That Night

Alex stared at his phone screen for a full two minutes, not quite believing it. He was seeing her name pop up in his texts after so many years, a name he hadn’t expected to see maybe ever again. But it was from her all right. Jessica.

He remembered the first time he had seen her. It was his last day at a summer management trainee program he was enrolled in between his first and second year of college. He was back to his hometown for the summer and had wanted to get a little more experience in at the local college, and it had been a rewarding month. He was now looking forward to spending the rest of break catching up with his high school friends and relaxing a bit before returning to college in the fall.

They were walking around on campus, Alex and his friends, discussing a house party one of their buddies were having that night, when he saw her. Now, Alex had never been with a girl. He was a good-looking guy but was unbearably shy. His friends often teased that he had no game and would be alone forever if he didn’t do something about this. He had spent all his high school years watching his friends with their long lines of girlfriends and hook ups, a part of him envying them but another part knowing that his time would come. There was someone out there just for him and he was okay waiting. Looking at this girl now, with her hair gently blowing in the breeze, he couldn’t help but think that this was it.

Something overcame him and he walked up to her, not thinking, not getting into his head for once in his life. His friends just stared at him, amazed. “Hi,” he said when he got to her. When she looked at him full in the face, he was suddenly nervous. What the hell was he thinking?! He couldn’t do this. Before he could say anything else or walk away, she said “Hi! I’m Jessica!” He couldn’t believe she was actually interested, actually talking to him. Before he could chicken out, he decided he had nothing to lose anyway and said, “A buddy of mine is having a party tonight, would you like to come?”

She hesitated slightly, then said she had plans but would try, if he could give her the address. He was disappointed, he knew she was just being nice. He told her the address anyway and then said “see you later” and started walking away. “Wait!” she called out after him, walking up to him and handing him a small piece of paper. “My number,” she said. “In case I can’t make it tonight, we can hang out another day.” And Alex had never felt happier in his life.

She didn’t show up at the party, but it didn’t bring down his optimism. He spent the night thinking about her, wondering if it was way too soon to text her. The friend whose house they were at had raided his dad’s very expensive wine collection, something he would surely regret in the morning. Alex had opened one of the bottles, an old, very pricey-looking bottle of Merlot, and was sipping it slowly by himself in a corner of the house. As the buzz started to kick in, he felt his inhibitions lower and decided, screw it, I’m texting her.

-Hey, it's Alex. We met earlier today. Just wondering how your night’s going.

He waited impatiently, nervously, for her to respond, absent-mindedly sipping on more of the wine.

Ding! It was her.

-Hey! It’s actually quite boring, wish I had made it to your party! I was supposed to spend time with my sister but she already passed out 🙁

Alex didn’t know what came over him that night, but he decided he’d had enough of hesitating and overthinking and chickening out. He was going to go for it.

-Would you like some company? I can come over

He saw the … as she typed her response, hoping she wasn’t offended by how forward he was being.

-You know what? Why the hell not! - read her text, followed by an address not too far from where he was. He could not believe his eyes or his luck. Not wanting to give her time to change her mind (or wake up from whatever fantastic dream this was), he started towards the door immediately, then stopped and went back for the rest of that bottle of Merlot; that would definitely take the pressure off and maybe even impress her a little.

She opened the door when he got there, and he could only stare. It was like a scene out of a movie, her red silky nightgown brushing the floor gently, tied very loosely at her waist, a faint smell of roses emanating from her glistening skin, her slightly damp hair framing her face perfectly. Was this real? Was she real? Could he be so lucky? He wanted to reach out and touch her but he was suddenly afraid, afraid to shatter the illusion and also afraid of how she’d react.

“Sorry, I just got out of the shower,” she said, guiding him indoors. “Ooh is that wine? Lovely!” she said when she saw what he came bearing, grabbing the bottle from his hand and waving him over to the couch. She disappeared into the kitchen, presumably to bring them glasses, and he took the time to look around the living room. It was a cozy little area. There was an electric fireplace that had been turned on and the lights were dim. There were several candles around the room and there was soft music playing from somewhere. It was a very romantic setting he realized. He had not expected this and his excitement was starting to grow.

