Valentine Vengeance

"It's not Wendigo." Amber said, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself. "If it's anything other than the wind, it's Cupid and he's pissed at Brandon for fucking with Valentine's."

"It's not Valentine's." I said, not really liking this version any better. "Not yet."

"It depends on how you count the time." Bianca said. "We count it using clocks. Before there were clocks some cultures counted a day from sunrise to sunrise and others counted from sunset to sunset."

"It doesn't matter." I said. "It's not Wendigo and it's not a pissed off Cupid. It's just the wind blowing shit around."

The next shuddering blow was followed by a screeching scraping sound along the front of the house.

"It's Wendigo!" Bianca screamed. "Those are his claws."

"It's Cupid and he's sharpening his arrows!" Amber said.

A shadow filled the window next to the door and I had had enough. Whatever it was out there, it wasn't sentient, I knew that.

"What are you doing?" Amber asked as I pulled away.

"I'm going to see what the hell is going on." I said.

"No." Bianca grabbed my leg just above the cast, stopping me in my tracks. "Do not open the door."

"It's not Wendigo." I said, untangling her arms. "And it's not Cupid either. I need to see what it is and how bad it is and if I can do anything to make us safer."

When I managed to pull the door open as the girls clung to each other behind me, it took me a minute to figure out what I was seeing.

"Fuck me." I said as I looked at the solid wall stretching across the entire side of the house. "I think it's the roof off somebody's hay shed."

Something hit the other side of the metal hard enough to make it bend and me jump and the girls behind me scream.

I glanced down and saw the firewood that had been neatly stacked was now scattered and there was less of it than there should have been.

"Shit!" I said, dropping to my knees and grabbing chunks of the remaining wood that had fallen in the sunken doorway and pulling it inside. "Shit!"

"Brandon, it isn't safe." Bianca yelled over the shrieking wind after something else heavy had struck the metal bending it so that it almost touched my nose. "Shut the door!"

"They can't get to us while it's doing this for damn sure." I yelled behind me as I grabbed piece after piece of wood and drew it inside. "We're going to need wood for the fire. And if that piece of metal gets pulled away, what's left of the wood might end up in Lynn County."

"And if it goes while you are hanging half out of the door, you might go with it." Amber yelled. "Get your ass in here and shut the door!"

I saw the bottom edge shiver and begin to lift and grabbed three more logs and slammed the door shut just in time as the dark shadow shot up past the window and we could hear it scraping across the roof before all we could hear was the wind shrieking and howling.

"Well, at least I got us more wood." I said and started stacking it more neatly beside the door. "I hope it's enough. Because there is no way in hell anyone is getting to us through that shit."

I tossed another log onto the fire and sat down between the girls, pulling the blanket up around us once more.

"So, what's the funny story?" Amber asked after a few minutes.

"What?"

"You said that all that stuff wasn't what we thought and that it was actually a funny story." Amber said. "I could use a funny right now and not anymore about the Wendigo, thanks for that."

"Oh, that." I said and told them about our trip to the adult store.

They didn't laugh like Jack and Cory had. Maybe you had to be a guy to see the humor, I thought.

"Why did you want to get a strap-on?" Bianca asked. "And why did you say what you said before you threw it in the mud?"

I shrugged, more than a little uncomfortable. To say it out loud to the women I had plotted against sounded almost childish and petty.

"Why did the two of you get into a fight and break my leg?" I asked instead. "Okay, Amber ran into you. So, what? People bump into each other. It happens."

"You don't know anything." Bianca said, turning her face away from us.

"She hates me." Amber said. "She has for years. We were best friends and then one day, when we were fourteen, she just wasn't any more."

"One day when you stabbed me in the back." Bianca said.

"I did not!"

"Whoa." I said. "Do not start fighting again. Bianca, how did Amber stab you in the back?"

Bianca glanced at me and then at Amber and turned her eyes back to the fire. I didn't think she was going to answer, but she finally did with one word.

"Charles."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Amber sat up, knocking my arm aside. The firelight made her creamy skin glow and her drying hair seemed to catch it and hold it. A puffy pink nipple winked at me. "All of this was about Charles Prince? A stupid boy?"

Bianca just shrugged and kept her eyes on the fire.

