She also laughed at me, as I figured I looked exactly the same. I looked down at myself to see that the entire front of my jacket was caked with snow, and my pants were already soaked in front. Yeah, this would be a short play time. I figured it wouldn’t do well to end up my mother’s next patient, suffering from frostbite and hypothermia.
I reached down to brush off my coat when SMACK! Suddenly the world turned white in my left eye.
Looking over at my laughing friend, I saw the evidence of the white dusting on her right glove. She was trying to look innocent, but of course had about as much success as Clinton.
'You want a piece of me, Corregan?' Hands on my hips, I looked at, well, hand on my hip as the other one picked snow out of my eyelashes.
'Is that a threat?'
'You want it to be one?'
'You got it, Littman. Or should I say, Littleman.' I glared.
'Okay, that was lame.'
'It was, wasn’t it?'
I didn’t answer, instead I began to form my own snowballs. 'Start making ‘em, Corregan. I used to be the pitcher in our neighborhood softball tournaments, so be warned.' Haley looked at me, looking impressed.
'Very nice.' She gathered a huge mound of snow, began to pack it between her palms, making it rounder and rounder. 'Well you know what?'
'What’s that?' I started on my fourth snowball. Since the snow was nearly to my waist, it was quite handy to just set my ammo right next to me.
'I still play softball.'
SPLAT!
'Pleh!' I spit the snow out that had landed square in my mouth, the coldness stinging against my reddened skin. 'Oh, you are not a nice person.' Grabbed the largest of my bombs, and got a nice, solid hold on it. I looked at her, me the picture of determination.
'Okay, Andi. I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair.' She held her hands in front of her.
'Nope, no it wasn’t.'
'I don’t have anymore snowballs ready.' She gestured to the empty snow in front of her.
'Nope, no you don’t.' I lifted my leg over the snow to take a step forward. Haley began to move, too. This would probably be the slowest chase in history, like running under water. I grabbed the rest of my snowballs, putting them in the crook of my left arm, and began to fire. Haley tried to get away from me, even with much longer legs, she was having a hell of a time. Score! The largest of the snowballs smacked her right in the neck.
'Oh man, that’s cold!' she cried as she grabbed the shrapnel, trying to get it off her bare skin. Fire number two!
SPLAT!
Only got an arm, but that’s okay.
We continued on our slow but sure chase around my driveway and front yard, each of us taking our well- placed, yet extremely high, steps through the snow. No one was really getting anywhere of consequence, though Haley did have some space on me because of her longer legs. But that was okay, I still had snowballs.
'Ah!' Before I knew it, Haley disappeared completely from sight as she fell. Phoof! Nothing but an outline of her sprawled body.
'Haley?' I hurried over there, well, if one can hurry in four feet of snow, and saw her laying face-up, staring into the gray sky above, then her eyes traveled to me.
'Wow. Snow is so soft. Just like a bed of feathers.'
'Are you okay? You’re talking like Lazareth, back from the dead.'
'Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Cold and stuck, but fine.' I reached a hand down to her.
'Come on. I think it’s time we went in. The snow is coming down faster, and I can’t get my car out to take either of us to the hospital.' Haley grabbed my hand, and I pulled her up with a groan. Finally on her feet, we headed back into the house, both drenched from head to toe.
'My god, I’m so cold.' She stood in the middle of the kitchen, her arms wrapped around herself, teeth chattering.
'Come on. My mom has a Jacuzzi in her bathroom'
'Ohhhhhh. Nnnice.' She smiled, her teeth still sounding like little jackhammers. We hurried up the stairs, tugging at sopping clothing as we went, leaving a trail to my mother’s bedroom. Finally standing in just our underwear and bras, I got the hot bath started, the jets not far behind.
'I don’t have a bathing suit for you.' I looked at Haley, who was looking longingly into the steaming water.
'Like I care.' She climbed in as she was. I watched, my eyes following her body as a little more of it dipped into the heated depths. You’ve played sports, and have seen other girls undress in front of you before. You have seen other girls undress in front of you before. You have seen other girls undress in front of you before.
Shaking myself out of my confusing reverie, I also climbed in, dressed only in underwear and bra. The water almost felt as though it was boiling as my cold skin screamed at me. Oh, but what a way to be boiled.
I sat, holding my breath as I became acclimated. Haley sat across from me, her head back against the blow-up pillow, her eyes closed as a slow, soft moan escaped. I looked at the curve of her long neck, the way it spread into smooth shoulders with very defined clavicles, and just the very top of her cleavage in her bra, which may as well have been see-through because of the water.
'God, this is bliss.' Blue eyes opened and settled on me. 'Will your mom mind we’re in here?' I shook my head.
'I use it all the time.' I did everything I could to avoid looking anywhere on Haley that I shouldn’t be. I was so afraid that one of these days she would catch me, or though she had caught me many times, ask me about it. What if she did? I didn’t have an answer for her.
'Andi?'
'Yes, Haley?' I had closed my own eyes to enjoy the feel of warmth spreading throughout my entire body. I kept them closed as I waited for her to speak.
'You know the movie we watched last night?' I smiled.
'Yes.'
'Would you ever do that?'
'Die of AIDS? Sure.'
'Nut.' I felt water being thrown at me, and I grinned again, but opened my eyes to look at Haley. 'I mean, you know, be a lesbian.'
'Well, it hasn’t really been in the career track packet that I created with my school counselor, but sure.'
'I’m serious, Andi.'
'Okay, okay.'
'Would you ever be with a woman?' She looked at me, her hands weaving under the water, making the hot water flow and ebb to me.
'I guess I’ve never really thought about it.' Yeah, what a lie that was. I looked away from her, pretending to play with the water.
'I have.' My eyes shot up to look at her. She was looking over my shoulder, seemingly lost in her own little world.
'Haley, are you,'
'Oh, no. I mean, I’m into guys, but it’s not something that I look down on, or anything, you know? I believe in doing what feels good at the time, trying everything. I mean, our differences are the spice of life, right? Why be bland?'
'Yeah, I guess. I can understand that.' I ran a hand through my hair, plastering it all away from my face. 'Have you ever done anything with a girl?' Haley shook her head.
'No.'
'Why not?'
