Free Winter's Heat by Tami Vinson

finally come so far, he’d be damned to have it taken away from him.
     
    *****
     
    As Winter opened the door to her bedroom, she didn’t know what to expect. Especially with the way the rest of the apartment looked. But as she stepped inside the small room she was pleasantly surprised. Everything seemed to be where she left it before she went away.
    Sitting down on her bed, she contemplated how she was going to tell her roommate that she was moving out.
    She hadn’t seen Cheri or Randy since she had reentered the apartment after seeing Eric off and she wondered at that. It was highly unusual in itself not to hear something coming from their room. Oh well. Maybe she could put off the conversation until sometime tomorrow if she were lucky. It was bad enough that she had to cancel with Eric. She didn’t feel like starting world war three in the small two bedroom apartment.
    Sighing, she got back up and started putting away her things from her trip before she got too tired to do so. A few minutes later after that was done, she went into the kitchen to make herself some of her favorite tea. Just like old times. She thought thinking of how she’d spent her Friday nights in the past.
    While she was waiting for the water to warm up on the stove she leaned back against the counter with her eyes closed and allowed her mind to wonder about what the night would have been like if she’d gone home with Eric instead.
     
    Images of his handsome golden tanned face above her own and his thickly muscled arms sheltering her as he settled snugly between her welcoming parted thighs flashed behind her eyelids making her lips involuntary part in a need filled moan.
    That’s what she’d given up? Her Eric-starved body screamed. What the hell had she done?
    Winter just prayed it wasn’t too late to call Eric and ask him to come back to pick her up. He’d probably think she was crazy as a loon, but she was past caring at this point. Sometimes a girl had to put her pride to the side and admit when she had made a poor choice.
    The sound of the microwave going off broke into her rambling thoughts. Just as she reached up to open the door to retrieve her drink, she felt a strange sensation of a presence behind her. Whipping around, she came face to face with Randy’s smirking face as he stood there watching her.
    “Winnie…Winnie, seems like you’ve been holding out on me.” He said in an annoying voice. Plus he was standing far too close to her crowding her personal space with his foul presence and body odor.
    “What are you talking about Randy?” She said leaning away from him and the offensive smell coming off of him. It was a combination of sweat and some other body odor she didn’t want to identify.
    Where was a stuffy nose when you needed it? The stray thought entered her mind.
    “Winter the ‘ice princess’ has got herself a man. I wonder if he’s managed to do what no one else has. Tell me—has he managed to melt the ice between your pretty brown virgin thighs yet...” He taunted reaching out to twirl a lock of her curly hair around his dirty looking finger.
    “Get away from me, you creep!” She yelled trying to push pass him.
    “I don’t think it’s any of your damn business what goes on between me and Eric, so keep your dirty mind and hands to yourself Randy!” She was now shaking with rage as she stood looking at the snide smirk on his weasely face.
    She was going to kill Cheri for telling her jerk of a boyfriend about something she’d told her in confidence!
    “What, I’m not good enough for you?” He taunted pushing her into the kitchen counter and caging her in with his bony arms.
    Winter knew as soon as her hip hit the counter’s edge that things were about to get real ugly. Staring into Randy’s cold eyes, she knew he was dead set on whatever course he was on at this point.
    “Randy, go to hell!” She said as she pushed again against his surprisingly strong bony arms to escape.
    Not budging one bit, he