When the knock on the door came I was still in the kitchen slicing up mushrooms and peppers for the spaghetti sauce I was preparing for that night's dinner. Sara, my wife, came out of our bedroom to answer it humming some tune that I couldn't recognize. She had been in a good mood all day anticipating our next door neighbor Abby coming over for dinner that evening.
"Luke," my wife called out to me as she let Abby in our apartment, "break away from your sauce and open up a bottle of wine."
I could hear the two women exchanging greetings and going straight to small talk as I searched for the corkscrew. Part of the conversation involved around Abby again apologizing for the kiss she and I shared at her Christmas party a few weeks back. My wife, of course, laughed it off. She thought it was both funny and in a way called for since it freed Abby from the unwanted attentions of one of her coworkers.
Up until a few weeks before Christmas Abby had been living with her boyfriend Mark for a couple of years. We all met up about the same time and since our ages were roughly equivalent became friends. That is until Mark left Abby for another woman. The breakup was messy and once the dust settled Abby found herself living alone in a city far from home.
During that time Sara began looking after Abby like a sister going as far to invite her over to our apartment every weekend when she didn't take the long drive home to see her folks. Some guys might resent their wives taking such an interest in one of her friends but I didn't mind. My wife Sara was an intoxicating blond beauty and Abby was the same except for having short raven black hair. Call me selfish and egotistical but having two women of such beauty in my home had provided me with a wealth of stupid fantasies.
With the sauce needing to simmer and the wine bottle open I poured three glasses and took them into our small living room. Sara and Abby were sitting on opposite ends of the couch discussing something about the coming weekend. Sara was dressed in a loose blouse and tight fitting yoga pants while Abby was in the business casual dress she had worn to work that day. Both were stunning and in their own way and I tried not to grin like a stupid teenager because of it.
"Here you go Abby," I said offering her the first glass.
"Thanks," she said while smiling shyly back at me. After giving my wife the next glass I took a seat on the bean bag that was the only other place to sit in the living room careful not to spill my wine.
"So Abby," Sara begins to ask, "has that guy bothered you anymore at your office?"
***
With the news about Abby breaking up with her longtime boyfriend making the rounds at her work a guy by the name of Howard started asking her out. At first Abby just politely said no, telling him that it was way too soon think about dating again but he persisted. It was during one of the nights Abby had dinner with us that she opened saying that the guy wouldn't leave her alone and with the office Christmas party approaching she knew Howard was going to cause a scene.
"Here's what we'll do," Sara said, "this Howard has never seen Luke here so he'll be your new boyfriend at the party."
At first Abby refused saying that was way too much to ask of Sara and me. But my wife persisted and the night of the party I walked down to Abby's apartment dressed in my best sports coat to escort her to the office shindig.
It was a typical boring affair with weak drinks and bad food but it allowed everyone a chance to relax. During the party Abby introduced me to Howard and far from being some dangerous stalker he actually look like a nice guy who only faults were poor social skills along with looking a little too nerdy. Unfortunately, Howard wasn't convinced that I was Abby's new boyfriend, and while I was talking with someone else across the room renewed his attempts to date Abby.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Abby said to me, "he's starting to look desperate and its beginning to scare me."
"Do you trust me?" I asked Abby.
"Why yes," she answered slightly confused not understanding the question.
I grabbed her by the hand and we began to casually stroll around the conference room. Once I caught sight of Howard, we sat down and I began staring deeply into Abby's eyes and stroking her hair.
"What are you doing?" she asked uncomfortably.
"I'll solve the Howard problem if you only trust me for a few minutes." I said in return before beginning to kiss her. At first Abby was both scared and stiff but within seconds understood what I was doing. Her kiss became deep and relaxed. I'm not going to lie, she was a good kisser and I savored the taste of her tongue. I could also tell she was enjoying mine.
When we broke apart I saw her face flush from a combination of embarrassment and pleasure. Others at the party had noticed as well, including Howard. The poor guy looked crushed and soon drifted off. I didn't let the issue drop, we walked around for another hour clinging to each other. The story I told Abby was that we had to make it look good for the others. She didn't really put up much of a fight. Mark's leaving had hurt her deeply and it was easy to tell she wanted companionship and the touch of another human being. I admit, I had my own selfish reasons and made sure we made out several more times.
Driving back to the apartments after the party Abby was feeling extremely guilty since Sara was her best friend. She was also rather upset with me, figuring I had pressed the issue too much. I tried to explain that Sara had suffered through her own Howard and would understand.
"Tell you what Abby, just to clear your conscious lets both tell Sara, that way you'll know there is nothing to be bothered about."
We did and not only did Sara laugh about the whole incident she told Abby my plan was probably the only way a guy like Howard would have gotten the message. A couple of cups of coffee later she goes home to her apartment while Sara drags me to our bedroom.
***
"No, Howard hasn't bothered me again," Abby says while sipping her wine, "in fact a couple of my female coworkers have asked me how Luke is in bed."
This sends the women into a fit of giggles and I then decided to take my leave and finish up our dinner. Abby presence in our apartment over the months had become routine when everything was ready we all took our seats at the kitchen table and tore into the spaghetti like ravenous wolves. All told, two bottles of wine were emptied during the meal and another was opened as the ladies went back into the living room to relax as I cleaned up everything.
The apartment Sara and I share is small allowing anyone in the kitchen to overhear any normal conversation. So after a few minutes when the two women started talking in hushed voices I figured they had started on a topic I didn't really need to hear. However, after I finished with the dishes I walked into the living room and plopped back down on the bean bag not really caring if I disturbed their private conversation.
Abby and Sara were again on opposite ends of the couch with their feet resting on the coffee table. It became immediately evident to me that I had in fact interrupted something. Sara had this feral smile on her face like a cat about to eat a canary while Abby's smile seemed one more of embarrassment.
"Okay, I said, "what did I do wrong now?
"Nothing honey," Sara said leaning over to put her wine glass on the coffee table. "We were just talking and Abby let it slip..."
"I was just saying," Abby interrupted appearing clearly drunk and uncomfortable, "that the last time I had any physical contact with another human being was with you at the Christmas party and that I'm dying to feel someone touch me."
It was a provocative statement coming from Abby. Since Sara and I had come to know her and Mark, she was the one who was the most reluctant of our little group to share personal information. The only reason she was doing this now was the wine and Sara encouraging her.
"Abby honey," Sara says still smiling like a cat, "since you and Luke told me what happened I've had this strange curiosity about how you two looked making out. Call it bizarre but I can't shake the image of my best friend and husband kissing. I couldn't get you and him to show me so I could get it out of my mind?"
Abby leans back on the couch and laughs slightly, "That would be wrong so many way but frankly I want someone to touch me so bad I'm actually considering it."
"Don't hold back on my account sweetie," Sara says standing up, "you've had some bad breaks. I still want to see what you two look like together. I'm going to the bedroom for a little while, consider my offer open until I get back, if nothing happens we'll all forget anything was even mentioned." Sara then looks over at me and winks, then walks down our short hall to the bedroom.
I slowly get up from the bean bag and take a seat in the middle of the couch. "This is crazy," Abby says to me after she empties her wine glass.
"Yeah," I admit, "but I've wanted another chance to kiss you since that night." With that I take her glass and set it on the coffee table
Abby just smiles and says," If I wasn't so drunk I would get up and leave. It's almost as if this has all been planned."
