He was a little upset, probably more than just a little. It had just been 2 months since his marriage, his friends however still chose to tease him. Poke him, on how beautiful his wife was, he didn’t like it. He felt jealous and insecure. He hadn’t been the center of attention before his marriage. Rather he seldom found himself amongst the people he was now with. Maybe it all changed with his marriage, maybe it all changed when he married a beautiful young woman.
‘Come on man, drink. We have to get another round’ shouted someone in the group gulping down a glass half filled with scotch.
He was not keen on drinking too much, being a social drinker he held on to his glass just to accompany the office mates who had dragged him along for a night out.
‘Let me call my wife. I will be right back’ he said as he started to walk towards the restroom in a bid to avoid succumbing to the pressure.
‘Honey’ he screamed on the phone, unable to hear his own voice subdued by the loud music of the club he was in.
‘Hi’ responded a faint voice over the phone, he was barely able to hear it.
‘I can’t hear you, I was just calling to tell you that I will be late coming home. Don’t wait on me’ he wasn’t sure if she understood what he said. He repeated himself a couple of times, his words jumbled. He held the phone close to his mouth as he spoke and then to his ear when trying to hear her back. In this motion of moving the phone, there was no one time he could speak as well as hear her.
‘I will text you just in case’ he shouted as someone opened the door of the restroom which had been keeping the sound of the DJ’s exploits a bit dimmed.
He fumbled with his phone as he texted her,
‘Sorry for the last minute notice, I am out with friends. Will be late coming back home. Love you, kisses‘
‘What are you doing here?’ yelled his office mate as he dragged him out back to the bar where everyone else was.
‘Come on now, finish your drink’ said someone and he found himself being forcefully fed whatever was left in his glass. He pushed the hand away as the alcohol dripped down from his chin. His face turned red, his throat sour, he shook his head and screamed.
‘Aaaahhh’, his voice however was lost in the sound as someone ordered another round of drinks.
‘I think I have had enough’ he said in a bid to make them stop.
‘Enough! Already? We have just started my friend’ came a revelation with an assuring pat on his shoulder.
‘You are in for a whole night of fun. You never go out! Now that we have you hanging out with us, we won’t let you go easy.’ and was handed the next round, he couldn’t even register his protest.
‘So how’s the marriage treating you?’ came an inquiry. He was rather bemused by the query. He hardly knew about any of the guys he was hanging out with, he didn’t even knew few of their names.
‘It has been good’, He responded not wanting to speak of it in detail. But his effort to move over the topic was of little use.
‘I am sure it is. Your wife is smoking hot’, Startled how can anyone talk about his wife like this and that too to him. He stared into the guys eyes, but no one else cared. They were all drunk.
‘Is this why these guys have called me, to talk about my wife’ he asked his only friend present there.
‘Chill bro, these guys are like this. Look, hey Sam, I saw your wife in the Mall yesterday entering Victoria Secrets, maybe she was trying on some lingerie’ and laughed hysterically
‘She better be, looks like all the hours in the gym are paying off’ Sam too laughed
‘See, nobody takes these rants seriously. It’s all in plain fun’ defending the jokes.
Whatever the case be, however the guys were used to joking about each other’s wives. He wasn’t used to it and didn’t like it either. He wanted to storm out of the club that very moment, he wasn’t used to such atmosphere. Choosing to be a loner rather than talking rubbish about someone else’s personal affairs.
It was at that moment that his phone beeped, his wife’s name popped up on the screen. She had responded to his text.
‘Ok honey, Alisha had asked me to come to her place, I’ll go there.
You enjoy your Friday night.
XOXO :*‘
He wondered what to do now, his wife won’t be home if he went back. It won’t be right to ask her to stay at home now she too had made some plans. He decided to stick around for some more time and then leave so that it doesn’t look like he is leaving as a reaction to the jokes.
‘Bottoms up!’ cheered someone. He decided to join so that he is not once again forcefully fed his drink.
