Mercy Is a Warm Woman

This is a Winter Holidays 2017 Contest story. Be nice and vote. Be naughty and enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The cardboard did little to keep the cold from my freezing ass. At least the donated coat, hat, scarf, gloves, and my three week beard kept winter's breath at bay. The night was crisp, so crisp that I could see stars above the city's glare and holiday lights. I was regretting not going to the homeless shelter tonight but I can't stand the place. I don't belong there.

Sitting across from the university, where I spent a few happy years, I wondered where my life went wrong. It was when I met Ashley. She took everything; my possessions, my heart, my soul, everything. She was first girl I really truly loved and the second woman my nerdy ass ever made love to. Why did she do this to me? Why am I stuck in this loop? Damn her to hell.

The mad jingling of a Salvation Army collector's bell had long ceased. The commuters heading to and from the subway with last minute Christmas shopping bags had been replaced by party goers heading out to the bars. I didn't ask for change. They granted my wish to be ignored. You become the invisible man when on the streets. Either that or I'm too cold and depressed to care.

Above the sound of tires grinding over the slushy, salty street, I could hear the laughter of college girls coming up the subway stairs. They sounded pleasantly drunk. I forgot what that felt like to be a happy person on the way to a nice comfy home. Something compelled me to look up at three young ladies bundled up in coats chattering away. One of them stared at me. As they passed she continued to look at me over her shoulder before she tapped her friend's shoulder to make them stop. She talked to her friends before gesturing at me with her gloved hand. The two glanced my way. It was a heavy discussion just short of an argument. They stopped talking and looked at me. Then they all seemed to agree upon something and approached. They stopped at my feet. I looked up at them.

"Excuse me," said the girl with long spice colored hair. "David? David Graham?"

"Yeah," I replied, surprised that someone recognized me.

"Do you remember me?"

I squinted at her having no recollection.

She smiled. "I'm Kate. I was in Mr. Brandt's psychology class with you. We worked on a class assignment together."

I vaguely remembered her, having been so in love with Ashley at the time that I didn't really notice any other woman. Embarrassed, I just nodded.

She gestured to her friends and said, "This is Sara and Bree."

The two girls with pretty faces gave me cordial waves. One was tall with long legs in skinny jeans jutting from red wool pea coat and curly brunette hair hanging from her knit cap. The other was a curvy blonde with rosy cheeks turned pink from the winter's cold. She shivered in her silver colored sweater dress, boots and a leather motorcycle jacket.

Kate asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You don't look okay."

I didn't answer.

"Look, why don't you come home with us for a meal. You can take a bath and get out of the cold for the night."

I stared up at them, ready for the punchline to their cruel joke.

"It's Christmas time," she continued. "We just thought it'd be nice to share being Christian and all."

I answered, "That's what Jesus would do."

They all nodded. What the hell, I thought.

"Sure," I said, standing up with my backpack. "That's real nice of you ladies."

I was glad that I had showered the day before at the shelter and that my clothes didn't have too bad of a homeless stink. The four of us began to stroll down the slushy sidewalk.

Bree asked, "So what's your story? How did you end up out here? If you don't mind me asking."

"No, it's okay. There was this girl. Her name was Ashley. I left my $60,000 a year job in Ottawa and moved to Toronto to be with her. I wanted to marry her and everything. Spent my savings on furniture and a ring. But then I came home one day and found her in bed with an ex-boyfriend. Not once, but twice. I kind of went into a tailspin. Lost everything. Nothing much matters anymore. Kind of hoping the night just takes me in my sleep."

Kate asked, "How long have you been on the streets?"

"Since May."

We turned off the busy boulevard onto a quiet street of large midtown houses that were built by bankers back in the 1940s. No longer single family residences, most are now frat houses or have been carved up into multi family dwellings. We walked a couple of blocks to a big brick house where we took a side path to the back and descended three concrete steps to a basement apartment. Kate unlocked the door in which we entered. Bree flicked on the lights. It was a nice set up; a long spacious living area with a wall of exposed brick. It was fully renovated and full of modern convinces. It was welcoming shabby chic kind of place of mismatched couches, chairs and rugs covering hardwood floors. The girls took off their coats and kicked off their boots. I followed suit, dropping my backpack by the front door before taking off my coat which I hung on the coat rack. I took off my dirty shoes though my socks weren't much cleaner.

