Varun had been gone for 3 days now and I was back to the same old routine. I would go for a jog albeit a little late than usual.
I was trying to avoid Jacques after a series of incidences between us. The memories of the stormy evening and the dinner were still fresh.
Once home, I would get back to doing my chores and other work and in the mean time I would laze around.
The memories of the evening kept playing inside my confused little mind again and again. The way he remarked on my breasts, the way he kissed me and the under the table play; the kiss in the living room, the soft squeeze during the selfie and several other instances of our past lingered in my mind till the point I was only thinking of it.
What had emboldened him to do something like this? Was it his nature? When I had first met him he seemed to be a gentleman but now he seemed something else. Was he always like this or had I provoked him?
My silence, my blushes and my smiles perhaps emboldened him. I cursed myself for not stopping him and nipping the whole thing in the bud.
I don't know what came over me when I was with him. From the very first time when I caught him ogling at my cleavage to the evening in my home, I had silently let him, not at once stopping him apart from a rare feeble no.
The more I thought about it, the more I would get turned on. The attention Jacques showered upon me was something that I craved for. A husband away for months, a job that allowed a lot of free time and most of all...loneliness was what I had to deal with. Apart from the women in my building, I mostly had no friends.
Ever since I had moved to Mumbai from my native city, I lost touch with most of my friends. Most women I was friends with were older than me, whether they were colleagues at work or in the building.
Being a married woman, I never really had company of other men even if it was platonic. The Mangalsutra hanging around my neck was the 'Fuck Off' sign that all Indian men read. Jacques not only became my friend but kind of made me feel young again.
When I was with him I didn't feel like a middle aged married woman, I didn't feel like a typical boring school teacher. I felt like the same bubbly twenty year old that I was long ago.
His eyes displayed his craving and that made me feel wanted, desired. Being the object of his desire made my loins tingle. The idea that a handsome young man was attracted to me pushed me towards him. I had slowly started craving him too.
Not that Varun was bad in bed, he was pretty good but our passionate days on his short trips back home didn't compensate for his long absences. I am a woman and I want to feel loved, desired and touched and I want it often.
A couple of more days passed since Varun had left and I stuck to my routine of going late for jogging. After finishing my jog, I stood near the elevator as it came down to the ground floor. When the elevator arrived and the door opened, I saw Jacques standing inside. I was a little startled since I had been avoiding him every since and now he was standing in front of me.
Dressed in crisp formals, he smiled at me as he stepped out of the elevator. He stood in front of me. I wanted to avoid talking to him but one look into his expecting eyes made me stay glued to my position.
"Hi Rhea. I haven't seen you around." He said.
"Yeah....I've been busy." I replied trying to come up with an excuse to avoid him. I couldn't dare tell him why I was avoiding him and I didn't know why I couldn't.
"Your husband has left?" He asked.
"Yeah...been almost a week since he left." I replied to which there was no reaction from him. I was expecting the entire opposite or at least a smirk but got nothing.
"Hey listen; thanks for the wonderful meal the other night. I loved the biryani." He said. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid, having an awkward conversation with him about the evening.
"As you invited me for dinner and served me a delicious Indian meal, I have to invite you for dinner to my place as well and serve you some French food." He said. I was taken aback, not from the invite but from his avoidance of any mention of our under table activities that evening.
"But...my husband had invited you and he isn't here." I replied, throwing a lame excuse to avoid going to his place.
"Well...then we will have to wait for months for that to happen. C'mon, just one simple dinner with a friend won't harm you." He pleaded, trying to coax me into agreeing.
I agreed that a simple dinner won't harm but going to his place and any pre or post dinner activities or initiatives by him could be harmful.
"C'mon Rhea...Tomorrow evening at my place." He pleaded again. I juggled with the idea in my mind for a couple of minutes and decided to say no, a firm no.
"Let me think about it." Was what I replied.
'What the fuck did I just say?' Was what I thought the next moment.
"Okay...if you decide to come, I will be waiting in my apartment tomorrow evening at 9. I hope to see you." He said ecstatically.
I didn't say anything further, bid him goodbye and got into the elevator. The whole way back to my house I kept thinking of what I just said. I cursed myself for betraying myself. I had decided to say no but ended up saying maybe. Fuck!
