A Night Out Can't Hurt

"Bye honey, I'll see you next week," my wife said, kissing me on the cheek as she ran out the door to get her taxi. "don't forget the bins, and I'll call you when I get a chance."

I smiled at her as she left. A whole week living the bachelor lifestyle stretched out before me, no responsibilities, no work and no evenings of reality TV. Loathing ahead except, of course, the pile of chores that we'd both been neglecting. I sighed and trudged to the kitchen.

"Better get these out of the way before I do anything else," I think to myself. "starting with these dishes." I slide off my wedding ring and get to work scrubbing.

A few hours later, with the place looking nearly brand new, my phone rings.

"Hey Pete, what do you need this time?" over a decade of friendship had me knowing that Pete only called when he wanted something, or wanted to tell me something he didn't want in writing.

"Oh sure. Like you have ever helped with anything," the amusement in Pete's voice was obvious "I hear you're living the solo life for a bit. Want to hit up the town, get a few drinks?"

I looked back at the empty house, knowing that Pete probably was looking for a wingman.

"Why the hell not." I hadn't been out for a while, and I had plenty of time for sitting at home by myself ahead of me.

"Great. I'll come grab you in 10," Pete hung up without waiting for a reply.

Before I know it, I'm in my usual going out clothes, a pair of jeans, black T-Shirt and a jacket. I look myself up and down in the mirror, running my hands through my salt and pepper hair as I think back to the mischief Pete and I used to get up to before we settled down. An insistent beeping breaks me from my reverie, and I hurry to pile into Pete's car.

"This thing is still ridiculous," I say as he revs the engine on his vintage mustang.

"You're the one that picked the settle down with a good woman route, not me," Pete shot back, "I can spend my money however I want."

We drove in companionable silence for a while before pulling in at a trendy new cocktail place.

"Aren't we a little old for a place like this?" I asked Pete

"Nah," Pete responded. "one of the advantages of success is that we can afford the drinks here."

We laughed as we went in, light jazz filling the spacious, dimly lit room with a warm background to the buzz of conversation. The crowd was a lively mix of folks, but being early in the evening we were able to secure a booth and settle in for a night of swapping stories and drinking whiskey.

***

As the evening descended into night, the lights got dimmer and the music more upbeat, and before long the place was filling up. We were in the middle of recounting that time Pete and I entirely wrapped a friend's car in tin foil when a feminine voice interrupted with a slightly breathy "Excuse me."

Pete and I turn to the speaker and my jaw nearly hit the floor. A pair of utterly stunning young ladies were standing nervously at the end of our table, elaborate cocktails in hand.

"We noticed that you had some space at your table and we were hoping we could join you." The speaker was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, a petite redhead with a spray of freckles across her face in a skintight green dress that accentuated her figure in all sorts of intriguing ways. Her friend, a just as shockingly stunning brunette smiled shyly as I found myself shuffling across and saying "Please, make yourselves comfortable." Some deeply ingrained politeness overrode my brain's lack of ability to process anything beyond these visions of beauty before us.

Their nervousness softened as they slid into the booth with Pete and I, smiles shifting more to thanks as they settled into the cushioned leather.

"Thank you soooo much," said the brunette. "It's standing room only now, and, well," she extended a shapely leg out to reveal stiletto heels that looked like a recipe for a sprained ankle "I didn't really pick good shoes for that." A crystalline laugh rang out from her friend.

"Amy those shoes will be the death of you one of these days," said the redhead. "I swear you still dress like we're teenagers. I'm Tracy," she said, smiling widely as her friend readjusted her dress, "And this reprobate is Amy."

Pete and I laughed and I tried my best to push the stubborn lust clouding my brain aside. I'm a married man, I thought to myself, doing my best not to admire the way the girls' laughs moved their bodies.

"A pleasure to meet you both," Pete said, stepping in to rescue my addled mind. "I'm Pete, and this is Tim. What brings you here this fine evening?"

"Booze!" said Amy, holding her alarmingly coloured drink high before taking a long sip through the glass straw.

"Although at these prices we probably only get to have one," sighed Tracy, before taking a sip from her equivalently elaborate concoction. "The grad student life doesn't lend itself to riches"

"I remember those days." I commiserated back. "But I promise it does get better, money wise, at least. Pete and I used to do experiments for the Psych students to make beer money when we were in grad school. Less of a problem these days, right Pete?"