He knew he had gone past his usual quota of drinks and was already feeling a bit delirious. He wanted to stop but the bar tender had already poured the next round of drinks on someone’s instructions.
‘Stop!’ shouted someone, he felt relieved, maybe better sense prevailed and they are deciding to stop drinking.
‘Shots first’, he was out of luck, there was no stopping to this madness. The bar tended placed a series of shot glasses on the bar and he found himself sandwiched between two guys scrambling for space.
‘To this night of ultimate fun and pleasures’ everyone cranked their glasses and gulped their drinks and sucked onto the lemon slice. He shook his head vigorously just as the taste of tequila was shaking him inside. His throat burned for an instant and then he sucked hard on the lemon slice.
He wondered, what pleasures the guys were talking about. This night is getting crazier by the minute.
‘I think I have had enough. I need to leave.’ he said to his friend.
‘What? Already? You need to relax. You are thinking too much. Just this one time will you let things just flow, give yourself a break. Not everything needs to be in control all the time’ his friend fought back.
‘But I don’t think I belong here. This is not for me. I think I will act stupid if I drink any more’ he put down his case
‘So what? Act stupid, that’s fun too’ his friend dragged him onto the dance floor.
The others were already dancing there, they had been interacting with a group of women for a while and started dancing with them.
‘Come on man, help me get her friend away from the blonde’ one of the guys pulled him towards two women dancing on one side of the dance floor.
‘No, I am married’, he resisted.
‘So what? So am I. There is nothing bad in dancing with a few women even if you are married. Come on before someone else gets to them’ he was still trying to resist being pulled.
But they were already late as two men made their move towards the women.
‘Oh come on, I had been eyeing her for a while now’ his colleague let go of his hand.
He didn’t have anything to say, he felt relieved but not his colleague.
‘What’s the problem with you, can’t you have a bit of fun’ he could sense the anger in the voice.
‘I am married, this is not right for me’ he justified his actions
‘Don’t you think your wife would have danced with anyone ever? Have you danced with girls before your marriage?’ he was offended by the question.
How dare did someone talk in a derogating manner about his wife. He was furious. But that was not all, He was being questioned if he ever danced with a girl even before marriage. He was not all that regular going to clubs, he did hang out with his college friends but they were usually guys. His interactions with girls were pretty limited before his marriage. And whenever he did hang out with them, he wasn’t skilled enough to land a beautiful girl to dance with.
He stood lost in his thoughts when his colleague shoved him back to the bar.
‘Have a drink and put those balls back on’, he felt embarrassed on being spoken with like this and gulped the whole drink in one go.
‘That’s what I am talking about. You need to put on your man shoes and get into the game. Don’t you think your wife had fun before marriage? She is so beautiful, I don’t have a doubt that she would have scored many guys before marriage. She could have chosen anyone.’ Came one comment after another
There was no way he was going to be let go easily. The peer pressure of proving his worth was developing. But he was not this way, his morality challenged him but his better sense failed to prevail over the challenge he was put across.
‘I can get any girl I desire’ he said, or maybe it was the alcohol in his veins that was talking.
‘Yes you can, that’s what I have been talking about’ came some encouragement
But there was still something that was stopping him, pulling him back. He was married now, if it was before marriage it would have been ok but it wasn’t the right thing to do now.
‘I am sorry, I am married. I can’t do this’ he said, dejected, unable to prove his worth.
‘Darn! You are not going to have any fun. Let me drop you off then’ his colleague signaled to the others that they were leaving. He didn’t have the courage to look at them and face the shame of telling them why they were leaving. They left the club and got into the car parked outside. He was inebriated, unaware of his surrounding or what was going on. It wasn’t long before the car stopped, he hadn’t shared his address and his house was not at such a short drive from the club.
‘Come on out’ he was dragged out of the car, the street was crowded. He wasn’t home, the noise from another club became prominent as they walked towards it.
‘Where are we going’ he asked
‘I know you were feeling shy in front of all those guys from office, so I brought you to this club. I have been here earlier, the chicks are easy. Follow my lead and I will get you laid’ smiled his colleague.
