A short story
I’ve read that in order to be a good writer, you need to write what you know. I wrote a short story today, after getting off the phone with someone. Names have been changed. I will answer no questions about this post. Just letting you know that.
Why would one night of being with someone stay with her for so long? She doesn’t know why, but she has never forgotten that one night. One night of flirting, playing and eventually having hot sex. One night of total connection with someone she least expected it from. One night of feeling chemistry so strong, it almost left her breathless. It happened in April, why can’t she just forget?
They had known each other for almost a year and a half. They had sat outside and had coffee in the mornings almost everyday for that 1.5 years. They had shared laughs, jokes, serious stuff and yet they didn’t really know anything about each other.
Then one night, one of their co-workers and mutual friends was having a house warming party. When she showed up, she saw him in the corner and knew that she would be hanging out with him most of the night. She didn’t really know anyone else and so she figured she’d be safe and stay with someone she did.
As the night progressed and they had drink after drink, they started flirting. It was harmless fun at first and then it started getting a little heated. When the host poured her a glass of tequila, Justin told her that if she could finish that whole cup, he’d be taking her home with him. Amanda told him not to tease her like that and Justin said “Oh, I’m not teasing.”
Amanda wanted to test him. She wanted to see what would happen if he thought she had finished the whole glass. She went outside for a cigarette and when no one was looking, she poured half of it out. After she was done with her cigarette, she went back inside and finished the glass in front of Justin.
He and a few of the other guys were shocked she was still walking, let alone able to hold a conversation with them. She had been drinking quite a bit since she got there and the tequila cemented the fact she was hammered.
After a few minutes, Justin grabbed her hand and said “Come on, we’re leaving.” At that point, Amanda almost panicked. She wanted nothing more than to be with this gorgeous man, but she had a moment of sober thinking. “Aren’t you married?” Justin’s response was “It’s complicated, we’ll talk about that later.”
That was all the justification she needed. “It’s complicated” meant that something wasn’t right, yet she let herself believe that maybe he was separated. Stupid? Maybe, but she was determined not to let this opportunity pass her by. That’s been her problem for years. She was always after that instant gratification when it came to men, damn the consequences of her actions.
She let him lead her outside into the warm night air. They got into his truck and drove away, leaving her car parked at the party. It was a short drive to his house. Her mind was racing, “If he’s bringing me to his house, he HAS to be single, divorced or separated, right?” Hindsight being 20/20, she now knows she was fooling herself and just clinging to hope, that was probably non-existent.
They went into his house and immediately upstairs to the master bedroom. They were kissing and tearing each other’s clothes off. They were all over each other, touching, licking, kissing, caressing. Amanda had not felt this way in a very long time. He seemed to know exactly where she liked to be touched and how.
After their 2 hours of unabashed, hot, animalistic sex, she was sitting on the edge of the bed and saw the shoes; a pair of strappy sandals sitting in the corner by the closet. She felt her heart sinking and knew in her heart. They didn’t talk about that, but they did talk about what just happened.
Justin and Amanda were both shocked it had happened. They had not really gotten to know each other at all over the last year and a half and so when this happened, it was shocking.
He drove her back to her car at the party and kissed her before parting ways. She drove the short distance home, floating on a cloud. She chose to ignore the shoes she saw. She also chose to ignore the feminine hygiene products in the bathroom she saw when she used it.
A few days later, she was at work and realized she couldn’t stop thinking about that night. She left him a note in his mailbox that read “I can’t stop thinking about the other night. Am I the only one?” and left her phone number on there as well.
The next day, she got a call as she was driving home and it was Justin. He told her he had not been able to stop thinking about that night either and he would love to see her again. He called her everyday for a week after that. She was on cloud nine, thinking she had been correct. He was separated or divorced. It was, in her mind, a dream come true. She really liked him.
One day, he called her while she was at work, so she walked outside of her office and they were chatting. While on the phone he told her he had something he needed to tell her. She immediately knew what it was, but she made him say it. After he told her that he was “happily” married, she called bullshit on him and told him that if he was truly “happily” married, that night never would have happened and he would not have been calling her every day for the last week or so.
They talked for a bit more, how they both wanted it to happen again. But Amanda knew she wouldn’t let it happen again. She explained to him that she deserved so much more than what he could give her. He agreed with her and they made a pact to remain friends and never speak of what had happened.
Every morning thereafter, when they would be drinking coffee together with their co-workers, their eyes would meet and sparks would fly. The attraction never went away.
Even when she resigned from her job, preparing to move out of state, the attraction was so strong, she thought she’d choke on it. She cried the morning she said goodbye to him, that was three months ago.
She thinks about him everyday, still. She wonders how he’s doing, how work is going and how his family is. Is it friendship that makes her think of him? Probably not. She’s still attracted to him and she dreams of him often.