"Absolutely." Pete replied "Anyway, I'm sure our budget can stretch to a few drinks for our new friends"

The ice broken, I started to relax a little, listening to Pete settle in to story telling about our time as students and listening to the replies, mostly supplied by Amy about the girls. In spite of Tracy being the one to approach us, it was obvious that she was the shyer of the pair and she was content to let Amy carry most of the conversation. It became apparent that the girls were later year grad students, Amy studying biology and Tracy chemistry, and the girls were enjoying a rare night out. We made some small talk, Pete and I explaining our history as engineering grad students, and commiserating with how much study consumes your life.

"My asshole of a boyfriend dumped me," Amy chimed in unexpectedly, eyes taking on a slightly faraway look "He said I spent too much time in the lab and not enough time with him" She shook her head slightly as if to clear it, "But whatever, he sucked anyway" she drained the rest of her drink in a single gulp. "Were you serious about that drink?" she looked over at Pete imploringly.

"Of course. I'll get the next round, but you'll need to tell me what you want"

Amy immediately sprung to her feet, nearly tripping in her heels as she reached over to grab Pete's hand and pull him to the bar with her. Tracy and I laughed as Pete looked allowed himself to be bewilderedly dragged away.

With our more talkative companions gone, Tracy and I looked at each other shyly, both of us reaching to take a drink at the same time to try and mask the sudden silence and avoid being the first to speak. Tracy laughed at the awkwardness and broke the silence.

"Um. I couldn't help but notice." she gestured at my left hand "Do you usually wear a ring?"

I reached over to grab my unadorned ring finger recalling the wedding band I had removed earlier in the day. Before I could say anything Tracy continued "I know what it usually means when guys go out without their wedding rings, and I just wanted to let you know that your business is your business."

"Oh. Um. No." I practically stammered. "I just"

"It's OK," Tracy smiled. "I won't tell anyone." She gave me a smile that brought the thoughts I thought I had suppressed roaring back to the front of my mind before she took a long, slow drink, her rosebud lips wrapping around the straw not helping with the images racing through my head.

"Um. Thanks." I managed, noticing that she had stayed close to me even though the booth was empty. "I don't get out much these days," I confessed, "it's nice to be out of the house"

Tracy smiled again, "It's nice to be out of the lab, these chemicals are a lot more fun than the ones I usually work with" a gesture at her emptying hurricane glass highlighting the toned muscles of her bare arm. I laughed, "It gets better after you graduate, I promise. Well, mostly."

"Mostly?" the quirk in Tracy's eyebrow did nothing but accentuate her attractiveness

"I think what I really miss is being young and handsome. But I don't miss not having money for drinks." I smiled over at her, hoping I was coming across as dashing and not creepy.

"You aren't so old, and you're definitely still handsome" I thought I saw a slight blush spread across Tracy's features as she looked away from me slightly with these words.

"That means a lot coming from a brilliant young lady like yourself" the blush that was definitely spreading across Tracy's cheeks accentuated her freckles and made my heart beat a little faster, and the smile that widened across her face made it beat a lot faster.

"Thanks. And thanks for listening to us. Most guys don't even bother with our names before leering, it gets a bit boring. I mean, I don't really blame them" She gestured at her friend at the bar, and the obvious stares she was getting in her cherry red dress and ridiculous black heels. "Especially with how 'Amy' Amy is, but it's nice to get to talk for a bit to someone that actually gets what we do, and it's nice to not feel like I'm a consolation prize for people that didn't get to talk to her."

"I smile at her. "I know how you feel, Pete was always the dashing one of us, and I spent most nights out with him being wingmanned by the friends of people that wanted to get him all to themselves."

Tracy's laugh was like a cold glass of water after a long workout. "No way. You're too cute for them to not have wanted you for you."

"I could say the same for you." I responded, feeling my face flush red as I saw hers do the same. We both looked bashfully away, attention being paid mostly to our dwindling drinks.

A sudden yelp from the direction of the bar broke us out of whatever thoughts we were thinking, turning we saw Amy pulling away from a pair of cocky young men, Pete advancing on them like a stormcloud. His enraged should cut across the din "What the fuck do you think you're playing at, sunshine?!" Tracy and I slid out of the booth and made a beeline for the bar, noticing Amy's distressed face and hand holding her dress up as Pete menaced the young men who were starting to puff up again, initial shock at being called out starting to wear off. It didn't take me long to notice the logos of a local sports team on their shirts, and not much longer to notice that it seemed half the bar were wearing the same logo.

