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.
