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Snow swirled outside the small window as frost crept up the panes and filtered into Laverne and Shirley’s poorly insulated basement apartment. Laverne sat, wrapped in every blanket she could find and hunched over a particularly smutty romance book. Her eyes roamed hungrily over the heated words, heat deep in the bottom of her stomach. She anticipated Shirley’s coming home any second and once her best friend walked through the door, the bubble would be broken.
“He leaned forward,” she said under her breath, “took her face in one hand and—"
Brrrringgg
The phone’s loud ring pierced through the apartment. Laverne waved it away with one hand, eyes glued to the pages.
“And reached down with the other to—"
Brrrriiiiinggg
Laverne waved it away once more.
“To her—”
Brrrriiiiiiiinnggg
With a groan, Laverne pulled herself from her cocoon of blankets and warmth, shivering as her bare feet hit the cool wood beneath her. Despite standing, however, she still focused on the pages, one hand spread out before her as not to hit the entry counter that held the phone.
“To her soft, ample—” Her foot slipped on one of Shirley’s many Christmas decorations, this one a plush white snowman. She straightened herself in time to--
Brrrriiiii—
Laverne snatched the phone off the base and pressed it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Laverne?” Shirley’s voice sounded through the receiver. “It’s me, Shirley.”
“This better be good, Shirl, I—”
“Laver--?” Shirley’s voice cut out. “The storm is getting bad, Carmine and I—”
“Slow down, Shirl, I can’t hear you.”
“Stay above the Pizza Bowl with your dad and Edna,” she finished. Then, “What was that, Laverne?”
“You’re cutting—” the power cut, along with the line, drenching Laverne in darkness. She pulled the phone away. “Out.”
She set it back on the base and pulled the book up as close to her face as close as possible. Her eyes strained against the dark to make out the next sentence, but it was no use. With the snow clouds blocking any last bits of light from the setting sun, the words were illegible. Laverne tossed it on the couch and started to feel around for the flashlight her and Shirley kept by the door.
As her hand grasped the flashlight’s handle, a loud series of thumps sounded from the hall. Laverne loosened her grasp and stood, grabbing her baseball bat from leaning against the wall. She crept to the door and laid a hand on the knob.
“Who’s there?” She called.
A familiar groan floated under the cracks of the door. Laverne flung it open to find the silhouette of Lenny, sprawled face down across the floor. At the sound of the door, he scrambled up to his feet and grasped Laverne’s shoulders.
“Laverne!”
“Jesus, Len, are you okay?” Laverne asked, grabbing Lenny by the arm, and pulling him into the apartment. “Get in here.”
“It’s dark.” He shook like a leaf under Laverne’s fingertips.
“It’s dark out there too, at least in here there’s a flashlight.” The door shut soft behind Lenny as Laverne crossed to the other side of the counter and grasped the flashlight once more. “Here.” She tossed him the light, which he fumbled but eventually caught by jamming it between his palm and chest. “Let there be light.”
Lenny flipped the switch, but instead of sending a ray of light across the room, it flickered a few times, then died. He gave it a few hits against his palm, but nothing happened. Laverne reached over the barrier between them and gave the flashlight a few taps of her own.
No dice.
“Do you have a light in your apartment?” Laverne asked.
“Nah, we sold it to get Squig a new jar for his moths.” Lenny sat the flashlight on the surface of the counter and wrapped his arms around his torso.
“No biggie,” Laverne said, noticing his distress. “There’s gotta be something somewhere.” Her eyes roamed over what they could in the dark, eventually falling on the coffee table where two convenient candles sat. Shirley and Carmine had left them there the day before after a romantic pre-Christmas dinner while Laverne had been out at the movies watching the new Godzilla movie. “Here we go, Len.”
She reached over and grabbed his tense hand, pulling it from its tight grasp against his forearm and led him to the couch. The touch on Laverne’s palm was pleasantly warm and she found herself missing the touch as they sat and broke contact.
“Well,” she said quickly, leaning over the table and locating the lighter. “This should do the trick.” With two, swift clicks, a little circle of soft, orange light emitted from the two candlesticks. The warm glow filled the small space between their bodies and the howling wind filled the silence.
Laverne tapped lightly on her knees, looking anywhere but Lenny.
“So, where’s squi—”
“Where’s Shirl—”
Laverne and Lenny laughed softly as the awkwardness of the situation faded.
“Where’s Squiggy?” She tried again once a comfortable silence fell over them. “You two are normally connected at the hip.”
“He’s out with Francine giving her an early Christmas present.” Lenny bit his palm with a guffaw.
“Gross,” Laverne said, though a small smile formed at her lips. “He ain’t at your guys’ apartment?”
“Nah, he wanted it to be all special and romantic or something.” Lenny picked at a loose strand in the couch. “Where’s Shirley?”
“Stuck at the Pizza Bowl with Carmine,” Laverne said. “I think.”
“So, it’s just you and me then.”
Laverne raised an accusatory finger. “Don’t get any funny ideas, Len.” The edge and conviction that normally coated her voice was gone, replaced by a teasing lilt which surprised her. She had entertained the idea of being with him a few times before on nights she felt particularly lonely, but never seriously. Her feelings for him were strictly platonic; Lenny always was and always will be the greasy boy she ran from as a kid who grew into a good and trusted friend. Nothing more, nothing less.