Now that I had said maybe, then maybe I won't go to his place. The rest of the day was spent in thinking of the same thing. What would this mean? What would happen if I go? What if something happens between us? What would be the consequences? The whole day I kept thinking of the same and by the end of it, I got a headache.
The sun rose the next day but even after a long night's sleep, the questions started pestering me the moment I woke up. I decided not to go for a jog, instead went back to sleep, hoping I would wake up fresh and perhaps all these thoughts would go away by then. I was damn wrong.
I went about doing my chores like cleaning, washing and cooking, checking my watch so very often, counting the minutes before I had to go to his place. I had to make a decision well before that.
If I didn't go then the signal would be clear. He would realize that I wasn't interested in taking matters any further and he'd stop. On the other hand, things could get very awkward between us after my snub and I'd end up loosing a friend, a good one rather.
Apart from Rupali, there was no one in the building of my age besides Jacques. Rupali was a typical Indian housewife who loved to gossip, watch soaps and gossip some more.
The other women in the building were far older than me. They were busy with managing their families, kids and jobs if they had one. With the end of summer vacation a good 4 weeks away, I ended up bored at home.
In spite of my repeated requests and even taunts, Rupali never showed up on the jogging track. The other women did show up but late and even then, they would walk around the track a couple of times before finding a bench in the garden and get busy gossiping and discussing their lives and TV shows.
Jacques was my age, he was progressive thinking and had been a gentleman most of the time. Since he started speaking decent English, our conversations had become meaningful. We would talk about a wide range of things.
He barely knew anyone in the building so we didn't gossip and he never occurred to me as gossiping sorts. We had many things in common like love for western classical music, Hollywood movies and other stuff. So, if I didn't go there tonight, I'd end up loosing all that and also a good working out partner.
I knew he wouldn't do something if I said no. I could go there, enjoy the meal and come back if I resolved and said no to any advances he made. I just had to say no when and if the time came but could I?
I had just a couple of hours to go before the clock struck 9pm. I decided to go for the sake of our friendship and act as I had resolved in the morning. I took a nice, long, cold shower, clearing my mind of all the thoughts.
I walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of the dresser. I untied the towel around me and started wiping my body dry. I unknowingly caressed my pussy. I had shaved it clean before Varun arrived and now a couple of weeks later I had a very sparse growth of hair. I dried and brushed my hair, letting them flow freely.
I picked out a pair of black thongs and a front open lace bra. I gently got in to the thongs and wore them. I turned around to admire my soft, fair buttock. I wore the bra and tied the hooks at the front, capturing my boobs in them and adjusted my boobs inside the cups a little.
I picked out a black chiffon saree with red and golden embroidered border. Accompanying the saree was a black blouse and a black petticoat. I stepped in to the petticoat, tying its knot just below my navel, just above from where my mound would begin. I wore the blouse and then the saree.
I put on some light make, mascara and a red lipstick and a light perfume. I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my clothes a little. With the pallu resting on my arm, I looked beautiful, graceful yet very sexy.
I stepped outside my apartment and locked it. I looked around the corridors of the building through the duct to check if anyone could see me. Once I checked that no one was around, I walked inside the elevator. Throughout the short elevator trip, my mind kept saying 'don't go...don't go' and yet after the elevator door opened, I walked to his door.
I checked my watch and it was 9pm sharp. I rang the door bell and he opened it immediately. He smiled at me and beckoned me to come in. I stepped in his house, the first time since I had met him.
It looked like any other rented apartment with little furniture. There was a 3 seater couch and a TV a few feet away from it. There was a round dinning table for two or maximum three people. The lit candle on the table and some soothing instrumental music in the background did send alarm bells ringing in my head but I shut them down to let the evening proceed.
The curtains to the windows were white to match the walls and had been closed but the windows behind them left open to let fresh breeze flow into the room. All in all, the house looked neat and not cluttered.
"Hi Rhea...I knew you would come and I have prepared a very nice real French meal for you." He gently took my hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on it. I shivered as I felt his soft lips on my trembling hand.
I did feel like backing my hand out but decided not to do so. I didn't think he was doing anything wrong but was just showing off some European chivalry. Jacques signaled me to sit on the couch and I did before he sat next to me on the couch, just a foot away from me.
"You look really beautiful in that dress." He said as he continued looking at me from head to toe. The transparent black chiffon sari would easily give him a veiled view of my flat stomach and my deep navel.