"I think maybe we should go" I tried to deescalate things before Pete started throwing fists. Tracy's voice in my ear echoing similar sentiments as we saw the bouncers heading over.

"You're right" Pete spat "these kids have soured my mood. Are you ok?" he asked Amy without turning away from the pair of youths

"Let's just go" Amy responded, clearly close to tears. We made our way to the relative cool and quiet outside, with Tracy shielding Amy from the crowd as we left.

"Those dickheads undid her dress at the bar," Pete explained. "What kind of a dickhead does that to a person?"

"Are you OK?" I asked Amy. She nodded, having managed to realign her dress and get everything back into place.

"Damn it." She said, anger fighting back tears. "I was really looking forward to a night out, but I'm not sure I can deal with people right now."

A sudden boldness seized me "I have a pretty well-stocked bar at my place, and there's no one else home, you're welcome to come for a drink if you'd like." Amy looked a little taken aback at the request, but after a quick whispered conversation with Tracy both girls nodded.

"Should we call a cab?" Amy asked.

"I've got my car here, although it might be a squeeze." Pete replied, leading us to his mustang and its tiny back seat.

Amy laughed and pointed at her heels. "There's no way in hell I can climb in to the back seat in these"

"I'm happy to sit in the back" I offered, folding myself into the tight space before there were any objections.

"Me too," Tracy offered.

As she clambered into the tight space with me, I got an incredible view of the curves her emerald green dress barely covered, and I could feel the strength in her hands as she grabbed on to me for leverage, eventually making it into a seated position pressed up against me as Amy and Pete more elegantly climbed in to the comfortable and spacious front seats. I could feel Amy pressing into me as we accelerated out of the parking lot, her body against mine a lot more than seemed absolutely necessary as her hand found mine. I was startled when she grabbed it and put it firmly on to her bare knee, sending me a smile before leaning in and whispering "Now. I really know what it means when a man not wearing his ring invites someone over for drinks, and I promise I still won't tell."

***

It wasn't long before I found myself opening my front door and leading Pete, Amy and Tracy into my freshly cleaned house. I mentally thanked myself for deciding to do that early and not just firing up some video game or other.

"What'll it be?" I asked, leading them into my spacious living room and stepping behind the bar.

"This," Amy said loudly, dropping to the couch and leaning down to unstrap her shoes. "That's so much better." she purred, wiggling her toes and sinking them into the thick rug. "I'm sorry about the bar, thanks for looking out for me, and thanks for letting us continue our night. Do you have any whiskey?"

"Whiskey for me too," said Tracy, joining her friend on the couch and leaning back, stretching languidly as she adopted a relaxed pose.

"Of course" I say, a little surprised given the sweet, fruity concoctions the girls had been drinking at the bar. I poured four measures of one of my better single malts and took them to Pete and the ladies, noticing the change in the girls now that they were not out in public. "And you don't need to apologise for assholes. I'm sorry that people thought they could do something like that to you."

"They were friends of my ex. I guess they thought it was funny or that I wouldn't mind, but I wasn't planning on flashing the whole bar," A cheeky smile crossed Amy's face "At least not without a few more drinks."

We all laughed, thankful that the ordeal hadn't left her feeling too down. I went to sit in an adjacent armchair, but Tracy caught my eye and gestured at the space next to her on the couch. A small war raged in my mind before I quashed it and went to sit next to her. As I settled in I felt her snuggle against my side slightly. I looked over at Pete who gave me a sly wink and took a sip of his whiskey.

"This is good." Tracy said, taking a sip from her glass.

"One of the perks of having finished my PhD a over a decade ago," I said, the warmth of the whiskey spreading through me, and the warmth of Tracy's body very obvious against my side. "is that now I can afford all the things that i wanted back when I was studying"

"Cheers to that!" said Pete, raising his glass.

"So where's your wife?" Amy said, cracking my mood slightly and feeling Tracy tense and shift slightly away from me.

"Um." I started, trying to think through the haze of lust that was still fogging my mind

"Just kidding, I don't care." Amy laughed. "I just wanted to see you squirm. Trace has a thing for married dudes, and I've got my eye on something else." she winked at Pete

"Amy!" Tracy yelled at her friend. "I do not!"

