Hello all. Posting a new story here as I write it. There might be delays in posting updates. Please bear with me.
"BOTTOMS UP!!!"
We all shouted in unison and downed the fifth round of shots that night. The tequila burned my throat and the fumes almost seemed to come out my nostrils. I sucked on the lemon and winced at its tartness.
"Well done, Janu." Abir leaned in, squeezed by shoulder and rubbed my back. I giggled.
I looked up and saw my friend Kriti looking at me with half a smile on her face. She had noticed that it was the third time in the last half an hour that Abir had called me "Janu" instead of my name Janhvi without me saying anything in protest. She had also probably noticed that he was touching me a lot more and I wasn't stopping him.
"How about another round of beers?" Akash asked. Everyone nodded.
"Not ff.f.for me." I slurred. I had already downed way more than my usual amount. Four beers and five tequila shots.
"Oh come on, just one more, Janu." Abir put his hand on my back again. "We're celebrating a big win!"
"Fine." I said, not wanting to be a spoilsport.
We were in a classy South Mumbai pub celebrating our team landing a huge contract that would ensure most of us of big promotions. The seven of us had just been dubbed "Magnificent Seven" by our CEO, had been handed the company credit card, and told to celebrate without worrying about how much the bill came out to. We had been a raucous party all evening, delirious in our success.
"I need to go to the bathroom." Kriti got up said "Janhvi, care to give me company?"
I looked up at her, my head feeling very light.
"Huh?"
"Please come to the bathroom with me." there was a slight edge to her voice which made me comply.
We were both quite drunk. So taking slow careful steps, we walked to the ladies' room.
As soon as the door closed, Kriti turned around and said to me,
"What the hell is going on between you and Abir?"
"Nothing." I instantly said.
"Oh come on! He's calling you Janu, touching you all over the place."
"Only my back and my shoulder." I raised a finger in protest.
"Still. There's obviously a change. I'm not the only one who's noticed. The others have also been whispering to each other. What are you doing? What about Rahul?"
I suddenly felt a surge of resentment.
"What the fuck about Rahul? He's sitting there in Florida postponing trip after trip! And going out drinking every night with his friends! And going to the beach every weekend, probably ogling white chicks in bikinis!" I shouted.
"Calm down." Kriti said looking around. Luckily there was no one else in the ladies' room. "Look, your marriage is none of my business. And as your friend, I will support you in whatever you do. But as your friend, it is also my duty to warn you about the repercussions of your actions."
"I need to pee." I gruffly said and walked into a stall.
A couple of minutes later when I walked out, Kriti was fixing her make-up in front of the mirror.
"Sorry if I yelled." I glumly said.
"It's okay. You've had a lot to drink." Kriti smiled.
"Well, so have you!"
"Fair enough,"
I reached into my purse, took out my compact and started fixing my own make-up.
"We.....we kissed earlier."
"WHAT???"
"He just wore me down."
"Where?"
"In the lift."
"You slut!" Kriti said, but in a jocular tone. I giggled. "So you have decided to go through with it then?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not." I replied honestly. "It's been almost a year since I had sex."
It was true. Rahul had been sent to the US for what was initially supposed to be a short-term posting. But it kept getting extended. We then decided that I would join him, but my visa application had been on hold. Rahul was supposed to come back home for visits, but each time, some deadline mad him cancel the trip.
This year of unexpected long distance-ification of our marriage had caused a lot of stress and a lot of fights. Things were far from hunky dory. Even before he left, Rahul had grown a bit distant. It had been five years since we got married. I know the fresh spark doesn't last forever. But you don't expect your husband to spend every free moment at home just watching the TV or staring at his smartphone.
So when Abir started showering attention on me, I will admit, it felt nice. It started off with longer-than usual looks, more than usual compliments. Then he started texting me a lot more, gradually increasing the flirtatious content. Our work on the recent project also meant we spent a lot of time together as the two Unix experts in our group. He'd do a lot of random nice things for me like getting me coffee, chocolates, cupcakes, etc.
"Well, if you do decide to, let me say based on experience, Abir is an excellent choice." Kriti said.
"Shit! I forgot! Is that why are miffed?"
"Don't be silly. He means nothing to me. Our fling was a long time ago. Four years ago. he means nothing to me." Kriti repeated for emphasis.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. It's been obvious to me for the last few months that he's been trying to woo you. I didn't say anything because I didn't see you responding. Until tonight."
"Yeah well.....to be honest, I didn't plan to respond either. I don't know...."
That's when another woman came into the bathroom. Kriti and I walked out and went back to our table.
"Here's your beer, Janu." Abir rubbed my back as I sat down. I took a sip and looked at Kriti who had a wry smile on her face.