She returned with two wine glasses and he poured the drinks for them, slightly sloppy and pouring way more than what a drink would usually be. She picked hers up, said cheers, winking at him, and took a huge sip. He followed suit, getting comfortable on the couch, even as she leaned in close to him and said they’d have to keep their voices down as her sister was asleep in the room next door.

They talked a little bit and he found out why he had never seen her around town before; she was only visiting her sister for the summer. He was getting steadily drunker as they continued to sip the wine, and his confidence was at an all-time high. Even as he was wishing he could feel like this all the time, she leaned in and gently took his glass from his hand, putting it aside. “I’m tired of waiting for you to make a move, and I’ve been wanting to do this all night,” she whispered softly, her warm breath on his neck. She kissed him then, her lips like clouds on his own. He could still taste the wine, now from her lips as well as his own, as he kissed her back, reaching out to touch her face, his other hand moving slowly down her back. She moaned softly into his mouth and then made a sudden movement. Before he could fully register what was happening, she was on top of him, kissing him more passionately now, more urgently. He pulled at the flimsy strip of fabric holding her gown together and it fell open, revealing a lacy black bra that barely covered anything, and tiny lacy panties to match. Her body was driving him insane and he just wanted to kiss every part of that perfect skin and soak up every bit of her. She was unbuckling his belt even as he kissed her neck, lifting himself slightly to help her as she pulled his jeans off. He was ready to go, had been for a while now, and as she took her panties off and lowered herself onto him, he couldn’t help but let out a low moan. He had never felt anything like it, this tight, wet warmth around him and he held her hips as she found her rhythm, grinding up and down on him, her eyes never leaving his. Soft moans escaped her lips ever so often, and he bucked his hips slightly to match her movements, even as she started going faster, her passion etched clearly on her face as she fought to keep her voice down.

They reached their climax together that night, like something out of a movie, and as she slid off of him and paused to catch her breath, he could only wonder in amazement at what had just happened. He felt like a whole new person, a man, a man who felt like he could do anything.

Before he could bask in the moment much longer, there was a noise from her sister’s room and Jessica started to panic. “You have to go,” she whispered to him, tossing his jeans at him. He started to put them on hurriedly, disappointed that the night was already over. “Will I see you again?” he asked her as she rushed him to the door. “I’ll text you, okay?” she said to him, giving him a quick kiss. He stopped to look back at her one last time as he left, and she gave him a light smile as she closed the front door.

The rest of the night, hell, the rest of the summer was a blur. He hadn’t heard back from her, and he had tried to get in touch, but to no response. He couldn’t just show up at her sister’s, but he had driven by hoping to run into her to no luck. He spent all summer going crazy thinking about her, wondering what could have happened. Where was she? Why wasn’t she responding to him? Did that night even happen? Maybe he just dreamt the whole thing, he would laugh to himself. By the time fall arrived and it was time to go back to college, he knew he had to make peace with the fact that it was just a wonderful, insane, one-time experience he was supposed to cherish. He would never ever forget Jessica and that night.

He had many more dates, hook ups and girlfriends after that summer, and had a great college experience. He graduated with honours, landed a great job and even met the woman of his dreams shortly after. His life was perfect and he was happier than ever. Occasionally, he would think about Jessica and that night, wondering what happened to her. So, to get this text now, after all these years! He didn’t know what to think or feel. The text said “Hi, its Jessica. I don’t know if you remember me. I know it's been a long time but I think I owe you an explanation. I’m in town and would love to grab a drink with you. Maybe a glass of wine?” After all these years of wondering, here was his chance. He could finally know what happened. While he was still thinking about what to do, his wife walked into the room. “Hi darling,” she said, kissing him. He looked at her and smiled, then looked back down at his phone, locking the screen off. He realised he didn’t need to know after all. He had everything he could ever want right by his side. Jessica would remain what she had been all these years, a distant memory that he wouldn’t drag back into his perfect reality. He was finally letting go.