"You look like someone who has badness in mind." Said a deep voice close to me and I turned around to find its owner. What I saw was not what I was hoping for. Sure, he was right I had badness in mind, I was about to cheat on my husband for the first time in our seven-year marriage, but it wasn't your clichΕ½ seven-year itch that made me do it. I had just realized that he had cheated on me at least once, probably more than that. Alessandro, my husband is a computer programmer and his work takes him traveling throughout the country a lot.
I had always trusted him unquestioningly, until that is, I found a pack of unopened condoms in his suitcase and smelled the scent of cheap perfume on his sweater when I was doing the laundry after one of his travels. I cried myself to sleep that night, making sure he didn't notice.
A few days later he was off to yet another city for a conference and I had been calling him all night, only to disappointedly discover his cell phone was off and the night clerk at his hotel had told me he is not in his room at the moment. That moment was very long, in fact it lasted pretty much all night. When he finally answered my call, his speech was blurred and we ended up having a huge argument, after which he hung up on me. He had never done that before and I was stunned.
After another day of crying, I had finally decided that I would do the same to him. I would go out and cheat and feel happy about it. He needn't be aware of what happened, it would be enough if I knew.
And so I found myself in a small, dodgy looking pub, which was hidden in one of the side streets of downtown Chicago, where I normally wouldn't go even during the day. It was Friday night, a good time for 'fishing' as I had called it. I decided against the attire that would immediately announce me to be someone who is trying to get laid. Nonetheless, I wore a beige suede miniskirt and matching shirt with high-heeled boots that I have had for years but hardly ever wore. I'm almost six foot tall and high heels would have made me look like a giant. This particular night, however, I didn't care. I wanted to be noticed and stand out; thinking that being the tallest chick in the place would be a good start.
The problem, as I had seen it, was that I was actually the only woman in a whole establishment. The pub was almost empty. A few older men sat at the corner table, cradling their English-looking pints and a couple of them gave me a second glance, but beyond that, I didn't really arouse any interest.
It was in the dead of winter, cold as hell and I couldn't make myself go back out right away in search of a better suited crowd, so I took off my coat and sat at the bar to have a drink and warm myself up before venturing back into the howling wind of Chicago January.
Just as I took the first sip, I heard the voice, which tried so awkwardly to break the ice. I turned around and was disappointed to find one of the men from the corner table standing next to me. He was a short and pudgy guy, the hair on his head almost gone, the skin on his face and hands pasty, almost transparent. His eyes were small and beady, resembling slits more than anything else, and it had taken me a few minutes to realize that they were gray. He was dressed in a black business suit that seemed too small for his fat body, his stomach especially made the buttons work hard in keeping the fabric together. His tie was now generously loosened and hanging half way down his body. I noticed a wedding band, which was literally imbedded into his ring finger, which like the rest of them gave the appearance of small fat sausages.
This is not who I wanted to break my wows with. The man looked like a car salesman from the fifties. He appeared more like the next-door neighbor than the stud I was aching for.
"Do you give a shit?" I asked. I normally don't talk to people like that, but having already had two generous drinks before I left my apartment, partially to keep me warm, but mostly to give me courage, I had found my inhibitions, which by the way I had always been full of, melting away.
"Oh, I don't know," the man smiled. "I just might." His smile didn't seem to reach his eyes. He was glaring at me and I felt odd.
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the drink I had been cradling. Even though I felt brave and able to say and do whatever I wanted, there was a bit of shyness left in me and I let the man next to me make the next move. Only later did I realize that that was the moment I decided he was the one I'd be with that evening, of course, if he wanted to. By the look on his face, I couldn't have imagined that he didn't.
"Mitch!" the man knocked on the bar. "Give the lady another one!" he said and smiled at me. "A double, please." I was going to protest but thought the better of it. If I was to let this pudgy, sweaty old man fuck me, I'd better be drunk, I thought. Otherwise, I might not be able to go through with it. My own arrogance was shameful, but very soon I didn't care anymore.
"I'm not a hooker, you know." I said, still having enough presence of mind to be too proud and have him mistaken me for a desperate soul.
"That's okay." The man sat on the stool next to me uninvited. "I won't hold that against you."
I burst into a laughter. "You've a lot of balls, you know that."
"Well," he hung his head and laughed to himself. "I always try. You'd be surprised how many times it works."