He didn’t want to go in, that was not the reason why he didn’t approach any woman in the previous bar. But he was too drunk to leave the only company he had. He followed into the club. A barely clad waitress offered them shots, the colleague paid and they drank.
‘This will give you some mojo. Now follow me on to the dance floor’ said his colleague
This was a much smaller club than the one they were in previously, packed to the core. Bodies brushed against each other as they made their way to the dance floor. The DJ played the beats just next to the floor. The speakers sent waves he could feel on his skin.
‘I need a drink’ he said in another attempt to flee the scene, or at least the dance floor.
‘Ok, don’t be long’ he heard a faint voice as he had already started walking towards the bar.
The bar was crowded, there seemed to be more people in this club than the previous one. The bar itself wasn’t that huge, the bar tenders hustled from one end to another. Plethora of bottles of liquor in the backdrop, he couldn’t remember what to order.
‘Jack on the rocks’ he said to the bartender. He had decided to drink it slowly so that he doesn’t have to go back to the dance floor but his colleague kept signaling him to come back.
‘What are you doing? Why are you not coming to the dance floor?’ his colleague came to take him to dance
‘No, I don’t want to do this’ he blurted out
‘Do what? Have some fun? I didn’t want to say this to you, but I have no choice. Do you think you are the only one your wife would have slept with? She must have had one night stands before marrying you. You tell me how many one night stands have you had? Did you even sleep with anyone else than your wife? I am giving you a chance to balance the scores, it will take some time but at least you will be one up’ said the colleague, he could sense the angst in the voice.
He wanted to beat him up for speaking like this about his wife. But there was something within him that believed it to be true. His wife indeed was beautiful, sexy. She was outgoing, she had so many friends. There was every chance that she would have had an affair or two before marriage. He had always doubted that, but he never had an affair. She was the only one he had been with, ever.
Isn’t it justified that I too should have been with someone else if she has been with someone else, he questioned himself.
‘What the fuck! Let’s do it’ he said in a burst of emotion.
‘A drink first?’ rhetorically asked his colleague
‘Bottoms up’ he said as they drank another round of scotch
Intoxicated, he stumbled and almost fell making his way to the dance floor. His colleague had already befriended a couple of women.
‘You take the one with her back towards us, I’ll take the one on the right’ his colleague signaled as they approached the women
No introductions were made as he moved with his body facing her back. Her hair reminded him of his wife, black as the darkness of the night. Maybe it was the guilt of doing something wrong that made him think of his wife, a bid by his mind to make him stop. Intoxicated, he moved towards her, their bodies against each other, moved with the music, grinding, forming an ‘8’ with their movement. His hands placed on her inner thighs. He moved them up to her waist, his hand reaching inside her top, she didn’t mind it. He took his hands out and kept moving up, groped her breasts and kissed her on the neck. She turned her head around and bit his lips. He moved his hands down to her waist, his fingers reaching out into her jeans as their lips were locked and tongues entangled. They kissed passionately, they kissed as there was no one there on the dance floor but them. They kissed still dancing on.
‘Come on, her friend has a place up in the building’ his colleague whispered in his ear’ there was a little element of doubt still in his mind, about what he was going to do. But was so much into it that there was no looking back, with the added impact of liquor, his reasoning was questionable.
The two women held his colleagues hands as they stormed out of the club, he ran behind them, afraid he will lose track of them if he fell too far behind. They led him to an alley that had a side entrance to a building. It wasn’t a skyscraper, maybe four or five stories tall. He followed them onto the stairs. The other woman unlocked a door on the second floor.
He saw the other woman took his friend into one of the bedrooms as he entered the apartment, while the woman he was dancing with was entering the other bedroom. He followed her and closed the door behind him. She hadn’t switched on the light, it was dark but not completely. The light from the street lamp dimly lit up the room.