The girls spread out in the apartment, turning on lamps and the flat screen TV. I moved further inside with some trepidation. I knew they were being kind enough not saying that they didn't want me to sit my dirty self on their furniture so I stood there as they scurried around.

Kate said, "Are you cold? I can run you a nice hot bath. We've got razors and shaving cream if you want to shave."

"That would be nice," I replied, wondering how I got so lucky.

She walked away, to the far end of the apartment to turn a corner. I could hear bath water start to run. I haven't had a bath in years. I was looking forward to a nice long soak.

Sara stepped up to me and said, "I can wash your clothes while you're in the bath, if you'd like."

"Sure," I answered.

She joined Bree in the kitchen where the tall girl was getting a beer from the fridge. Sara took her place at the open refrigerator door and said, "We have left over turkey, string beans, mashed potatoes-"

I called back, "Whatever you have is fine."

She began to take out dishes of food before turning on the oven. The sound of flowing water stopped before Kate stepped back into the common area.

"Your bath is ready. I left a towel and wash cloth for you on the toilet."

"Thanks."

I picked up my backpack and walked to the short hallway where open doors led to their bedrooms and washroom. I entered the steamy washroom, closing the door behind me. I looked into the mirror. God, I look like shit. I set down my backpack, opened it, took out some scissors and trimmed my beard before lathering up with the foam dispensed from a pink bottle of lady's shaving cream and shaved off the beard. There goes my protection from the winter's wind but I knew it would please the ladies. Besides, who knows when I'll be able to shave again. I cleaned their sink as best I could, took out my toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed my teeth before stripping off my clothes. The tub was separate from the shower stall so I had a shower and soaped up to clean my dick and pits so I could soak in clean, hot water. I shampooed my hair, and rinsed before getting out to step into the tub of warm water. For the first time in months, my muscles began to relax and I spread out, leaning back against the cold ceramic tub until it warmed beneath my shoulders. I added some more hot water and noticed that the color was returning to my blanched white toes. I leaned back and closed my eyes, feeling like a Japanese feudal lord sitting in a hot bath on a cold night being catered on by women.

A knock at the door interrupted my serenity.

"Yeah?"

I sat up as door opened. Kate walked in.

"How are you doing?"

"Great, thanks."

Her eyes lingered on my crotch below the clear water line.

She finally shifted her eyes to mine and said, "I um, came to get your clothes to wash."

"Thanks," I said, relaxing back against the tub.

She collected them from off the floor and left. I added more hot water a few more times to luxuriate in the soothing water. Sometime later, there was a knock at the door. Kate entered. She'd changed into a pair of pink plaid pajama bottoms and a tight scoop neck t-shirt which hugged her full boobs. She had an arm full of clothes topped by a pair of tube socks.

"I brought you a pair of sweats and a shirt. My brother left them here the last time he visited."

She set them under the towel on the commode before sitting on the edge of the tub. I tried not to stare at her cleavage but it's been so long since I've been this close to the soft creamy flesh of a woman's breasts. I couldn't help but stare.

She softly said, "You look so different without your beard."

I looked up at her. "Civilized?"

"Cute. Your eyes are so blue. I always thought you were cute but you paid me no attention."

"I'm pretty shy. Plus I was with Ashley."

We gazed at each other. I wanted to drag her into the tub with me and watch her splash around in a wet t-shirt.

She said, "You know, when my boyfriend ghosted me, I thought I'd die. I know how you feel but you can't let her do this to you."

"I know. I hear you."

"When's the last time you got laid?"

Taken aback by such a bold question, I hesitated. "A year."

She looked down at my groin. "Man, look at your pubes. They're a jungle."

I was instantly embarrassed. She stood and retrieved some manicuring scissors from a drawer.

"Here, stand up. Let me trim that for you."

I felt like I was under her spell. I stood and cupped my genitals with my hands as she got down on her knees. She moved my hands away to clip away at the shag, catching the fuzz in her hand which she dumped in a nearby trash can. My aroused cock grew heavy and began to rise. She stopped clipping and looked up at me.

"Sorry," I muttered, trying to tuck it down.

