Sybil charmed Kiran with her quirky sense of humor and her sparkling blue eyes. She was utterly captivating, and Kiran knew she had her sights set beyond him. She'd just moved to the city, she told him, and she was tired of having a boyfriend hanging around. She wanted to live precariously just now; to enjoy her youth.
Kiran accepted her offer to be friends.
After he met Sybil, there were other women in Kiran's life - prettier ones, even. A man has needs, and in her role as his friend, Sybil encouraged him to explore his desire. But no woman could set his heart on fire the way Sybil did when she walked into the room.
Kiran couldn't explain why his dreams revolved solely around her. She was exquisite, and yet, when she held perfectly still, she was just and ordinary girl, with freckles on her cheeks and sumptuous curves under her t-shirts and jeans. Yet Kiran could meditate on the heady scent of Sybil's curling dark hair and sparkling blue eyes for hours, and even days. Underneath the veneer of their friendship, Sybil knew that Kiran longed for her, and yet she kept him at arm's length, luxuriating in her freedom.
Kiran played along with her as best he could. He escorted her to bars and clubs and after-hours dance parties all over the city. They met for late breakfasts and even later dinners, and for coffee at any and every hour of the day. Between work and school and Sybil, there was little time for the company of others. There were moments when Kiran was convinced that Sybil might adore him just as much as he did her. One morning as they were walking home from a party, they stopped and sat on a bench to watch the sun rise, and he kissed her, softly, on the temple. Sybil pulled away gently, and in punishment, she ignored him for a week. When she finally called, Kiran was sure of his place in her universe.
"You need to stop this," his best friend said. "She's messing with your head."
"She's my friend," was all Kiran could say - and he kept up his end of their lie, and dreamed of her body entwined with his, at dawn.
After a while Kiran became immune to the string of men Sybil introduced him to - handsome strangers she'd met in class or at work or at the bar. She never kept them for more than a day or two, and neither she nor Kiran ever remembered their names.
And then Marco came along - a Northern Italian who was as charming as Sybil and far more handsome than the other men she'd strung along. Sybil was captivated by Marco, and Marco liked Sybil well enough as a friend. In fact, he quite enjoyed her vivacious flirting and witty repartee. But Marco was gay, and Sybil knew it. She just couldn't stop herself from lusting after him.
Kiran watched as Sybil followed Marco to all of the gay clubs in the city, watched her dance and flirt and wear her flashiest outfits. Suddenly Marco was with Sybil and Kiran everywhere they went; to dinner, to brunch, to coffee at all hours of the day. He watched the sun rise with them at dawn, and Kiran found that he too was charmed by Marco's wit and dry sense of humour. He was also undeniably handsome.
After a week of this, Kiran realized that Sybil had a plan to seduce Marco, and that it involved his own seduction as well. Kiran watched as Sybil initiated contact between he and Marco, dancing between them at clubs, clasping both of their hands as they walked home at dawn, and laying with them in the grass at the park on lazy Sunday afternoons. Kiran reveled in Sybil's touch, and he decided that he would help her to seduce Marco, if it meant that he could share a night with Sybil and feel her naked body against his.
The seduction unfolded naturally enough. Sybil's flirtation had created a giddy chemistry between the three of them, so that when Marco suggested that Kiran and Sybil come back to his apartment one morning after they'd danced all night, they readily agreed. Marco mixed them some gin and tonics, and from his small balcony, they watched the sun rise. Kiran rolled a joint for them to smoke, and they passed it between them as the sun's rays pierced the waking sky, before retreating into the dark haven of Marco's apartment.
Sybil took Kiran's drink from him and placed it on the kitchen counter. She took his hand in hers and pulled him toward the bedroom. Marco went into the bathroom.