"You can lie to yourself but not to me," Amy shot back, before rising from the couch next to Tracy and walking over to Pete, positioning herself on his lap. "Now you can have enough space and don't have to be all cramped against him."

Pete looked a little surprised, but not as surprised as I was when I felt Tracy relax against me, retorting with "I know I don't have to," she leaned against me "But he's nice and warm and this dress isn't." She lifted my arm and draped it around herself, my hand dropping alarmingly close to the plunging neckline of her dress.

I could feel my pulse racing as I felt her soft body pressing into me, and I was extra surprised to see Pete and Amy whispering to each other. I felt myself starting to stiffen before a buzz between Tracy and I jolted me back to reality. Tracy laughed as I struggled to get my phone from my pocket, moving just enough that I could reach it but ensuring that I had to run my hand over her as I did.

'Hi honey. I've made it to my hotel. I hope you're having fun without me. I'm bushed, so I'm going to go to bed, hope you're ok with a text instead of a call.'

Tracy laughed as she read the message and grabbed the phone out of my hands.

"What do you call your wife?" she asked playfully as she tapped at the phone's screen.

"Um. Oh. Sweety, I guess." I felt a little shock of panic as she deftly tapped out a reply, her delicate fingers flowing over the screen with practiced ease.

'No worries Sweety. I'm just at home chilling on the couch. Hope you have a good rest, I'll probably go to bed soon too.'

I relaxed as she hit send, a message that didn't seem out of place. Her message sent, Tracy then snapped a few photos of herself with my phone, striking the classic social media poses and pulling some absurd faces that somehow looked incredible on her instead of silly. As she found the best angle to show off her cleavage without looking like she was trying to show off her cleavage, I took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. I had been a little surprised that she had mentioned being cold in spite of what I thought was the warmth of my home.

"Don't worry, they aren't for her," she said, adding her number to my phone before passing it back to me. She pulled my jacket over herself and smiled demurely at me, sitting a little further away from me.

I hardly noticed that Amy and Pete were shuffling and standing on the couch opposite us as Tracy settled back onto the couch, tucking her flawless legs under her as the hem of her dress slid further up her thighs. Again I was jolted out of my fantasies by Amy's voice "Well, I'm bushed. Thanks for the drink, Pete has offered to give me a ride home. Do you want a lift Trace?"

"Um," I hear Tracy saying as Amy collected her shoes and bag. "I think I'll get a cab, I don't think I can squeeze myself into the back of that car again tonight, and I haven't finished my drink" she held up her nearly empty tumbler as evidence.

"Of course. Have a great night, I'll see you tomorrow." The twinkle in her eye and the fact that Pete had his hand clamped firmly on Amy's shapely butt gave me a hint that it was more than a ride home that would be had tonight.

"Classic Ames," Tracy laughed as the front door closed behind, "Always looking for something new. He dumped her a week ago and Pete's already the second guy she's 'got a lift from' this week"

I laughed with her. "That's Pete too, he always finds someone to take home that's way out of his league, and seems to have someone new every time we talk."

Tracy laughed again, and shrugged off my jacket. "You know I wasn't actually cold, right? I just wanted an excuse to be close to you." She wiggled her way back against me until she was practically sitting in my lap. "And you smell good."

She turned to face me, her mouth finding mine as she kissed me on the lips. She felt me pull back slightly at the realisation that a beautiful young woman was alone with me in the home I share with my wife, and that she wanted more than just to finish her drink.

"Um. I've never done anything like this before." I managed to stammer, getting my mouth to respond to my brain and not to my libido with a great deal of effort.

"You've never cheated on your wife?" Tracy said, arching her eyebrow again in that way that sent blood pumping to my crotch. I shook my head no "I thought that's what you were looking for," she purred, her voice like pure silk "with no ring and inviting us over." Her mouth moved close to mine again and I could feel her hot breath on my lips. "Do you want me to stop?" I felt her lips brush against mine as she formed the final word. My response was grabbing her tightly and kissing her passionately. I could feel her giggling as my hands ran up and down her back, the satin of her dress smooth and cool over the trembling warmth of her skin. After one of the most blissful kisses of my life, she leaned back and said "That's what I thought," in a breathless voice.