Her hands moved my hand away once more causing my dick to spring up even further. She set the scissors aside and grasped it in her fingers. I dropped my hands aside to let her do whatever she wanted. My dick reacted to the female's touch, hardening as she tightened her grip. Her glittering sly grey and amber eyes locked onto mine as she breathed through her gaping mouth. I wanted to grab her boobs but it was like getting a lap dance in a club; touch the girl and I'm out or worse, they'll cry rape and call the police. Without a word, her mouth went onto my shaft and I hissed at the sensation of her velvety tongue caressing my hard shaft. Water dripped down my quivering thighs as I stood in the tub getting blown by this strange girl. Her head bobbed back and forth. I had to grip the top of her head to keep from falling. Her hands wrapped around my wet thighs to clutch my taut ass. She teasingly withdrew her mouth with a slurpy pop before deep throating me once more. On and on it went. It didn't take me long to get off. She must've tasted pre-cum because she removed her mouth and proceeded to jack me off. I clenched my teeth to stifle the grunting as I came hard. My cum shot out all over her face, hitting her on her cheek, lips and half closed eyes. It stuck in her eye lashes as she continued to milk me. My body jerked uncontrollably until the last little bits dribbled out. When she finally stopped, she released my spent, sticky dick and I fell back into the water causing some water to slosh out over the tub's side. I leaned back and shut my eyes only to open them to see her scoop bathwater onto her face to wash away my cum. She smiled at me with her wet face.

"Merry Christmas," she said. "Did you like that?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Oh, yeah."

"Good."

She sponged up the water on the tile floor before setting aside the sponge to stand up.

With a coy smile, she said, "Your food should be ready by now."

"I'll be out in a second."

With that, she left the bathroom. Man, what just happened? It took me a while to cool down and collect myself. When I was composed, I got out, opened the stopper to drain the tub and toweled myself dry before wrapping the towel around me to blow dry my hair. I wiped the tub with the sponge before dressing in the clothes Kate had left for me. Then I returned to the main area, clean and composed. Bree and Sara looked me up and down, surprised that I clean up well. I took a seat at the table.

"Would you like a beer?" asked Bree.

"I'd love one."

She brought me a frosty bottle of beer as Sara piled sliced turkey, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and a dinner roll on the plate.

"That smells so good," I said.

Sara said, "I brought it back from my parents' house. Thank God for leftovers, right?"

Bree joined me at the table with her beer in hand and said, "None of us can cook worth a shit."

They laughed. I smiled at their warmth. Sara set the plate in front of me before taking a seat at the table. She smiled warmly as she watched me dig in.

After gulping down a couple of mouthfuls of food, I asked. "Are you girls students?"

"I am," replied Sara. "Bree and Kate graduated last year."

Kate, who sat at the table nibbling on a cookie said, "We rented this house when we were all students two years ago."

Bree asked, "So you went to U of T, huh? What did you major in?"

"Neuroscience. I graduated in 2015."

"You're a Brainiac," she replied. "A guy like you shouldn't be on the streets. Why don't you ask your parents for help?"

"I haven't spoken to them in months."

"Why not? I'm sure they miss you."

I didn't answer. I know they miss me. But their son is a failure. I spooned some food in my mouth. The girls sensed my discomfort and let me eat in peace. Afterwards, Kate washed my dinner plate while Sara returned the covered dishes to the fridge. Bree was sprawled out on an oversized chair watching TV and I joined her, plopping down onto their plush leather couch with my full belly and enjoying the first beer that I've had in months. Kate joined us, wiping her hands on a hand towel. "I'm calling it a night. Good night."

"Goodnight," we all replied.

She disappeared around the corner where we heard a door softly close. Sara returned from the upstairs laundry room with my clothes fresh from the dryer. She folded them and set them on a chair as Bree finished her beer. Sara reached into a storage ottoman and handed me a blanket. Her ample breasts strained against her tight low cut red sweater dress as she leaned over to hand them to me.

She said, "Our landlord turns off the heat at night. So here's an extra blanket."

I accepted it with an appreciative, "Thanks."

Bree downed the last of her beer before taking the empty bottle to a recyclable bin. She returned and handed me the remote and said, "Here. Watch what you want. I'm going to bed."

"Me too," replied Sara.