Or so she thought.
A low fire set ablaze in the bottom of her stomach, not desperate but not unnoticeable. She shifted to face him, throwing an arm over the back of the couch, and crossing her legs. Lenny looked over at her, his lean face glinting in the soft light. Laverne watched as his eyes flitted down her body and she found her eyes doing the same.
Despite the frigid weather outside, Lenny still wore his signature white t-shirt and jeans, only covered by his unzipped lone wolf jacket. A small bit of toned stomach poked from under his shirt which had ridden up when he sat.
The fire in Laverne’s stomach grew.
“So, Len,” Laverne said, mouth dry. “Did you have any plans for Christmas eve?”
“Nothing much,” he shrugged. “Just me and the tv. They’re showing reruns of Heckle and Jeckle. What about you?”
“Shirl was supposed to come back after Carmine’s show,” Laverne said. “We were gonna make a gingerbread house. Guess that’s a bust now.”
“Maybe not,” he said, eyes flashing.
Laverne snorted. “We can’t make anything in this light, Len.”
“Who said anything about making? The gingerbread and frosting are still good, right?”
“Yeah…” Laverne leaned forward. “Shirley made the gingerbread this morning.”
“Ain’t no use letting it go to waste, right?” Lenny asked.
It took all but two seconds for Laverne to hop over the edge of the couch and locate the gingerbread and frosting in the dark.
“Here,” she said as she sat back down, pulling her knees under her, cross legged. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the sugary goodness. Once she was done, Laverne leaned back on the couch and rolled her head back to Lenny, who popped his last piece of gingerbread into his mouth and licked his fingers of frosting.
“Y’know, Laverne,” he said once his fingers were licked clean. “This is the best Christmas eve I’ve ever had.”
“That can’t be true,” Laverne said. “I’m sure any Christmas eve is better than being stuck with no electricity.”
“Not when you’re stuck with a pretty girl.”
Laverne’s face flushed. “Len…”
“I know, I know,” Lenny said, leaning back against the couch. “No funny business, I was just tellin’ the truth.”
Laverne trained her eyes on her hands, the blush on her face unrelenting and the fire deep in her belly roaring.
“Well,” she said. “I guess it’s pretty alright being stuck with a handsome man.”
Lenny’s head whipped around, his eyes wide. “You think I’m handsome?”
“Anyone with eyes can see that.” Laverne glanced up, meeting his gaze.
“I don’t know, Laverne, I—” Lenny’s voice caught in his throat as Laverne set her hand atop his. “Laverne?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it, you know that.” She scooted forward, closing some of the distance between them. Laverne didn’t know what gotten into her; what it was that made tonight different than any other night she’d spent in Lenny’s presence, but she couldn’t deny the tug she felt to him; didn’t want to. Her eyes flitted down to his lips, her own tingling in anticipation.
“Laverne?” Lenny said again, softer than a whisper.
“I think we should stop talking,” Laverne said, then gently pressed her mouth against his. In an instant, the fire in her stomach spread through her limbs, igniting her. She leaned in deeper as their lips danced together in perfectly imperfect harmony. Crawling onto his lap, she straddled his legs with hers and groaned as his hands found their way to her hips.
When they pulled away to catch their breaths, Lenny said, “Is this real?” He took a deep, shaky breath. “Because if it’s not, Laverne I—”
“It’s real.”
He was silent for a moment. Then, “What changed?”
Laverne rested her forehead against his. “I don’t know, but-but I do know it did.”
Lenny ducked his head to meet Laverne’s lips once more, the kiss softer, less urgent. Laverne melted into him and grasped his face with her hands.
They pulled away once more.
“I wanna take this slow,” Lenny said. “Do it right. How’s about a date tomorrow?”
“It’s Christmas tomorrow, nothing will be open.”
“Well, how about the next day.”
Laverne gave him one last, soft kiss.
“Sounds good.”
Shirley stamped the snow from her shoes, shaking like a chihuahua from head to toe despite being as bundled up as possible. Just the short walk from the Pizza Bowl had her frozen solid from the inside out and bone tired. She wrapped a stiff hand around the equally frigid key in her pocket and brought it to the door handle. After a few failed attempts, she finally fit the key into the hole and stepped inside her and Laverne’s apartment.
“L-L-Laverne!” She called with a chatter, letting the door shut behind her. “Lav—” she clamped her mouth shut upon seeing Laverne, fast asleep on the chest of…
“Lenny?” She hissed under her breath. After creeping down the entry way steps, Shirley tip-toed to the couch and looked with wide eyes at the sight of her best friend and Leonard Kosnowski wrapped in each other’s arms.
Once the initial shock wore off, Shirley came to a full stand and brought her hand to her chin. “Well,” she whispered. “They are kinda cute, and Lenny’s better than some of the other dates she’s had.”
Shirley readjusted the blanket on Laverne’s shoulder and padded her way to the kitchen to make coffee.
She couldn’t wait to tease Laverne.