told him when he returned the hug with an equal amount of affection. "You still feel like a firm but pliant eggplant."

"And I still don't know if I should feel insulted or not." Garrett squeezed Brenda before letting her go. "Before we go inside, how much trouble am I in?"

"Relax! You're too wound up," Sadie said. "We're all legitimately happy to see you, considering you were radio silent for the past seven years. Chill, relax, hell, breathe and stop if you need to. We're all here to catch up and have fun."

"I can't get you into trouble anyway," Michelle said. "I'm madly in lust with my boyfriend."

Colette put her head on Vienna's shoulder and both hands around one arm. "And I'm taken," she said happily, accompanied by a smile. Even Vienna's eye-rolling had an element of sweetness to it.

Brenda held her palm out. "I'm avoiding drama this evening. Sorry."

Garrett turned to Sadie. "And what's your reason for keeping out of trouble tonight?"

Sadie wagged her eyebrow suggestively. "Who says I'm looking to keep out of trouble? I attract mischief," she said while confidently slipping her arm through his. "It follows me everywhere I go."

"I believe that." Garrett put his hand on Sadie's. The pair turned towards the hallway that led towards the gymnasium. "You look amazing in that dress. It really compliments your hair."

"Careful Garrett," Sadie teased coyly. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

As the pair walked towards the sound music, the four friends standing behind them looked at one another with varying looks of confusion and bemusement. Vienna raised both hands, making an "O" with the fingers on her right hand and moving her index finger in and out, causing Colette to smack her shoulder. Despite being accompanied by an exasperated sigh, it wasn't enough to knock the smile from Vienna's face.

X X X X X

"Alright," Michelle said, pointing across the table at Garrett, "I'm going to address the elephant in the room. What the hell happened seven years ago? We were supposed to meet for drinks, but the next thing we know you up and vanished!"

"Family emergency," Garrett immediately answered. "The couple I was living with in Orlando, the husband got sick again almost overnight. I had to race down there to help out. By the time he had finally recovered, I was mentally stuck and never got the chance to refuel my emotional gas tank to make it back here. I was running on empty until a few weeks ago." He shrugged. "I know it's a poor excuse, and I'm sorry."

"Garrett?" Michelle leaned against the table, her arms crossed on the surface. The playful smile on her face complemented the tone of her jovial threat. "The next time you apologize for something? I'm going to find a ski pole and shove it up your ass."

"You're threatening him with a good time?" Brenda laughed as she took a sip of white wine, a laugh that continued as she saw Garrett's cheeks turn a slight shade of red.

"In his defense," Vienna proclaimed, "he's telling the truth. We've talked about him coming back here for years, but he never had the capacity for it until now." She gestured to him. "Your life's been more interesting in the two weeks you've been back than in the ten years you spent in Florida. All you did was caretake, bartend, swim, shoot pool, and sleep. It's why all I could say whenever Sadie asked me how you were doing was that you were doing alright. Although now I at least know why she was always asking..."

"OK, OK," Garrett said, waving his hands in front of him. "It's been all about me ever since I walked through the front door. I don't want to monopolize the conversation."

"What the hell else are we supposed to talk about until Gio gets here?" countered Vienna. "The weather? Sports? Who got fat and who is probably going to hook up with their ex tonight?"

The central gymnasium of Emerald Pines High School was slowly filling up with the members of their graduating class. Several round tables lined the sides of the gym where the pine bleachers stood closed and locked. The front of the gym sported a DJ table, not yet occupied, while one corner of the gym held an open bar. It had been paid for by Kim Ellis, who was sponsoring the entire evening and had already made the effort to greet and shake hands (or cheek kiss in the European manner) every single one of her classmates in the same perky and bubbly manner that had been her trademark during high school.

Already the cliques had begun to reform. The table nearest the dance floor had been claimed by Amy Yates and her old crew. The basketball team caught up with each other intent on having a good time even in the absence of their erstwhile captain during his East Coast swing. The ski team had a table of their own, with several of them coming over and drawing a promise from Michelle to come to visit them once Gio finally arrived. Rosemary McBrenan, drink in hand, had said 'hello' as well before setting herself amongst the fellow editors of the literary magazine. It was a feeling-out process, slipping back into the familiarity of youth and smoothing the rough edges with the first drink or two of the evening while the reunion goers slowly turned twelve years of memories into one night of nostalgia.

Sitting next to Garrett, Michelle motioned across the table to where Vienna and Colette sat side-by-side. "The whole conversation last night kicked off when we asked about you," she said to Vienna. "We expected you to blow town and never look back the day after graduation. So how the hell did you end up back here full-time?"

"It's not the town I was trying to get away from," she answered, "it was this building." She leaned back slightly in her chair, arms spread out. "I hated the social rat race, I hated the fashion scene, I hated the cult of sports, basketball especially, and I hated that my best friend was miserable because of the most popular guy in school. Got a cheap car, drove around the country for a bit, crashed on couches, and along the way I started sketching. I doodled in high school, and the more I drove around the country the more I drew. The more I drew, the more I realized I had a real knack for it. I was in St. Louis when this guy asked me to design a tattoo for him, and that's when it clicked for me. Luckily I knew a guy in Grand Junction who owned a tattoo shop and let me... intern, apprentice, part-time employee paid under the table, whatever fits... until I learned enough of the ropes to get my tattoo license. Turns out Sins and Needles was hiring at the time and, well, here I am."

"You drove all around the country," remarked Brenda, "and decided that this was where you wanted to be?"

"As I said, it was the school, not the town. Small town, friendly people, the food's good, resident taxes are low because of Sapphire Drop, and Colorado's a progressive enough state without being starstruck idiots about it. Hell, they're talking about legalizing mushrooms sometime next year. Plus," she added, "I'm a half-hour from Aspen if I get bored, four hours from Denver if I get really bored, and a four-hour flight from there to anywhere if I get stupidly bored." After a second, Vienna reached out to take Colette's hand. "The scenery's pretty nice too," she said, punctuating her final statement with a light kiss on Colette's palm.

"OK," Garrett said, "who are you and what have you done with my jaded, bitter, public-displays- of-affection-loathing friend?" In response, Vienna took her other hand and raised it towards Garrett, extending her middle finger in a vulgar display. "There we go," he laughed, "that's the Vienna I know and tolerate."

"Fuck you very much too," Vienna shot back.

"You guys are friends, right?" Brenda asked, looking between them as both Garrett and Vienna chuckled at the other's actions.

"HOLY SHIT! DANNY!"

The three words crashed into the reunion like a bolt of lightning. Conversation stopped and all eyes turned towards the main doors as Tyler Hammond and Danny Eastman stepped through. Joshua Smith shot out of his chair and nearly sprinted across the gym. Danny barely had time to brace himself before his former teammate slammed into him. The two men hugged each other roughly, both of them laughing and smiling, before Tyler joined in, clapping Joshua on the back.

"I thought Danny was supposed to be in Philadelphia," Colette exclaimed.

"He was." Vienna had her smartphone out as Tyler led Danny to where the rest of the basketball team was sitting. Danny's sandy-blonde hair was cut close to his scalp. Underneath his dress jacket, he wore a wine-color shirt with a black vest along with black pants while Tyler had gone more casual in a gray dress shirt and black slacks. Conversation resumed across the gym, almost every table discussing the arrival of their graduating class's most famous alumni.