"Jesus, Meja." Amber spluttered. "He wasn't even that good. Hell, you kissed better than he did!"

Bianca hissed and pulled away, knocking my other arm from around her shoulder. The ruddy firelight danced along her darker skin bulging over the white bra and was swallowed by her raven tresses.

"We agreed to never speak of that."

"What?" Amber said. "We were just kids. It was no big deal."

"Maybe or maybe not." Bianca said. "But, I don't want you telling him or anyone else that we practiced kissing."

Hello! I thought. What was this?

"I didn't." Amber said with a slight smile. "You just did."

Bianca glanced at me and not all of the ruddiness in her face was from the firelight before she turned away.

"Hey, I have an idea." Amber said. "Maybe if we kiss in front of Brandon, he'll get over his accident."

"I don't think so." Bianca said distantly. "I saw what you did with that mouth."

"What?" Amber asked. "You never gave a guy a blowjob? Wait! You are not still a virgin, are you?"

This was a whole hell of a lot better than watching the two fight, that was for damn sure.

"Not that it is any of your business anymore," Bianca said. "But, some of us don't believe in throwing ourselves at any boy that comes along."

"Well, maybe some of us are repressed and some of us aren't." Amber said and turned her face towards the fire as well.

My back was starting to ache from sitting up and there wasn't any need for it as the girls had pulled away and it was warmer in the little dugout. Say what you want about size, Great-great-great grandpappy knew how to build solid! I laid back and laced my fingers over my stomach and stared at the flickering shadows on the ceiling. The sound of the wind raging outside was the only sound for several long minutes.

"Brandon?" Amber said.

"Yeah?"

"What was the peacock feather for?"

I couldn't help it. I cracked up.

"No, really." Amber said. "What's it for? I mean, I at least have some idea about the rest of it. But, that's a new one."

"You're ahead of me." I shook my head, still chuckling. "I still don't understand a lot of what Large Marge thought I needed, and I have absolutely no idea about the peacock feather."

"It depends on which culture." Bianca said. "Some believe they are lucky. Some believe they are royal. Some use them in medicine. And some think they are prideful. Maybe Marge was telling you she thought you were a peacock strutting around and bragging about your date with us."

"Hey, I didn't brag." I said. "I barely even got a word in edgewise."

"Well, you said the shop was called Mighty Aphrodite's." Amber said. "Maybe it's something to do with those Greek myths. Sort of like Cupid and his bow and arrows."

"Can we not talk about Cupid?" Bianca said.

"What's your problem with Cupid?" I asked.

"Considering who I'm trapped with, I would just as soon not get shot in the nalgas with one of his arrows."

Both Amber and I looked at Bianca until the corner of her mouth twitched up, and then we all three laughed.

I couldn't say what it was that made them laugh, but for me the whole idea of a little cherub running around and shooting people in the butt with arrows to make them fall in love with someone they wouldn't have was ridiculous.

And the idea of any of us three being attracted to the others without such divine intervention was equally preposterous.

Wasn't it?

I did have to admit that looking at either of them there in the firelight, nude and semi-nude, they were beautiful.

But, even if I were going to look past what they had cost me, I wasn't going to do it with the other right there.

I looked back to the dancing shadows on the ceiling and listened to the wind. Eventually they laid back beside me, careful to keep distance between our bodies.

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until I woke cramped and thirsty and needing to pee. I was cramped because the fire had burned down and my two bed partners had snuggled up against me in their sleep for warmth. They stirred but didn't completely wake as I rose from between them and stretched.

The first hint of our new problems came when I turned the spigot handle and no water came out. Not only did we not have water to drink, but I eyed the toilet and wondered if it would flush.

I listened for a moment and didn't hear the wind, so I opened the door cautiously. A mound of white filled the entire doorframe.

"Well, fuck." I said and thought for a minute.

I started looking around for anything that would hold water.

"What are you doing?"

I glanced around to find Bianca sitting up watching me.

"Sorry." I said. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it." She said. "But, what are you doing? Why is the door open?"

I realized the door was blocking her view of the wall of white. I didn't want to scare her, I was worried enough for all three of us.

"I was just looking for something to collect some snow in to melt for water." I said. "The pipes seem to be frozen up."

"Oh." Bianca said. Her eyes seemed to look past me for a moment. "Well, that's not good. I'll help."

