Chapter 8

Friday was a total blast of laughs and forced excitement. Manu was way too pumped about the night’s plan, talking about the guys like they were lottery prizes. But I knew Manu. She wasn’t selling the guys. She was selling the idea that I needed to move on as fast as possible.

I laughed, played along, faked enthusiasm. But deep down, I wasn’t anywhere near feeling her level of hype. For me, it was just another Friday, just another attempt to convince myself that life was really changing.

After work, I swung by home to shower and get ready before meeting Manu. I already knew Tommy would come talk to me. I premeditated every possible interaction, mentally prepped myself to handle the awkwardness.

And it didn’t take long.

“You going out with someone tonight?” He asked, leaning against the bedroom door, arms crossed.

“Yeah. You think I’m gonna sit at the bar alone drinking?”

“Who with?”

“Tommy, I don’t owe you explanations anymore. You know I’m going out with Manu.”

“You meeting those guys?”

I let out a sigh, adjusting the towel around my body.

“Yeah, Tommy.”

He stayed quiet for a moment, watching my movements.

“You planning to hook up with him?”

“I don’t know, Tommy. But if you wanna go out and pick up some random girl, be my guest. I don’t care.”

Lie.

I was still jealous.

It was ridiculous, I knew. But part of me still hoped for a reaction from him, any reaction that showed deep down he still cared. I fought with him, provoked him, poked at him, waiting for him to snap out of his passivity. But he never reacted.

“And you gonna fuck?”

I rolled my eyes, letting out a humorless laugh.

“Tommy, seriously? I’m just meeting people. We don’t have anything anymore.”

He took a deep breath and looked away. He seemed to swallow something he wanted to say. Then he looked back at me.

“Can I ask you one last thing? Just one. And I won’t ask anything else.”

There was something in his voice that made me stop.

I crossed my arms, out of patience.

“What, Tommy?”

He hesitated, like he was searching for the right words.

“Let me know if you hook up with someone?”

I let out an incredulous laugh.

“Why, Tommy? So you can torture yourself?”

He went quiet. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what to say.

“I wanna know, I need to be sure, the torture will be not knowing.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you, okay? Now let me finish getting ready? Get out and close the door please and don’t come back in.”

Before crossing the door he said

“I like the idea of you being with people. You seem happy.”

I didn’t get what he meant and thought I hadn’t heard right, I was running late so I hurried to do my makeup and hunt for what to wear and when I was ready I grabbed an Uber and went to meet them at the bar she picked. When I got there the three were already waiting and when my eyes landed on the guy, right away, I knew it wasn’t gonna happen, the guy was a jerk, boring, seemed like he didn’t even like women.

Everything I said, he had a story to show off how superior he was. If I commented on something, he’d steer the conversation to how he’d done it better, how he made money, about the cars and houses he’d had, and the times he’d gone broke and, without help from anyone, pulled himself back up. The whole tired alpha male spiel.

In the first hour of talking, I was already bored out of my mind. Manu and her guy noticed too, and the vibe at the table deflated, getting heavy, uncomfortable. Only the idiot in front of me didn’t realize no one else was interested anymore.

And then, in a moment of silence, he dropped the gem, no shame at all, right in front of everyone.

“Babe, wanna see my car?”

I looked up, already exhausted.

“Your car? Why? You leaving?”

“Nah, man. It’s a Mustang, badass ride.”

Like that changed anything.

“No thanks. I’m good.”

But he insisted:

“We could hang out there a bit, chill.”

“I’m chill here, thanks.”

“But then I can drive you home after, if you want.”

“No, I’m taking an Uber. And you’ve been drinking, I’m not riding with someone who’s been drinking.”

That’s when he really got offended.

He spent half an hour yapping about how experienced he was at drinking and driving, that the law was stupid, that I was offending his honor, this that and the other… I’d totally tuned out.

To save me, Manu raised her arm and called the waiter.

“Buddy, check please.”

I thanked her in my head. When the bill came, I grabbed my card and put it on the table without a word. I always paid for my own stuff, wasn’t gonna be different this time. But then, as if the vibe wasn’t unbearable enough, the guy started talking about feminism in such a pathetic way that even his friend looked embarrassed.

That’s when Manu looked at me and played her final card:

“Friend, your husband coming to pick you up?”

I got it right away.

“He’s probably on his way. Wanna wait for him outside?”

We got up without hesitating, leaving the two at the table. As soon as we stepped out of the restaurant, I let out a heavy sigh.

“Fuck, sorry. I didn’t imagine he was such an asshole.”

“Shit, seriously, Manu… I was this close to telling him to fuck off.”

She laughed, throwing her arm over my shoulder.

“See? I’m an angel in your life.”

“An angel who sucks me off.”

“True. But tonight’s dick night.”

