"Good night, Janie! Don't stay too late. The weather is getting bad."
I waved to the last of my co-workers as they left, then punched the button on the fax machine a little too hard. The high-pitched electronic whine of the online connection was grating on my nerves, like so many little things that irritated me lately.
Deep down, I knew what the problem was. I'd been so preoccupied with work, with friends, with my family, that I'd been neglecting myself a little, and was feeling spent. How long had it been since I'd done something nice for my mind and body?
Particularly my body. Damn. Steve might've been an asshole, but he was good in bed. I closed my eyes and could almost feel his familiar weight, the thrust of his cock, his talented mouth and fingers. I was starting to melt and become slippery between my legs.
I realized that I'd been too preoccupied to notice that the weatherman hadn't been kidding about the snow, and the wind was starting to pick up. I could feel the building sway in my corner office, making me a little dizzy. It always amazed me that they actually built a building flexible enough to give when there was a stiff wind.
Shuddering, thinking of the cold walk to my car that awaited me, I began to gather my things. I was never ready for the cold weather, and tonight was no exception. No boots, little jacket and gloves, but no hat. As I pushed the door open, I yelped as I stepped into a drift of snow that reached past my ankle. I made my way slowly to my car, wincing as more snow pressed into my shoes with every step. The insistent wind kept biting my flesh under my skirt, hiking it up to my shivering thighs, covered in dark tights, and my jacket kept spreading open, my nipples becoming pink stones under my blouse. I reached my car, only to find it banked with snow behind each back tire.
Now I was starting to get pissed. I blundered my way through the snow to the car door. I tried to unlock the door, but found it frozen shut.
Smacking the car door with my hand, a voice behind me scared the hell out of me.
"Excuse me, Miss?"
I jumped, whirled around, dropping my purse and briefcase, and lost my balance. Teetering, I tried to hang onto the door handle, but it was no use. I went down with a thud into the soft snow. "SHIT!" I have to admit, the sight of me splayed out in the snow, looking like I'd had a wild impulse to make a snow angel, must have been pretty funny. But I looked up at the owner of the surprise voice, glaring, daring him to laugh.
To his credit, he didn't, although I could see his lips trembling as he tried not to smile. Wide, amused green eyes glanced over me, making sure I wasn't hurt, only pissed and humiliated.
Unlike me, he was actually dressed for the snow...jeans, boots, a warm parka, good gloves, and a hat. Show-off, I thought, still kind of surly, as I attempted to gather my things and my wits, and stand upright. He held out a glove-covered hand to help me up, and his strength was a quick surprise as he pulled me to my feet effortlessly. Standing up, rather than sprawled on my butt, I got a better look at him. Probably around 6 feet tall, longish dark hair, showing under his cap and tickling his collar, nicely trimmed beard, and a nice...was that a SMILE?
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. You looked like you could use a hand, that's all."
Straightening my skirt, I attempted to give him my best 'I'm a woman of the new millennium and I don't need no help from no man' look, but it immediately collapsed under his wide grin and friendly eyes. I started giggling, a rotten, rotten habit for a liberated single chick. When he saw it was safe, he threw back his head and belly-laughed with me. God, what a great laugh!
"My car door's frozen shut and I might not be able to get it open." I took a closer look at him, did a double take, and then realized that this man was the security guard that I passed nearly every day at lunch without so much as a word. He smiled again, when he realized I recognized him. Color flooded my face, even in the cold, when I realized I'd seen him for months and didn't even know his name.
"David. My name is David." He held out his hand again, and I shook it, never taking my eyes from his face.
"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" I asked.
"Lucky guess. C'mon, little one. Let's get you out of this cold. I've got some WD-40 in my bag that we can defrost your door with, but I want to get you inside first."
Draping one arm around my shoulders, taking my bags with the other hand, we made our way back to the security office of the building. David was nodding to his buddies as he passed them. They were either going out on their rounds, or leaving to get home before the weather got even worse. Soon the office was empty except for the two of us.