"It's that time of year again, Eileen." Kim sounded bright and eager on the phone on this late summer day.
"I know. I've been dreading it, Kim. Can't I just stay home this year?"
"No way! You know you always have fun on Ladies Night Out."
"Actually, you always have fun. I just tag along for the vicarious thrills and so you can have someone to tell your stories to."
"Jeez, Eye. Let's skip this part this year. You object, I cajole, you cave in, I feel guilty. One year I'd like to feel like you actually let yourself go a little and had some fun without making me feel bad about it first."
"Okay, Kim." Eileen tried to sound enthusiastic for her friend. "Where are we headed?"
"Downtown this year, we've worn out the beach...I think I've already fucked all the good-looking guys down there anyway," Kim laughed.
"Who else is coming?" Eileen let Kim do all the arrangements for their annual retreat. The cast of characters changed a bit each time, but Kim and Eileen were the steady center that never skipped a year.
"Same group as last year." Eileen silently winced. That meant screechy Alexa was going to be there as well.
Eileen and Kim had been best friends since high school. Roommates in college, both women had married their college sweethearts. Now in their mid-thirties, they lived in the same neighborhood, had two kids about the same ages. For Eileen, an only child whose parents had passed away long ago, having Kim around was like having a sister. She counted on Kim. Kim made her feel safe. And once a year, maybe as a penance for all the safety, Kim made Eileen go out and take chances, or at least watch while she did.
"Cool!" Eileen lied. "I assume Brit will be here with the 'magic bus' about 6, then?"
"Exactly. I can't wait!"
Eileen was satisfied that she had rescued Kim's mood, and prepared herself for the evening's festivities.
Hours later, as the time neared 11pm, Eileen found herself in a familiar position on ladies night. She was at the big table in the back of the VIP section of the dance club that Kim had selected. While the other ladies got hammered, she was nursing her second drink and watching Kim have fun dancing with two guys. She wondered which Kim would go home with, and how long he would last and what he would do and how big his cock would be. Kim always staggered back into their hotel room sometime the following morning to tell the story, full of lurid details. It was part of the fun for Eileen. Like watching a movie or reading a book, Eileen served as a witness to Kim's fun, but stayed safe in her own suburban lifestyle.
Something, or rather someone, caught Eileen's attention at that moment. At the end of the bar was a handsome man with dark blonde, curly hair. She had noticed him before as he sat and quietly observed the room, but now he was staring fixedly at her. He didn't avert his eyes as she caught his gaze, but instead smiled—or rather smirked—in an arrogant way. Eileen immediately felt flushed and glanced away, trying to involve herself in the conversation of the other ladies at the table.
The next instant he was there, beside her, in his grey three-piece suit, no tie, shirt collar open. Eileen was shocked. He couldn't have made it from across the crowded room that quickly.
He crouched beside her, put his hand on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear. He didn't ask permission, he just did it.
"You can't go on letting your friend lead your life for you." Eileen gaped in astonishment and turned to glare accusingly at him. Had he been spying on them? Was he one of Kim's past conquests?
"What? How? Do you know Kim? Who are you?" she stammered.
He grinned that arrogant smirk again. Filled with utter self-confidence, it gave her no angle of counter attack. "Kim is it? That's your friend's name? And your name is...."
"Eileen," she answered without thinking.