Throughout my life, I'd never been much of a social or outgoing person. It just wasn't my nature. Always the quite kid, I learned to find a kind of vicarious thrill in watching or observing others as they did what I couldn't or wouldn't do.
I had a small, close knit circle of friends I'd known since high school, but that was it. That was enough. We all got along well being outcasts in one form or another, but even among our group I was noticeably less outgoing. They always joked about how much of a recluse I was. Telling me I'd stay single my whole life if I didn't get out more, despite the fact that not one of them had so much as talked to a girl alone. I was a proud smug man the day I showed them all, being the only one in our group to get a girlfriend.
We meet online, talking to each other on message boards for months before we finally met up. She was even more beautiful than the few pictures she'd shown suggested, even funnier in person and all around just amazing to be with! She was everything I could have wanted and I knew from that day I'd make her my wife.
That felt like a lifetime ago now, though it hadn't even been ten years yet. Claire and I had been married for a while now, living together in an apartment while we tried to save for a house. If it were just up to me, we would have already had a a beautiful child together but Claire insisted we own our own place before having kids.
"I just don't want our kids growing up in such a cramped space, without any grass for them to run around on!"
"I know, I know. But it just feels like prices keep rising faster than we can save!" This was an argument we'd had weekly now, but we always just seemed to go in circles.
"We'll figure something out, right?" She leant down to kiss my forehead, before finishing getting changed. "We always do, don't we?"
I leant back on the bed, I'd been ready to go for a good few minutes but Claire was only just throwing her top on. The years had been far kinder to her then they'd been to me. Though, that was certainly because she put in far more effort than I did.
She was a small girl, smaller even than I was which I was secretly thankful for. Her curly brown hair reached down just below her shoulders, and bright blue eyes that just lit up her face. She normally wore glasses but right now they were off, giving me a clear view of the fair line of feckless that crossed the middle of her face.
"Is this top alright, Simon?" She asked me while staring at herself in the mirror. "I like the material but I hate how much cleavage it shows."
Her chest was a point of insecurity that i just never understood. They were large, larger than my head maybe, and so beautifully soft and pale. But as much as I loved them, I did have to admit that on her smaller frame they looked a little out of place. She'd never gone in to it fully but I was pretty sure she got teased for them a lot in high school, and that was why she was spending so much time online like I was.
"You look perfect." I told her. The shirt definitely showed off more cleavage than she usually did, but I didn't think any of the guys would complain. You could almost make out her bra through the white material, but only if you looked really closely.
"Ughh, I knew I should have done that washing earlier." She let out a sigh and then picked up her bag, hitching it to her shoulder. "Let's just go, we're already late."
She walked out first and I followed right behind. Watching her skirt bounce as she skipped out of the apartment. Even in a frustrated mood, she always had a positive energy about her and that went double on game night.
As much as my friends had teased me about Claire not being real when we were dating online, they fully embraced her after they met for real. Our games nights had been strictly guys only but for the last few years they'd been happy for Claire to come. A little too happy maybe.
While it felt like my life had been a whirlwind of change that was only just getting started, the guys seemed to live in a never changing bubble. They still worked their same dead end jobs, still stayed up all night gaming and still hadn't had a single girlfriend between the three of them.
The only thing that's really changed is that they've gotten a bit more desperate. They had always been jealous of me and Claire, but recently their comments and leering had become more prominent. Claire never seemed to notice, but I could see how their stared at her sometimes. It's probably something I should have discouraged or talked to them about by now, but their longing gazes always gave me a kind of confidence boost.
I knew that her wearing a shirt as tight and low cut as hers was would be asking for trouble tonight. I knew that more than ever their horny eyes would be all over her. But I couldn't have known just how much of an effect it would have on them.
"I shouldn't have worn this top." Claire said, crossing her arms over her chest as we walked up to the guys apartment. "I'm already getting looks."
"If anyone is looking, it's only because you're too beautiful to look away from." I told her, wrapping my arm around her waist.
She blushed but didn't say anything else as we climbed up the apartment steps, keeping her arms over her cleavage. She was normal so confident but when it came to her appearance that all just fell apart.
"You think they've cleaned up at all since last time?" Claire asked as we approached their door.
"I'd be willing to be those dishes in the sink haven't even moved a inch." I joked back. We both would have much preferred hosting these nights ourselves, but their were three of them and two of us. It was just easier going over here than for all of them to come to us.
We didn't bother knocking on the door and just opened it, these guys weren't they type to remember to lock it even living in the side of town they did.
"Hey hey look what the cat dragged in." Tom said, leaning back in his chair and making no effort to hide where his eyes were staring. "And what a beautiful cat she is today."
Tom was the tallest and skinniest of the three, and that made him think he was the smoothest. His short curly hair and acne that still persisted on his face didn't help him with the ladies though. Out if our group he was the guy with the next most experience with girls though, and that made the others respect him.
"Come on Tom, don't talk about her like that." Dorian said in that nasally tone he always had. "Clearly she's a fox ya know? A voluptuous vixen."
Dorian fit the basement dwelling nerd archetype to a T. Not only was he on the larger side, but also hygiene seemed to be a concept beyond his grasp. It wasn't even just the smell that was a problem, but his thinning short brown hair was visibly greasy and matted.
"Alright boys settle down." Claire said, relaxing her posture and dropping her arms to her sides. "If anything I'm a beautiful Swan. Flying high in the sky, far, far out of your reach."
I loved knowing she didn't feel ashamed or intimidated by these guys, even with as crass as they were. She knew they were all bark, no bite and wasn't above teasing them right back.
"H-hi Claire." Jimmy said as we took our seats at the table, his voice as quite and meek as he was.
Jimmy was a small guy, smaller than me even and I was already below average. He was the kind of guy that still tucked his shirt out of high school, and would have been even more reclusive than I was if the other guys didn't pressure him to go out with them. To top it all off he even went and got braces on a few months back, which combined with the thick rimmed glasses he wore completed his look as a stereotypical, capital N nerd.
"Oh hi my best friends for almost a decade now, so nice to see you again." I said in a mocking tone. "Oh me I'm doing well, thanks for asking."
"What's that? You're here Simon? Somehow I didn't notice you come in..."
Dorian stared right down Claire's cleavage as he talked, as did all the other guys. Claire was leaning against the table which was already at chest height, having them spill out onto the table and be pushed up by it. She could have sat back a little to avoid it happening, but I knew she liked the attention she'd got here. Especially after getting unwanted looks in public, flaunting a little here seemed to be her way of feeling in control again.
