Page 51 of Red Snow
“WELL GOOD EVENING, Detective.”
“What’s good, Brandi?” I reply as I get out of my car and close the door, locking it as I approach her and we embrace. I’m not sure how deep to get with this embrace. We’re not a couple, so I won’t kiss her, but we’re not friends either, so the hug feels a little awkward. I hate awkward.
“So, I had a crazy day at work, and I needed to blow off some steam,” Brandi says as she holds the bags of food and bottle of Moet up with a shrug. “I figured we could eat and watch some TV. Is that cool?”
“Well, you’re here,” I reply with my own shrug. “No going back now.”
“Damn, I could leave if you want me to,” Brandi snips back, half kidding.
“I’m just messing with you. Of course that’s cool with me. Come on, let’s get out of this damn snow.”
I lead Brandi up the stairs and into the apartment. Both times she’s been here, we’ve ended up fucking, so excuse the hell out of me for already having expectations.
Once we’re inside, I head to my bedroom to change clothes while Brandi makes herself comfortable in the living room. She’s still wearing her nice blouse and pants from work, but I’m at home, so I plan on dressing down into something comfortable—something I can take off easily once we get past the Netflix and move on to the “chill.”
When I get back into the living room, Brandi has already setup the takeout boxes from Olive Garden on the coffee table, and pulled out a blanket to lay across us after we eat. She has unbuttoned the top three buttons on her blouse and is already kneeling in front of the coffee table taking small bites out of her chicken parmigiana. My meal is exactly the same as hers, and is resting next to hers on the table with the lid closed.
As I walk in, I have to admit, Brandi is a gorgeous girl. I admire her dark brown hair and luscious thickness. She’s sitting on her knees, and I can see how voluptuously sexy her legs are as I take my seat next to her. Her skin is pale, and even though it’s beautiful, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t remind me of Stacey’s.
Stacey’s skin is pale, too, but it’s the epitome of flawless—from the top of her head down to the bottom of her feet. Stacey glows, and it takes a second to shake the thought of her out of my head as I make myself comfortable in my basketball shorts and Bulls jersey.
“This looks great,” I tell her as I open the lid and check out the steaming chicken resting on top of thin noodles. “How’d you know I like chicken parmigiana?”
“I didn’t,” she replies with a smile. “I like chicken parmigiana, so I just got it for you too and hoped for the best. Guess I lucked out.”
“I guess so. I’m starving.” I rip my fork from the plastic and start tearing into the chicken.
While I chew, Brandi picks up the bottle of Moet and holds it in the air. “Let’s break out some glasses and dive into this, shall we?”
I hop up and grab two wine glasses from the cabinet and let her fill them both when I get back to the coffee table. We decide to watchThe Walking Deadon Netflix, starting with season one, episode one, because Brandi claims she has never seen it before, which is a deadly sin in my book. We clink our glasses together without making a toast, and she nearly downs hers as I sip mine. After finishing all but a drop in her glass, she sets it on the table and lets out an adorable giggle.
“Don’t judge me. I had a long day,” she says, smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh yeah? Fill me in then. What happened?”
“Oh my gosh, one of the secretaries got fired.”
“Okay. Fired for what?”
“Getting caught sleeping naked in the office with one of our clients.”
“Whoa,” I exclaim. “Alright, there has to be some sort of story behind this one.”
The first episode of The Walking Dead starts up just as I take another bite of my food and listen to Brandi.
“Apparently, the secretary, whose name we shall not mention, has been giving the come-fuck-me-eyes to our client, who’s coming to the end of an ugly divorce. I guess at some point, they started hooking up, and last night they decided to hook up right in the office. They got drunk, had sex in one of the conference rooms, and fell asleep. When one of the partners walked in this morning, they were still there.”
“Wow, that’s a trip,” I reply to the story as I listen and watch Rick from the show make his way out of the hospital. “So what happened after that?”
“Well, after she packed up her desk and left,” Brandi continues as she refills her glass all the way to the brim. “The boss decided to call a meeting for everyone who works at the firm, so we could reiterate the rules. It was pretty sexist, too, because while there were men in the room, it was obvious they weren’t to talking anyone but the women. We’ve had lawyers fuck their clients before, but as soon as a female in the office fucks a client, all hell breaks loose and it’s time to go over the rules. It was bullshit.” Brandi finishes her story and takes half of her glass of Moet to the head.
“I assume the sexist meeting is the reason you’re calling it a bad day and drinking away the frustration,” I say, taking a small sip from my glass.
“Yes,” she admits. “It gets pretty annoying as a woman working in a male-dominated firm like mine. It’s difficult being a woman in a male-dominant world! And honestly, it gets a little stressful and old. So sometimes it’s nice to just have a drink before you go back to work in the morning and do it all over again.”
“I can understand that,” I tell her, admiring her beautiful face.
As I look at her, sitting Indian-style on the floor, it really reminds me of a night Stacey and I shared that was pretty similar to this one. We sat right here in this very spot, watching episode after episode ofLost. We were glued to the TV, and every time something crazy would happen, the two of us would exclaim and have huge bug eyes as our minds were blown. We laughed together and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was just another night that convinced me I was in love with Stacey, and it’ll be an eternity before I forget it. I guess I have to try though, as difficult as the task is proving to be.
