The following is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Unless, of course, the Brain Suckers from Zork erased my memory...
*
It was the tapping on the window that woke me up. At first, I thought it was just the wind, driving pellets of sleet against the glass. It was March in Boulder, and the weather report called for a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain overnight.
I rolled over, but heard a scratching on the glass again, this time accompanied by giggles. My girlfriend rolled over to ask me, "What's that noise?"
"I dunno," I said, "but I'll go check it out."
I glanced at the clock on my bedside table, and the display read 2:45. I didn't want to ruin my night vision, so I fumbled through the laundry pile in the dark until I found a clean pair of shorts. Putting them on, I kissed my girlfriend on the forehead and said, "Be right back. Don't let the bed get cold without me."
She grunted and rolled over, accompanied by the slosh of our waterbed.
I walked out of the room and up the stairs. Quietly opening the front door, I snuck outside and around the building. The cold air hit me like a baseball bat, sucking the air from my lungs. Naked except for a pair of cotton shorts, I heard a faint voice say, "We're the brain suckers from Zork. Let us in!"
Both brain suckers giggled, and one said, "C'mon Kevin, let us in. It's freezing out here."
I was standing behind them now, and neither one had heard me approach. "Can I help you?" I asked.
The blonde brain sucker squealed, then said, "You scared the shit out of me. Is Kevin home?"
"There isn't anyone named Kevin living here. You must have the wrong place." A gust of wind cut right through me, and I shivered.
"Oh shit, I'm sssss-so sss-sorry." The blond stammered out the words, and for the first time I noticed she was soaking wet and shivering uncontrollably. Her fellow brain sucker, a brunette, was also shaking from the cold.
"Do you have a car or someplace close you can get warm?" I was hesitant to invite the Zorkians in, but I didn't want them to die in the alley behind my apartment, either.
"No, we're from Fort Collins. We ccc-came ddd-down with some friends and they left us. I th-th-thought I knew a guy named Kevin here."
There was nowhere close by to get shelter, and the two Zorkians would be in serious shit in another 15 minutes.
"Come on inside," I said, "you can crash on our living room floor. I'll get you two some blankets and pillows."
"How do we know you're not a serial killer?" The brunette spoke for the first time, and I could tell she was actually serious.
"You don't, but you're in the beginning stages of hypothermia. If you don't get warm soon, you've got a good chance of dying. Besides," I said in my most convincing voice, "I live with my girlfriend. We'd both have to be serial killers, and what are the chances of that?"
The brunette Zorkian was contemplating her options, but the blonde had already made up her mind. "Let's go Faith, I'm fff-freezing to death."
I led them inside and upstairs to the living room. Both had trouble walking up the steps, and I wondered if they were really drunk or in worse shape than I thought.
I cranked the heat (which wouldn't accomplish much, but made me feel better) and said, "I'll be right back with some dry clothes and blankets. Make yourself at home." I pointed to the couch.
When I got down to the bedroom, my girlfriend was awake. "What's going on?"
"It's just a couple of drunk party girls from CSU, looking for someone they thought lived here. They've been out in this weather for a while, and both are looking a little hypothermic. I told them they could crash here, so I'm just going to give them dry clothes and some blankets."
"Do you want me to make a pot of coffee?" My girlfriend had a talent for nurturing.
"No, I don't think it's necessary. Just dry clothes and blankets should get them warm quick enough. I'll probably build a fire to heat the living room." Our apartment may not have had a great furnace, but it did have a massive stone fireplace. If I could get a fire going, the room would be warm in no time.
"Do you need me to help you?" I could tell from her voice that she was already drifting back to sleep.
I walked over, kissed her on the forehead and said, "Go back to sleep. I'll be down as soon as I can."
Grabbing two pairs of sweatpants and a couple of fleece pullovers, I headed back upstairs. Stopping at the hall closet, I grabbed a blanket and a sleeping bag. With my arms full, I made it upstairs. The brunette was curled in the fetal position on the couch, while the blonde surfed for something to watch on TV.
"Hey," I said, "it's not a good idea for your friend to go to sleep right now. Let's wake her up and get her changed."
"Sure thing," the blonde said, getting up to help her friend. As she stood up, I noticed she had shed her jeans and cotton sweater. Her nipples were fully erect and poking through the thin cotton of her t-shirt. I tried not to stare, but her breasts were stunning. Thirty six D was my guess, and I felt my cock stir inside my shorts.
"Here," I said, handing her the sweat pants and fleece, "these will have you warm in no time." I was thinking about a cold shower, myself.
"Cool, thanks. I'm Hope, by the way." Hope turned her back to me and pulled off her wet t-shirt before putting on the fleece top. As she stepped into the sweatpants, I noticed an ornate tattoo on the small of her back.
"I'm Keith," I said, because I didn't think she'd believe my name was Charity, "nice to meet you. Great ink, by the way."
Hope smiled and said "Thanks, wanna see it?"
"Sure," I replied, wondering how my girlfriend would take this encounter if she suddenly walked upstairs.
Hope walked over to me and spun around. Hiking the waistband of her sweats and her panties down to the top of her ass, she revealed a full color Chinese dragon. The work was high-end, and it covered her back from hip to hip.
"Wow, great ink. Whoever did that is an artist. Why the dragon?"
"I'm a Dragon," Hope answered, "it's my Chinese zodiac symbol."
"I thought you were a Zorkian." I countered, and we both laughed.
Hope spun around to face me and stepped close. I could smell her shampoo, and I felt her arms wrap around my back. Her breasts pressed into my bare chest and I felt her breath on my cheek. I looked down into her eyes, and they were the most amazing shade of blue I'd ever seen. She lingered for a second, looking for a reaction from me. I stood like a statue, not sure of what would happen if I moved.
"Thank you," she said, "you didn't have to let us in. I don't know what we would have done out there. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
She was close enough to kiss, but I couldn't. Not with my girlfriend under the same roof. My cock, of course, had other ideas, and I'm sure Hope could feel it pressed against her.
"I can't," I said, "my girlfriend is asleep downstairs."
"That's too bad," Hope whispered in my ear, "because I get so horny when I drink."
This was quickly becoming a bad situation, so I reminded her, "We've got to get your friend out of her wet clothes."
"Oh, yeah, right. Can you help me with her? I don't think I can do it by myself."