"Oh, you don't have to." I said. "I've got it."

But, it was too late. She had already stood up and was looking at the wall of white filling the door frame.

Bianca took it much calmer than I had.

"Is it still night?" She asked. "Or is it daylight yet?"

"I can't tell." I said, her calmness steadying me a little. "That was the other thing. I was going to dig out so I could see what was going on."

I noticed that she wasn't trying to cover her near nakedness with her arms as she moved towards me the way she had been earlier. The bra and panties she was wearing covered more than some swimsuits I had seen, but there was something about the fact that it was underwear and not meant to be seen like swimsuits were that made it inherently sexier.

Or maybe it was the curves that lingerie was hugging. I had seen my ex-girlfriend in her underwear and while it had been nice, it hadn't been near as erotic, or exotic, as Bianca.

I felt a stirring in my pants and was glad I had kept them as my face heated and I looked away.

To my surprise, Bianca lifted down the bag of erotic toys and dumped the toys out of the bag onto the small table once more. Now I was really embarrassed.

But, she ignored the pile of gear, except to stop one of the vibrators from rolling off the flat surface, and examined the bag they had been in.

The clatter woke Amber who sat up.

"What the hell are you people doing?" Amber groaned. "And why the hell is the door open?"

Bianca and I shared a smile.

"I think this will hold some." Bianca said looking around. "And there is a hook we can hang it from near the fireplace."

I watched as Bianca walked over to the door and began scooping snow into the bag. The movement made all sorts of interesting things happen with those partially exposed curves.

"Oh my God, what are you doing?" Amber groaned and sat up and frowned at Bianca's ass. "What are you doing?"

Amber got up and took the single step that allowed her to see the wall of white and stopped as her eyes widened. Bianca being so calm about it had soothed some of my worries. Amber, on the other hand, was not so cool and collected.

"Oh my God!" Amber yelled. "Are you shitting me? Oh my God! We are snowed in? I mean, literally snowed in? Like the snow is up over the house?"

Bianca sighed and looked over her shoulder at Amber.

"It's not that much, Llamita. Don't be a drama queen."

"A drama queen?" Amber said, still wild eyed. "A drama queen? Seriously? We're fucking under a mound of snow! We could fucking die out here! If this isn't the time for a little drama, when the hell is?"

"Not helping, Llamita." Bianca turned back to scraping snow into the bag.

"Seriously?" Amber said. "You get all bent about some stupid boy and I'm the drama queen here? How the hell is anyone even going to find us?"

"They know where we are, Llamita." Bianca said, turning with a bag filled with snow. "They'll be able to find us. Now, why don't you put another log on the fire?"

I had found a few old pots and pans tucked away and carried them to the doorway as Bianca carried her bag past Amber to hang from the hook on the ceiling.

I couldn't help stealing surreptious glances at Bianca as she stretched up to get the handle over the hook or at Amber as she stood there in only a pair of panties looking at Bianca.

"Wait, why are you bringing snow inside?" Amber asked.

"To make water." Bianca said, lowering her arms and watching the bag as the handles stretched a bit but didn't give.

"Why not just... Wait, don't tell me." Amber said. "The pipes are frozen."

"Yes." I said as I scooped handfuls of snow into the coffee pot.

"Great." Amber said flatly. "So, no water. I suppose that's not drama either. You can get all bent out of shape over a stupid boy, but I'm the drama queen for recognizing that we are going to die."

"No one is going to die." I promised, setting the coffee pot aside and picking up another pan. "It's West-by-God-Texas. All of this will probably be melted by tonight. You'll see."

"Then why are you bothering to collect so much snow to melt for water?" Amber asked, turning her green eyes on me. "Answer me that."

"I just want to clear the door so I can see what's going on." I said as calmly as I could. Amber's attitude was bringing back the worry that Bianca's calmness had soothed. "If we don't need it, as I figure we won't, then I can always dump it outside later."

Amber stared at me and I could tell she wanted to find something in what I said to argue. For my part, I tried to keep my mind on what I was doing and not Amber's pert pink nipples.

Just then, the top of the wall of white crumbled and let me look out past it. It was still night. And there were still white snowflakes falling.

"See?" I said. "It's just a drift piled up by the wind. I bet it's not even that much out there once I get past the drift."

