Adrien sat at the bar, hunched over his drink, his right leg bouncing up and down with nervousness. It had taken him five previous attempts to get here, three drive-pasts (to avoid thinking of himself as an utter coward he'd told himself they were to check out he'd got the right place, right time, right route and to find out where best to park) twice he'd actually pulled into the car park behind the venue but driven out without even stopping, this time it was make or break time - if he hadn't done it now he knew he never would.
He'd even bought new clothes the likes of which those who knew him would never expect him to don, unadorned black baseball cap and t-shirt black cargo pants and Doc Marten shoes; he was usually to be seen in chinos, polo shirt and loafers when not at work where he wore suits, shirts and ties that bore all the right labels.
He'd tried, he really had, he'd truly thought he could make a life with Claudia, she was as career focused as he was, she a top-flight neuro surgeon Adrien an equally well regarded cardiac transplant surgeon, had less parental leanings than himself and neither had complained as their sex life had whittled away to the I-can't-recall-when-we-last-did-so-I-suppose-we-should state of affairs. Not that theirs had ever been a passionate union; if pushed to describe their love-life at its best Adrien would say it was, was what? Satisfying, adequate, ordinary? Probably the latter.
That their relationship had run out of steam, without ever coming close to living together let alone marriage, was proved to him when he'd seen Claudia in a lingering embrace with a man Adrien knew to be an oncology consultant and it hadn't bothered him - quite the opposite he'd felt relieved. It had taken a couple of days for him to summon up the energy to face what came next.
He and Claudia had eaten dinner cleared the table and were sitting finishing their wine when he spoke up,
"So you and Hewitt, has it been a while?"
"Excuse me?"
"Please don't deny it Claudia, it's disrespectful to him at the very least," his voice had been calm, monotonic almost, the brief onslaught which had followed his words had surprised him but he hadn't reacted to it, confirming some of what Claudia had said.
"No, not long. Am I sorry? Well you know what I don't think there's anything to be sorry about do you? It's not like you're madly in love with me is it? Have I broken your heart? I very much doubt it. Christ! You can't even be bothered to get angry, can you even begin to understand how much that
hurts
Adrien?"
"I've had a couple of days to think about it, and I
have
thought long and hard about it since I saw you with him and it dawned on me that neither of us deserves to stagnate like this, just let it go Claudia please."
She'd taken a few moments to centre herself before nodding in reply,
"When do you want me to move my things?"
"Out of the master tonight but otherwise as soon as possible, please leave your keys before you go to work tomorrow."
Adrien sighed as he looked deep into his vodka hoping to find answers, what he got was a question,
"Are you here to fuck or be fucked?" a deeply seductive voice from immediately behind him murmured in his ear.
He'd picked this night as it was described on the website as the club's 'quiet night - a chance to relax, unwind and converse with friends new and old'. The music was a little louder than that of the restaurants he and Claudia had frequented, the beat a little more emphatic, even so 'the voice' really didn't need to be so close - he could feel the body heat of its owner across his back.
Without moving Adrien replied,
"The better question would surely be are you here to fuck
and