"Well, that was a mistake."
Carly turned her head with narrowed eyes to look at the smiling blonde sitting beside her in the driver seat of the small blue Neon. She was not sure which was more infuriating right now. It was either the bright, care free smile on her face or the fact that Sam had the audacity to state the frigging obvious. Carly hugged herself into her parka tighter, trying to hold in as much heat as possible, watching her breath turn to fog as she exhaled. Watching the stream of frozen air as Sam exhaled through her open mouth.
"Ya think?" Carly managed to say between chattering teeth. Her tone implied that there was no need to state what she already thought was quite accurate.
Sam had that happy smile she wore when she did something that she thought was fun, regardless of the outcome. She was never one to regret any decision she had made or any action she had taken. She lived her life in the moment. And she sat there with her hands still on the wheel, breathing fast from the adrenal rush, eyes bright and cheeks flush.
"You okay, Carls?" Sam asked, almost breathless, with the barest hint of concern in her voice.
Only Carly could perceive the flash of concern on her best friend's face as they stared at each other. "Just dandy, Sam. I love freezing to death inside a car that's buried in a snow bank."
The concern was gone in an instant. There a moment and then back behind that wall. Sam was satisfied that her Carly was unhurt. "It was fun, though! Right?"
Carly rolled her eyes. Only Sam would be focused on the fun element of spinning out of control, jumping a curb and slamming into a pile of snow. "Oh, yeah, Sam. Fun, fun, fun!"
Sam was unconvinced and frowned: "I sense a lack of sincerity in your words, cupcake."
"That's because this cupcake is getting iced. And not in a good way, Sam." Carly shivered again. Was it getting colder inside the metal can they were in now that the heater had stopped? "Can we go now?"
Sam turned to face the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition. A rapid clicking came from the engine area. She tried again and got the same response. "Oh. That can't be good," she admitted.
"Sam?" Carly slowly asked, warning evident in her voice that Sam had better respond with more positive news than what Carly was hearing.
Sam smiled her best don't-worry smile at Carly and turned the key again. This time, the clicking died away fairly quickly until there was nothing when she turned the key.
"Sam?" Carly asked a bit more sharply.
Sam's smile faded to an even line with her lips. "Um, I think I killed it."
Carly sighed heavily and sank into her seat as if someone had deflated her. This was just great. They were stuck in a freezing car, in a snow bank, in an empty parking lot, in the late afternoon, in a Seattle snowfall, on a Sunday, in the quietest part of the city, and far away from anything warm. At least little miss murder was stuck here with her. She glared to the left at her friend who was looking out the back window at the empty parking lot.
She saw the object of her irritation half turned in her seat and staring out the back window of the little Neon, hood pulled up with long blond curls spilling out around her face and neck, down to her chest. She was breathing more calmly with that set look to her mouth that meant she was trying to work something out in her head.
"Any other great ideas?" Carly asked.
"Hrmm?" Sam answered, absently. She turned to look at Carly as if just realizing that her best friend was still with her in the car.
Carly just rolled her eyes and slowly shook her head. She took out her phone and dialed up Spencer. It rang twice before he answered. "Hi, Spencer. Doing anything special right now?... Well, we sort of need a ride home… Sam's car stopped working… The parking area at Sweyolocken Park… Yeah, there… How long?... Okay… Yeah, funny, Spencer. Just hurry. Bye." She shut her phone and tucked it back into her coat pocket and tried to gather heat inside her parka again.
"Spencer's coming to get us?" Sam asked, as if they had just finished shopping and were waiting inside the warmth of the mall.
Carly gave her a sidelong glare and shivered into her coat. "Yeah. In about two hours. Just about the time I'll be a Carly-sicle."
Sam laughed to herself. "Heh…Carly-sickle… That's funny because it sounds like Popsicle…"
Carly huddled into her parka and looked down into her lap. It was times like this that she wished she listened more to that cautious little voice inside of her head that warned her not to do stupid things like going for an afternoon drive on slippery streets when it was snowing and the plows haven't even been out. She had been safe and warm inside of her apartment and the snow had been something remotely blowing outside of the windows. Then, Sam had the great idea to go for a drive and convinced Carly to come along. It had seemed like a fun idea, the way Sam had described it. But, then, Sam could make anything risky sound like fun. Even spinning donuts in a deserted parking lot full of snow.
Now, Carly was cold right down to her toes. Without the car heater, the Seattle damp cold had seeped inside and was working its way through her clothes to her skin. Two hours was going to be a long time. And she was already terribly cold.
She looked up quick as a sky-blue puffy coat was draped across her lap and tucked in around her legs. Carly's brown eyes connected with grey-green eyes no more than a foot from her face as Sam was leaned over her, giving Carly the added warmth of her parka. She instantly felt Sam's surrendered heat sink through her jeans to her legs.
Then, the blonde shifted to sit on the center console between the seats and put her arms around Carly's neck and shoulders, sharing her body heat with the brunette, laying her cheek to Carly's forehead.
All Sam was wearing was her purple fleece hoodie, the mitts Carly had bought for her when winter first started and Sam was still in the planning stages of getting proper gear, and under the hoodie was a long sleeved red turtleneck. Sam was giving Carly her heat. Sam was protecting her from the cold.
Carly smiled. It was times like this that she understood why she didn't always listen to that little voice inside her head when Sam came up with these crazy and spontaneous ideas. It was simply because no matter how wild and crazy the idea might be, Sam would always make it fun. And Sam would always look after her. No matter what they did and no matter what happened, Sam would always keep Carly safe. She trusted in that explicitly.
Sam' breath came out in a icy fog as she exhaled from above Carly.
"Better?" was all Sam asked.
"Yeah," was all Carly could think of to say.