"Well, I have to pee." Amber said.

That was something I had been trying really hard not to think about since I hadn't been able to relieve the urge that had awakened me yet either.

"We all do, puta." Bianca said, her exaggerated patience wearing thin. "What do you suggest we do? The toilet won't flush without water."

"God, you are such a bitch!"

"Stop." I said, turning around with my hands on my hips. "Stop right there. Bianca, apologize."

"For what?" Bianca said, staring at me.

"For calling her puta." I said.

"The hell I will." Bianca flared. "She is a puta. All she does is whine any time she doesn't get her way and she did it with Charles to steal him from me and who knows how many other people besides."

"Oh, will you get over it?" Amber stepped closer to Bianca. "I wasn't trying to steal Charles. I was trying to help you, damn it. You were my best friend and you both wanted to do it, but you were both too shy. I meant for you to catch me, you stupid bitch. I thought you would join us and get what you wanted."

"Why the hell would you think that, puta?"

"Because of what we had already shared!" Amber yelled. "We were best friends! We shared everything!"

"A man is not a hairbrush." Bianca tilted her head.

"Ok, first, Charles was hardly a man." Amber said. "And second, we had shared a lot more than a hairbrush, Meja."

"That was..." Bianca blushed. "We were children. We were playing."

"I wasn't." Amber said softly, hugging herself. "You were my best friend and I loved you and I thought you loved me. And you hurt me. You hurt me bad, Meja."

"What? No, you hurt me." Bianca floundered. "What are you saying, Llamita?"

"Forget it." Amber shook her head. "Just forget it."

I shook myself from contemplating the scene that had been playing out. I wasn't sure just what was going on between those two, but at least they weren't calling each other names or fighting. The nicknames they were using were almost terms of endearment. There was a story there that I was just getting the edge of. But, I had other things to think about.

Everything that I had found that could hold snow was filled and Bianca, or Meja, had moved several of them closer to the fire to melt. I wrapped my hand around the handle of the small shovel beside the door and stuck the spade end through the hole at the top to try shoving more aside. It wasn't easy, but I was able to move a little at a time.

As I had expected, the wind had pushed the snow up against the little house and down into the sunken doorway. Once I pushed just a little way out the door, I could see that the blanket of snow elsewhere was just above my knees.

But, it might as well have been up to my shoulder. There was just no way anyone could make it out to us tonight. Not with snow still falling on top of the blanket, adding to it. Maybe tomorrow, once the sun came up and it stopped, Dad could make it out in the Dually pick-up.

I leaned on the shovel and stared out at the whiteness. Nothing moved except the light breeze that was all that remained of the howling wind from earlier and the soft snowflakes drifting lazily down.

It was actually kind of nice. Peaceful.

"Well, I have to pee!" Amber yelled from inside.

Or, at least it would have been.

I had been ignoring my own need until her yell had reminded me. I glanced over my shoulder to see the door was shut at the end of the narrow path I had churned out and undid my britches.

I had already been shivering as the cold beeze delicately kissed my bare arms and torso. Feeling it on the sensitive skin of my dick was almost painful. It took a minute to relax enough and then I half expected it to freeze coming out, it was so cold.

My numb fingers had trouble redoing the fastenings, so I just tucked myself away and made my way back to the door, holding them together with one hand.

Bianca was dumping the bag of snow in the toilet when I opened the door.

"Puta madra." She was saying. "You better hope that goes down. All we need is to get sick from you peeing when we can't flush."

"Well, I had to pee!" Amber was saying from the blanket near the fire. I noticed that one of them, probably Bianca, had put another log on the fire and the warmth felt almost stifling after the cold night air. "Where are you going to pee?"

"Outside, puta!" Bianca said. "Where it won't make us all sick!"

"Um, it's more than a little cold out there." I said, blinking at the idea of her doing what I had just done.

"So?" Bianca turned and looked at me. "You did it, while you were out there, did you not?"

"Um, yeah." It was one thing to do it or even talk about it with the guys, but it was oddly embarrassing to admit it in front of a girl.

"Well, then." Bianca said, stalking past me. "If your huevos could handle it, so can I. Men are such babies."

I blinked as she stormed out in just her bra and panties and slammed the door behind her. Jesus, what a woman!