"Good night," Bree said. "Don't steal anything."

Sara gasped. "Bree!"

Bree smiled. "Good night, Dave."

"Goodnight. And thanks. I promise not to steal anything."

They left me in peace. I turned on their in-demand feature and found a rerun of a hockey game. I hadn't watched hockey all season. I turned it on. For some reason, I decided to recharge my phone and dug it and the charger from my backpack to plug into the nearest electrical plug. The service had long been cut off but the features were still there. The phone lit up for the first time in months. Up came the home screen: a picture of Ashley. I took one long last look at her before changing it to some default wallpaper. It laid the charging phone upon a table. Then looking to make sure the girls had retired, I went to their fridge and pulled out another beer. I opened it and returned to the couch to pull the blanket over me. A beer, hockey, a full stomach, a warm place to lay my head, kind women and a blow job. I hadn't had this much comfort in what felt like an eternity. I really need to get my act together. I need to get back on track. Maybe it's time to call my folks. But for now, I'm going to relax and enjoy this filched beer and the game.

Exhausted from street life, I must've dozed off during the second period. A persistent binging noise in the quiet room roused me from my light sleep. The TV screen was black, the game long having ended. I looked over to the coffee table to see one of the girls' phone screen light up with a message before it faded away. I picked it up and tapped the screen to see the time. Two a.m. A message coming in this late might be an emergency. But whose phone was this? I picked it up and slung the blanket off of me to make my way to their rooms. Of the three rooms, which room should I try? From the cracks under the doors, I could see two rooms were dark and quiet while the one was lit from the flickers of a TV screen. I gently knocked on that door.

"Yeah?"

I cracked it open to see Sara and Bree bundled under the covers in a queen size bed as they watched TV. The room was warmed by space heater glowing in a corner and lit candles on a night stand. They looked at me with curious eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, taken aback that they were together in bed.

Did I stumble upon lesbian lovers?

"I, um, your phone was ringing," I said, holding up the phone. "I thought it might be an emergency."

"Oh, that's mine," replied Sara, as she gestured for me to bring it to her.

I stepped into the room to hand her the phone. She took it and tapped the screen.

"It's my little brother. He sent me pictures from Vancouver. He always forgets the time difference. Look," she said, turning the phone to share the pictures with Bree.

I looked over my shoulder at the TV screen to see one of my favorite Christmas movies.

I said, "Hey, A Christmas Story. I used to love that movie when I was a kid."

They grinned and we all said its famous line in unison, "You'll shoot your eye out."

We chuckled.

"Join us," said Bree.

"Yeah," chimed in Sara, flipping up a corner of the puffy duvet for me to climb under. "There's plenty of room."

That bed looked incredibly comfortable and the room was much warmer than the living room. And the girls now braless in t-shirts and panties, with Sara's bare legs urging me to come, I followed my instinct, closed the door, and hopped into the warm bed with them to pull up the puffy goose down duvet. Propped up on a pillow against the headboard, Bree lazily reached over Sara to hand me a vape pen.

She asked, "Want some hash oil?"

Now normally, I don't partake. Being a neuroscientist, I know what it does to one's brain. But I accepted it and took a smooth toke. It tasted sweet with blueberry flavor which rolled smoothly into my lungs. I exhaled, handing it to Sara, who toked as well before passing it back to Bree. We settled in to watch the movie. I know it was the increase of serotonin released from neurons flowing throughout my system, but I felt so loved and cozy. For the first time, I truly felt a Christmas spirit. I was relaxed; not having to worry about someone bashing my head in to steal my stuff in a shelter or street kids kicking me for fun. I was truly, utterly, wonderfully relaxed.

Propped up against the headboard, my head lolled their way. "You guys have been real nice to me. I really appreciate it."

"Not all women are bitches like your ex-girlfriend," replied Bree. "We're just happy you're not crazy."

Sara nodded in agreement before toking on the vape pen once more. She blew the smoke from her pursed pink lips before handing it back to Bree.

I reached down to pull off my socks before lying flat on my back to pull the duvet up to my chin. My leg bumped against Sara's and I moved it away, but she moved hers against mine once more and I let it stay. With my head resting on a soft down pillow and lulled by the TV set, I again drifted off to sleep.