Warming Up on a Cold Night

 

It’s cold out tonight, colder than she remembers it being in a long time. What can you do though? It’s winter in Canada. No matter how far south you go it’s bound to be freezing. The thin, cheap material of her jacket does nothing to keep the chill out. Neither do the three layers of clothing underneath it. Nothing much to do about it though, it’s all she could afford.

 

There’s some semblance of warmth flowing down from the bus shelter ceiling, the heaters up there working overtime now that there’s snow on the ground. It’s not enough though. She’s starting to feel as if she’ll never be warm again. Dismal a thought as that is she wonders if maybe this time it’s true.

 

The bus is late. No wait, scratch that. It was late about an hour ago. Now? Well now there are prayers going up to a divinity she’s not so sure exists in hopes that the damn thing will actually show up. Teeth chattering beneath lips wrapped around her third cigarette in the last ten minutes; silent words whispered in her mind as she tries in vain to think that things can’t possibly get any worse.

 

An argument at home replays itself behind closed lids every time she takes a puff. Fresh fodder for the worry she carries with her always. She wonders if her little brother has it a little better than she does. Can’t possibly know because she’s barely ever home anymore. All her time spent working, trying to get a leg up in life when all she ever gets is a firm hand on her shoulder shoving her down. Still, she’s pushing up and against, hoping to get out and into a better place. Even that effort is pretty much worthless given the fact that most of the cash she’s making goes straight to the ones who say they want her to make more out of herself than they did in life.

 

There’s a ray of light in her life though. Love so bright not even the god-awful Canadian winter can dim it. Love she can feel even when it’s all the way across the city and too far to actually touch.

 

A pang of regret comes as she stubs out what’s left of her smoke. Only two left and she’s got to make them last. She loathes the habit she’s formed, but even the illusion of heat it gives is welcome on a night like this one so she’ll forgive herself for it this time.

She watches as yet another bus that’s ‘not the right one’ whizzes by, filled with folk. All of them smiling, content to feel warmth again even if they’re all still a little frosty. Man, what she wouldn’t give to be one of ‘em; just plain grateful to be given the chance to thaw out a little.

 

It’s right then - right at that moment when she’s on the verge of giving up and risking possible death from exposure by walking home in this cold snap – that she hears the one thing able to put a smile on her face even frozen as it is.

“Hey. You’re still here, huh?” His voice is soft and low. Equal parts amusement at her predicament and worry that she might have been out there too long. The grin that split her face could have easily melted the entire city and sent them into an early spring thaw.

“Yeah. The stupid bus never showed.” She rolled eyes as blue as the ice currently residing in her veins just thinking about it.

 

“So you’ve been waiting since I got off the phone with you earlier?” Astonished he tugged her bare hand out of her jeans pocket to wrap his own around it. “Jesus woman, you’re so cold you’re practically blue!” She shrugged and smiled. Them are the breaks, right?

 

“Not all of us are born human furnaces, love.” Her giggle sharp and light in the quiet of the night.

“Y’know, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were hinting at something.” His teasing tone of voice held purpose; a soothing balm on nerves raw from hashing out her earlier ordeal back home. The fingers that were even now unzipping his jacket were another well designed distraction.

“Who me? Nah, never.” She laughed, stepping into his open arms. They’d done this often already. He, wrapping big strong arms around her small frame and pulling her in as close as possible the better to warm her with his body. She, holding tightly to his waist and nuzzling into that warm spot -right there- where neck meets shoulder. Oh yeah, her spot. The one that made her wish she didn’t ever have to move again.

 

The feeling generally didn’t last very long. Usually just the motion of his head dipping down so their lips could meet was enough to push it out of mind. Kind of like he was doing now...

 

Their lips touched briefly before opening to each other. The moist heat she slid her tongue into held the familiar taste of coffee, nicotine and peppermint gum. It was enough to have her fingers curling into the coarse fabric of his waffle knit Henley. When his tongue touched hers she melted right into him and it was all she could do not to climb right into him right there.

 

Distracted as she was by the kiss, his cold hands on the lukewarm skin of her back had her squealing in shock. “Well, looks like you’re warming up some.” The chuckle was low, sultry and all kinds of dirty in her ear. The tingle it sent through her might as well have been an electric shock. Yeah, suddenly keeping warm wasn’t such a problem anymore.

 

“Have I mentioned yet today how much I really do love you, hun?”

“Ye-ah actually. I think it might’ve come up a time or two.” Were those pink cheeks because of the cold, or because she’d managed to embarrass her tough guy? She’d have asked, but some things were better left alone. “So, you ready to blow this popsicle stand or what?”

“That I am. I most definitely am.”

“C’mon then. Lo’s on his way to pick me up. Let’s go get some coffee in you and get you warmed up.”

“But… I’ve got to head home.”

“Nah. I talked to my folks earlier. You’re staying over tonight. They figure you could probably use a break from the parental units after the blow out you guys had this morning.”

Yeah, she thinks to herself as they slowly walk away from the bus station towards the sound of a familiar honking horn. This one’s a keeper.

 

But then, she already knew that didn’t she? Love just kind of works that way.