I met Alicia a few years ago when she got hired at the company I was working for. At the time we met I was in a relationship, and mostly by coincidence Alicia and I ended up becoming good friends. Not long after a sudden break up with my girlfriend, Alicia and I started dating. Back then, she was in her early twenties and very focused on succeeding at the company. Alicia and I dated for less than a year before breaking things off. There was a considerable age difference between us which made things difficult since we were in different stages of life. It didn't help that I rushed into a relationship with her too quickly and without truly resolving the feelings around my previous break up.
Turn the clock forward a few years, and I find myself still living in the same city and sharing an apartment with my current girlfriend. During one weekend in late summer, I was sitting alone at my neighborhood bar watching my college football team play when I saw Alicia walk in the door. As soon as I saw her I felt my pants move in excitement at the sight of her beautiful body. Her luscious red hair was longer than when we're dating and her beautiful curls were out in full force. I realized that she looked older, or at least more mature, and that there was a whole new dimension to her beautiful freckled face. She was wearing a short summer dress that made her amazing ass look even better than I remembered her. She looked more confident and self-assured than when we broke up. Time had been good to her. All I could think of as she walked by is that she looked radiant.
I thought about approaching her and saying hello. I imagined how we'd settle into a comfortable rhythm of back-and-forth conversations and laugh at particular memories or reminisce over the trips we used to take together, but I knew that wasn't likely to happen. I don't think she wanted to see me, let alone talk to me. That's okay, I thought, I'm in this corner of the bar alone. I'm sure she's here to meet up with someone and won't even look in my direction. I ordered another beer and focused on the TV.
Three beers later I was ready to order the check. I signaled to the bartender that I intended to close out and headed for the bathroom. I turned the corner into the hallway and suddenly come face to face with Alicia. We lock eyes instantly and become frozen in place for what seems an eternity. She looks down at the ground while I utter a feeble hey there."
She scurries past me without saying a word. I thought to myself "welp, that was that," and continue to the bathroom.
A few minutes later I'm sitting at the bar having ordered a shot to calm my nerves when I see her walking towards me.
She stands next to me and says, "you're a real asshole, do you know that?"
"Yes, I'm aware of this. I have no excuses for how I treated you," I respond.
During the next few minutes, I took every opportunity to apologize and made all possible concessions for my behavior. As we talked, I realized she was at least a little buzzed. After all, she too had been at the bar for a while. After a few more minutes of back and forth and of her telling me to go fuck myself, I realized she still hadn't left my side, and her demeanor started to become more calm.
"Let me buy you a drink," I said sensing an opening.
"No, I'm here with my friend," she said. "I'm going to go now."
As she started walking away I said, "bye, It was nice seeing you," which I think came out with a hint of sarcasm because she gave me a look.
If I needed a shot after bumping into her, now I needed a whole bottle. I ordered a double shot from the bartender.
A few minutes later, and to my surprise, I see her walking towards me again. This time, she's carrying her purse.
"Okay, now I'm seriously confused," I said.
"My friend had to leave. Something came up, and she had to go. I'm going to order and Uber but there are two creepy guys at the other end of the bar, and I don't want them seeing me sit alone while I wait," she said.
As she's looking through her phone we sit there awkwardly in silence. At this point I'm pretty drunk, so I just start saying things: I mention I got a new job, that I'm travelling soon, and that my dog has cancer.
"Wait what? He has cancer?" she says with a concerned look.
I forgot how much she loved that dog. I catch her up on the dog's diagnosis is not looking good and that he's not in too much pain right now.
She looked upset.
"Do you want to go see him?" I ask. "I live like three blocks away."
She hesitates for a few seconds and says, "I'd prefer not to meet your girlfriend. So no."
"She's gone for the whole weekend so you don't have to worry about that," I respond.
"Okay, but just to see him and say goodbye," she says.
When we get to my apartment I take her to where the dog is and go use the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, and thought that I looked great that night. I was in good shape thanks to hitting the gym multiple times per week. My light brown skin took on a good glow during summer, and the beard that I had grown for the past few years made me look older and more mature. I was feeling great, and if I'm honest, I was now thinking that I needed something to happen between Alicia and I that night. I was drunk and horny and nothing was going to stop me from fucking her one more time.
When I came out to the living room she was hugging my dog.
"Can I get you something to drink?" I said.
She looked at me with her beautiful nodded her head. She looked like she was about to cry.
That's it, I thought. I'm going all in. I pour us two shots and opened two beers. I handed her both of her drinks but what she didn't know was that I had added a hefty dose of MDMA to her shot and mine.
We took the shots and sat down on the couch. I began mentally waiting for it to start kicking in. For a while we just sat in silence while she continued to pet the dog. I started thanking her for all she did to take care of him while we dated. After about a half hour, I began to feel the effects: my pulse started quickening and I felt an energy flow through my body from head to toe. This feeling is familiar and very welcomed, so I stand up from the couch to intensify the effect.
Alicia looked really confused. She started looking around the room sensing that something was wrong.
I looked at Alicia and said, "stand up and get moving, it will feel better."
"What is happening? What did you do?" she said.
"Remember how I always told you that doing MDMA is the absolute best?" I said.
"Uh-huh," she replied with a worried look on her face.