She jumped on to the bed, he followed her lead and jumped on next to her. They kissed with such energy that they moved from one end of the bed to another, rolling over each other. This was the first time they were face to face but not enough life fell on them. She moved back and broke the buttons of his shirt and took it off, he slid her top as she raised her hands to ease the act. He unbuckled her bra and slid it off as well. They kissed again, their bodies pressed against each other. His heart was pounding, shivers went down his spine. He rolled over her and moved down towards her waist. Unbuttoned her jeans and tried to slide them of her legs. It wasn’t easy as they hung on tight to her waist. She moved her hands down to help him take them off. He noticed the pink panty as her jeans came off, color coordinated with her bra that he had taken off. Not wasting a moment he took them off as well. She rolled over him and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and put her hands inside his boxers. She pulled her hands out and slid off his jeans and boxers. He rolled over her again, their bare bodies brushed. He massaged her and kissed her like he will never let go. She bit him on the neck, hard enough to make him cry, but all he felt was pleasure. She rolled back on over him and they made love, or rather shared the passion, relished the amorous delight as their bodies became one.
He woke up in the morning, not sure when he fell asleep. But he was sure of one thing, he had indeed slept with the woman lying on the bed, her bare back facing him. He promptly got out of the bed, naked. The bed sheet was wrapped around the woman’s body.
‘What have I done?’ he said to himself with utmost regret. He felt ashamed of his actions. He felt disgusted on having cheated on his wife. His head felt heavy, he shook it to gain some sense. Hung over from last nights over drinking, he found it troublesome even to look for his clothes. The guilt of his actions still hung over his head, like a sword ready to decapitate him. He gathered all his clothes and took baby steps towards the door, he didn’t want to wake her up.
The thoughts of his wife finding about his actions were weighing heavily on his head, compounded by his own inner remorse of having conducted himself in the paramount derogatory manner. He put back his clothes and wondered if he could just leave. No matter how bad his actions already were, will be it decent to leave a woman alone in bed after having spent the night with her? He was perplexed with question about his own ill fate and the manner in which he should treat the women he lustfully spent the night with.
‘What is the right thing to do?’ he was not sure of anything now. He had already made so many wrong choices that he didn’t want to add any.
Just then he heard the noise of a door opening, before he could think of anything his mind sent him the signal to flee. His first reflex was the leave the apartment and he ran as hard he could down the steps, out of the building. His head down in shame, tears made their way through his eyes onto his cheeks. He had committed a sin that could change his life forever and for what, a one night stand?
He wondered how will he ever be able to face his wife again, how will he ever be able to face himself. How will he be able to tell her that he loves her and make love? He was still running, short of breath, not sure where he was heading. His head hurt, his legs were tired, he was about to fall down any moment now.
He signaled a taxi to stop, got into it and asked him to drive. The cab driver asked where, he wasn’t sure what to say, how could he go back to his home like this. He asked him just to keep driving. He searched his pocket to see if he had enough money when his hand felt something. It was a chain, he took it out in his palms. It had a locket tied to it in the shape of the heart. He had seen this locket before. The faint memory of last night started coming back to him. He remembered how a chain clung from the woman’s neck and kept hitting against his face. She took it off in an aggressive manner, maybe it broke. But that was not that he remembered upon seeing the locket. He remembered gifting a locket to his wife that looked just the same. He turned the locket around in his palm, it read,
‘Harry loves Maya‘
He was dumbstruck, the locket read his name and his wife’s. He had his wife’s locket in his hand. How could it be, more of last night started coming back to his memory. The woman he had been with was almost as tall as his wife, her hair of the same color. It came to him, that the woman he had spent the night with was his wife. He gave a sigh of relief, relieved of the remorse of having committed an evil. He felt saved by the hand of God, he had not cheated on his wife.
His relief was however short-lived, he was saved but he realized that it was not just him but his wife as well who indeed had a one night stand. He knew it was the first time for him, but how could he be sure that it was the first time for his wife as well. Now, he could never be sure. Lives will change forever due to his attempted One night stand.
