Authorâs note: This short story (meaning there will be no follow up chapters) is for all those whoâfrom some of the feedback I get, apparently feel disenfranchised by cheating white wife stories.
This story could just as easily be titled âBetter Friends Acquiredâ, or even âTom, Dick, Harry, and Jackâ, but both titles would be getting way ahead of things. So, to keep from losing you entirely, I think it would be better if I started from a point closer to the beginning.
My boyfriend had lost me; he just wasnât aware of it yet. In fact, until I ran into my own version of the âFantastic Fourâ, I wouldnât have dreamed it possible that he could have ever lost me. But, this is the crux of the story, so I best get at it.
It all started one evening when Aaron, my boyfriend at the time, stood me up. It wasnât intentionalâhe had to catch a flight to clear up some problem a manager down in Brazil couldnât deal with, but it still ticked me off⌠more than it probably should have. You see, this was the fourth time in three weeks that Aaron had been called out of town to âhandleâ something that, apparently, no one else could.
Of course, being his companyâs lead troubleshooter, this sort of thing comes with the territory. But, when a woman is all dressed up and ready to get out and party some on a Saturday night, being told at the last minute (via cell phone, while her boyfriend is already in the air and itâs too late to even complain) that sheâs going to have to stay home (by herself) is generally not taken real well. Especially if the woman in question is a healthy 29 year old blonde, very nicely put together, who is considered more than fairly attractive by many men, with all the normal wants and needs of a woman this age. Most especially when those wants and needs center on getting herself (to put it bluntly) fucked and fucked, then fucked some more, until she has a little trouble walking the next morning.
And, this was my exact mood when I had wished Aaron a safe trip (with an absolutely pitiful pout clearly evident in my voice, of course) and hung up. Then, I had cursed him. âDamnit!â I had stormed around the living room, kicking the expensive furnishings, tossing velvet throw pillows everywhere. âGodâfuckingâdamn him!â I even threw his golf clubs out on the balcony. Even though I seriously considered doing it, I hadnât pitched them over the rail into the pool twenty stories below. Iâve got more sense than that. Guys will tolerate a temper tantrum, but putting a serious fuck on a full set of Taylor Madeâs and a custom leather bag, can get a girl in some real deep shit.
My temper finally vented, I had slumped onto the disheveled couch. But, my anger was still there. âWell, he can just kiss my peaches and cream ass if he thinks Iâm staying home while heâs having a high olâ expense account time down in Rio!â So, I dug in my purse for the name of the club across down that a girlfriend had given me. She had said it was a hot place, good tunes, drinks that werenât watered down and packed with good looking guys who were willing to pay for those expensive drinks in exchange for a dance⌠and maybe a little come-on that would let them think they might get lucky tonight.
Now, Aaron knocking down a real healthy nine figure yearly salary trouble shooting, I wasnât about to jeopardize my relationship with him (Iâm no fool) but I figured that a little harmless dancingâalong with maybe some misleading flirtingâcouldnât hurt. Could it?
I sure as hell didnât think so, and forty-five minutes later I was pulling into the parking lot of the club. For being on âthe wrong side of the tracksâ it seemed like a very upscale club; intimately lit, a very good three piece combo up on the stage playing mellow jazz, and a large mixed crowd, but not a boisterously loud one⌠just the sort of place Aaron would have enjoyed bringing me to. âToo bad heâs not along,â I said under my breath as I wove my way between the dancers to a small table against the back wall.
I ordered a double vodka gimlet, and three drinks arrived at my tableânone of which I had to pay for; three different guys had picked up my tab. Now this was my kind of place⌠real friendly. I looked around and picked out my three benefactors; a stereotypical lounge lizard, complete with a mint-green leisure suitânot worth my time, even though I perfunctorily toasted him with my drink; a preppy sort of guyâmildly interesting, even with his modishly long hairâI toasted him as well; and a darkly handsome guy sitting in a nearby corner booth with three similarly complexted friends.
Now, I said âdarkly handsomeâ to keep from stating the clichĂŠ term Black. I am not a prejudiced personâfar from it, but I had never been intimate with a black guy before. This didnât stem from any aversion to black men, or from some archaic belief against mixing of the races, I simply had never been attracted to any black guy I had previously met. But, this guy could certainly change all of that⌠if I allowed it to happen, of course.
I toasted my darkly handsome benefactor and received four smiling salutes in return. Yep, this was a real friendly place all right and I toasted all of them right back.
I had apparently come in near the end of the set because a few minutes later the combo took a âpause for the causeâ. Next thing I knew, four more double vodka gimlets were arriving at my tableâall from the same tableâalong with a note asking if I would care to join their table. I looked around, saw that there were other interracially mixed tables and decided âWhy not?â The four Black guys (Now that Iâve used it once already, I might as well continue using the term) all looked pretty up scaleâcasually dressed in slacks and polo shirts, no obvious thugs in the lot. It certainly beat the hell out of sitting and drinking all by myself.
I picked up a second drink and, with a drink in each hand, I walked over to their table. âIâm afraid I had to leave a few behind,â I said. âI only have two hands.â
âAnd very pretty hands they are,â the guy in the middleâthe one who had sent the original drink my wayâsaid. He snapped his fingers and three of the other three guys leapt to their feet and went to fetch my left behind gimlets. âPlease, sit down, Miss...â
âMarjorie,â I replied and sat down. âMargie, for short.â The guys returned with my drinks and two of them slid into my side of the booth; forcing me to slide around until I was, for all intents and purposes, smack in the middle of a group of black men. This made me a little nervous, to say the least. To cover this, I asked, âSo, whatâs the party for?â
âWell, Margie For Short,â the guy to my left said with a friendly smile, âitâs my birthday. By the way, Iâm Tom. The guy on the other side of you is Dick. Next to him is Harry and then thereâs Jack the Loser.â
Loser? Tall and lanky, 24 maybe 25, clean cut, wearing a pale yellow polo shirt, the guy across from Harry certainly didnât look like a loser. He was really quite good looking.
âI shot six strokes behind everyone else today,â Jack supplied before I could ask. âErgo, Iâm the loser.â
I smiled. âI see, so it was a round of golf and drinks for your birthday. â I lifted my glass. âHappy birthday, Tom.â
âMuch happier since you decided to join the party, Margie.â He clinked glasses with me. âActually, the golf is a weekly thing; my birthday just happened to fall on it.â
I took a sip of my drink and asked, âSo, did you win?â
âHarry took the pot; three C notes.â Tom shook his head sadly. âYouâd think a guy would be allowed to win on his 30th birthday.â