“You gonna fuck him?”

“I’m thinking about it. He’s hot, right?”

“Yeah, he’s gorgeous. But I couldn’t talk to him because the Greek god next to him wouldn’t stop showing off.”

We stood there, laughing and hashing out plans. Manu was going with the guy to her place, and I was heading home alone. Simple. But before the night wrapped up completely, the two guys came out of the restaurant.

The jerk walked right past us, not saying a word, clearly pissed. But Manu’s guy came straight over, holding my card and handing it to me.

“Next one’s on you. I didn’t wanna argue about it with him, we split it in two, sorry.”

I took the card and gave a tired smile.

“Oh, thanks. He’s such a jerk.”

“Total. Sorry about that, you two, I thought he’d keep it together. He’s a pain, but he’s a friend, you know…”

Manu shrugged it off.

“Relax, shit happens.”

Then he looked at me and said:

“I don’t know if the Uber thing was true, but we can drop you home!”

“Sure…” I murmured. “But it’s so early…”

Manu’s guy smirked.

“True. Manu, we could keep it going and grab drinks somewhere, it’s still early.”

I looked at Manu and saw that would mess up her plans. Everything was set between them, and me in the middle would just get in the way.

“I don’t know… I think I should head home.” I said, embarrassed.

Manu seemed cool with the idea. But before I really backed out, she tilted her head and played her final card:

“Friend, trust me. Let’s go to my place, we’ll drink and watch music videos, just the three of us… Come on!”

I hesitated.

“You sure? I don’t wanna be a third wheel.”

She grinned, all mischievous.

“Friend, if you go home at ten at night, Tommy’s gonna be thrilled your night was a total shitshow.”

She had a point. And that argument made me agree right then.

“Fuck it, let’s go.”

We stopped at the liquor store and bought more bottles than we could carry. The plan was simple: drink till we forgot, or at least till reality seemed more fun. We got to Manu’s place, cranked up the music loud, and started knocking back shots without much fanfare. The booze hit fast, and in minutes I was spilling my whole life story to the stranger, like a bitter drunk dumping her woes on a bar counter.

“Then I hooked up with Manu.” I blurted out, already laughing, not caring about the fallout.

The guy’s eyes went wide right away, more excited than he should be.

“You did? We go at it hard, wanna see?”

“I do!” He answered without thinking twice, so hyped he looked like a kid in front of a Christmas present.

Manu didn’t hesitate. She pulled me by the neck and gave me a sloppy, messy kiss, shoving her hands on my ass and squeezing my tits without a shred of shame. We laughed in the middle of the kiss, because deep down we knew we were just messing around, taking advantage of the situation to have fun. When we pulled apart, the guy looked like he’d just witnessed a miracle, eyes shining, face like he’d discovered Santa was real.

“Damn, Manu, I thought you were gonna be with me and now I find out you have a girlfriend?”

She slid up next to me, resting her chin on my shoulder, with that pure evil glint in her eye.

“Oh, baby, don’t get jealous. You had a sure thing, and now you can pick. Who do you want? Her or me?”

We eyed each other, and without needing to plan, we started striking provocative poses, tossing our hair, biting our lips, teasing him like two strip club dancers competing for tips. But let me explain what was going through our heads right then. The original idea was simple: Manu was gonna go with him, we’d drink, she’d give the guy some kisses, I’d head out and she’d fuck him the rest of the night. But we started getting buzzed, the heat between our legs built up, and it all turned into one big tease. We never planned to fuck him, we just wanted to see how long he could hold out without losing it.

“Don’t do this to me… I want both!”

I rolled my eyes, holding back a laugh.

“Both’s not an option.”

“Okay, but I need more info to choose right.”

“Fair.” Manu laughed, tilting her head and moving in. “I’ll give you a free sample.”

She jumped into his lap and shoved her tongue down his throat like she was gonna suck his soul right out. He grabbed her waist hard, holding her like she’d bolt. When she pulled back, breathless and with a smile like she’d done a damn good job, she looked at me with a challenging spark in her eyes.

It was a “What now?”

My heart skipped, but I didn’t back down. I moved in and pulled him into a kiss, starting slow, letting him taste the booze mixed with my hot breath. Unlike Manu’s, mine was more teasing, drawn out, making sure to drag every motion. In the middle of it, I felt a soft touch on my face, fingers sliding through my hair, tucking strands behind my ear. Manu.

When I pulled away from the guy, I didn’t go back to my spot. Manu was right there, her lips inches from mine, dark eyes locked on me before our mouths met again. And that’s how the three-way kiss happened. Clumsy, hot, not much coordination, but with so much want that it made my pussy throb. The feel of lips, the mingled breaths, the hands not knowing where to stop… it all left me in an arousal I hadn’t expected.