Introduction
I met my girlfriend Maya in the first week of college. She had blown me away the first time I had laid eyes on her. She was a petite light brunette, about 5'2. She had breasts that were perhaps smallish C-cups, but were perky and round and were perfect on her small frame. She had amazingly green eyes that sparkled with a playful energy.
She had come late to a party my roommate was hosting, and plopped herself down on the couch next to me. She laughed and joked with everyone like she had known them for years, and quickly became the life of the party. Emboldened by the anonymity of not knowing anyone at the new college and the nervous energy of sitting next to such a fun person, I engaged in some banter with her and managed to somehow match her energy. We hit it off straight away, and a few weeks later we were dating.
One of the things I admired about her most was she was so comfortable with who she was. She never chased the hottest guy, or tried to be the most popular girl. She was living her own life in her own way, and her enthusiasm and honesty had just been something that everyone clicked with and had been drawn to.
At the time of the barbeque, we had had a fun 2 years. Maya had continued to be the life of every party she went to. She had been popular all throughout her life, but had not ever belonged to an individual clique so she somehow managed to find a way to vibe with everyone she met. I had tagged along, and although I had tried to keep up with her, I couldn't make myself as extroverted as her. Sometimes I managed to match her energy, but often I'd hang back and let her shine. It didn't really matter though, she said. She loved coming back home to me and saw me as a safe space where she could just chill and enjoy some simple and quiet downtime.
At the start of our 3rd year Maya and I moved into a new house near college. It was a huge 3 story house with a back that was fully glass and opened up to a large patio and pool with a big barbeque. The place was amazing and I was excited to start building a life with Maya from there. We decided to have a house warming party and invited about 30 of our friends. Of course, most of them were her friends. I had made a few friends in college, but I wasn't as sociable as she was.
At about 12pm our friends slowly started coming in. Music blared, I fired up the barbeque, and we all had a great time jumping in and out of the pool.
By 5pm, everyone had gotten comfortable being at the house and had decided to settle in the lounge room. There was a large white sofa that formed 3 sides of a square. It fit about 8 people. A smaller light grey sofa which was completely detached formed the final side of the square with ample space to walk either side and sat 2, maybe 3 people.
'His' Entrance
A group of Maya's closer friends were all sitting down on the sofas with Maya and myself on the grey sofa enjoying a lively conversation when another group of guests arrived. Amongst them were Kate and a male friend she had brought along. Kate had been a friend of Maya's from elementary school, and had been by Maya's side ever since. I greeted Kate and her male friend, and Kate gave me a cursory smile and small 'Hi' but quickly turned her attention back to Maya. I didn't recognise the male friend, and it didn't look like anyone else did either. He was tall with dark brown hair and greyish blue eyes and muscular, but not in a bodybuilder sort of way. He had a confident but calm air to him that drew people in. I felt a little emasculated standing in front of him and quietly hoped he wasn't going to be a regular in our friendship group.
'Congrats on the new house! This is amazing!' Kate exclaimed as she walked in.
'You're late! I'm so glad you finally made it though. It isn't a party without you here' Maya returned. Maya looked at the male friend and then welcomed him, throwing her arms around him in a welcoming embrace. She then looked at Kate questioningly, as if to say 'How could you not tell me about your new boy?'
Always on the same page, Kate countered 'This is Ben! He's just transferred in and he doesn't know anyone. I'm just showing him around but we're not together at all. Just friends.'
Ben laughed and said 'Kate has been a great guide so far, but I'm glad to be here. Beautiful house, even more beautiful host. If I had known I would meet you tonight I would have dressed up'.
Maya blushed and smiled. After a short pause, she remembered that I was standing next to her and turned to me. 'This is Andy. This is his house we're at'.
Ben looked me up and down and smiled but didn't say a thing. He turned back to Maya and said 'I'm just glad to be here to meet you. I'm looking forward to a good party'.
Was this guy kidding? I was standing right there. He might have just been playing nice, but it felt a little bit inappropriate to say right in front of the boyfriend. I also noticed that Maya hadn't introduced me as her boyfriend. She had never been a flirt, and never had given me any reason to worry about her, so I thought it was a little odd but I didn't say anything. This was a party and I just wanted to have a fun night.
Maya returned 'Well, we're all just over here' and gestured to the group of couches where everyone was sitting. 'Let me introduce you to everyone. By the way, It's probably time to start cooking dinner right? Do you mind?' she asked me, giving me her irresistible smile that I couldn't resist.
The Start of the Flirting
I started up the barbeque again and put some meat on to get cooking. Meanwhile, Maya sat back down on the grey sofa. She had left space for me when I finished, but Kate had gone and sat at the end of the big white sofa, leaving no space for Ben to sit down. Maya motioned for Ben to come and sit next to her, so he moved over and sat. He was so close that they were thigh to thigh, but Maya didn't seem to mind. He leaned back and spread his arms back and down so that they were supporting his body weight whilst Maya sat straight up. She looked tiny compared to his outstretched arms.
Remembering how flirty Ben had been as soon as he walked in, I felt a little uncomfortable seeing that, but I closed my eyes and told myself not to worry. They were just sitting together, and it wasn't a big deal. I knew that deep down I wished I could be as manly as Ben was, but Maya loved me so I just needed to be cool. I wasn't worried about Maya, I was just a little jealous of how confident Ben was about himself.
I tried to concentrate on the music playing in the patio, but in the corner of my mind I could see Ben and Maya both talking animatedly, leading the group conversation. It seemed to be going really well, and everyone seemed to be laughing at the things that Ben was saying.
I hadn't been able to really match Maya's energy as the life of the party since we first met, so I was a little jealous seeing this. I could match Maya's energy for a while, but Maya would always need to bounce her energy off various people to sustain the party's lively and fun atmosphere. Ben seemed to be able to vibe with her effortlessly. I looked over at the pile of raw meat I still had to cook impatiently and silently cursed at how long it was going to take to cook all of it.
I finished another batch of meats and then looked over at Ben and Maya. Ben was now sitting up straight, and Maya was sitting on the couch cross-legged, with her knees overhanging his legs and resting on them. Ben made something and placed his hand on her to demonstrate something. Everyone laughed at whatever funny joke he had just made, but he didn't take his hand off Maya's shoulder. He said something else and then moved his hand to her thigh, just above her knees to demonstrate something else, and again, left his hand on her thigh afterwards. Maya shifted in her seat to cross her legs on the sofa more comfortably. Ben lightly squeezed Maya's thigh but didn't remove his hand.
What the hell is with this guy? Don't touch my girlfriend! There was still a some meat to cook, but I figured people could just cook their own if they wanted more. I really wanted to step in between Maya and Ben and whatever was going on.