"BOTTOMS UP!!!"
We all shouted in unison and downed the fifth round of shots that night. The tequila burned my throat and the fumes almost seemed to come out my nostrils. I sucked on the lemon and winced at its tartness.
"Well done, Janu." Abir leaned in, squeezed by shoulder and rubbed my back. I giggled.
I looked up and saw my friend Kriti looking at me with half a smile on her face. She had noticed that it was the third time in the last half an hour that Abir had called me "Janu" instead of my name Janhvi without me saying anything in protest. She had also probably noticed that he was touching me a lot more and I wasn't stopping him.
"How about another round of beers?" Akash asked. Everyone nodded.
"Not ff.f.for me." I slurred. I had already downed way more than my usual amount. Four beers and five tequila shots.
"Oh come on, just one more, Janu." Abir put his hand on my back again. "We're celebrating a big win!"
"Fine." I said, not wanting to be a spoilsport.
We were in a classy South Mumbai pub celebrating our team landing a huge contract that would ensure most of us of big promotions. The seven of us had just been dubbed "Magnificent Seven" by our CEO, had been handed the company credit card, and told to celebrate without worrying about how much the bill came out to. We had been a raucous party all evening, delirious in our success.
"I need to go to the bathroom." Kriti got up said "Janhvi, care to give me company?"
I looked up at her, my head feeling very light.
"Huh?"
"Please come to the bathroom with me." there was a slight edge to her voice which made me comply.
We were both quite drunk. So taking slow careful steps, we walked to the ladies' room.
As soon as the door closed, Kriti turned around and said to me,
"What the hell is going on between you and Abir?"
"Nothing." I instantly said.
"Oh come on! He's calling you Janu, touching you all over the place."
"Only my back and my shoulder." I raised a finger in protest.
"Still. There's obviously a change. I'm not the only one who's noticed. The others have also been whispering to each other. What are you doing? What about Rahul?"
I suddenly felt a surge of resentment.
"What the fuck about Rahul? He's sitting there in Florida postponing trip after trip! And going out drinking every night with his friends! And going to the beach every weekend, probably ogling white chicks in bikinis!" I shouted.
"Calm down." Kriti said looking around. Luckily there was no one else in the ladies' room. "Look, your marriage is none of my business. And as your friend, I will support you in whatever you do. But as your friend, it is also my duty to warn you about the repercussions of your actions."
"I need to pee." I gruffly said and walked into a stall.
A couple of minutes later when I walked out, Kriti was fixing her make-up in front of the mirror.
"Sorry if I yelled." I glumly said.
"It's okay. You've had a lot to drink." Kriti smiled.
"Well, so have you!"
"Fair enough,"
I reached into my purse, took out my compact and started fixing my own make-up.
"We.....we kissed earlier."
"WHAT???"
"He just wore me down."
"Where?"
"In the lift."
"You slut!" Kriti said, but in a jocular tone. I giggled. "So you have decided to go through with it then?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not." I replied honestly. "It's been almost a year since I had sex."
It was true. Rahul had been sent to the US for what was initially supposed to be a short-term posting. But it kept getting extended. We then decided that I would join him, but my visa application had been on hold. Rahul was supposed to come back home for visits, but each time, some deadline mad him cancel the trip.
This year of unexpected long distance-ification of our marriage had caused a lot of stress and a lot of fights. Things were far from hunky dory. Even before he left, Rahul had grown a bit distant. It had been five years since we got married. I know the fresh spark doesn't last forever. But you don't expect your husband to spend every free moment at home just watching the TV or staring at his smartphone.
So when Abir started showering attention on me, I will admit, it felt nice. It started off with longer-than usual looks, more than usual compliments. Then he started texting me a lot more, gradually increasing the flirtatious content. Our work on the recent project also meant we spent a lot of time together as the two Unix experts in our group. He'd do a lot of random nice things for me like getting me coffee, chocolates, cupcakes, etc.
"Well, if you do decide to, let me say based on experience, Abir is an excellent choice." Kriti said.
"Shit! I forgot! Is that why are miffed?"
"Don't be silly. He means nothing to me. Our fling was a long time ago. Four years ago. he means nothing to me." Kriti repeated for emphasis.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. It's been obvious to me for the last few months that he's been trying to woo you. I didn't say anything because I didn't see you responding. Until tonight."
"Yeah well.....to be honest, I didn't plan to respond either. I don't know...."
That's when another woman came into the bathroom. Kriti and I walked out and went back to our table.
"Here's your beer, Janu." Abir rubbed my back as I sat down. I took a sip and looked at Kriti who had a wry smile on her face.