It felt strange to have a man lying next to her again, thought Madison. She had forgotten how nice a man could smell, and there was something about having a warm male body pressed up against her that made her feel safe, if only for a short while. Of course, her best friend Raine just happened to be pressed up against his other side.
The ham in the sandwich was Sean, a medical intern, who just happened to be her boss Tony's son. The carpet they were lying on also belonged to her boss, as did the house they were in. Tony's annual 'Whose line is it Anyway?' games night was well under way. As was the bottle of red wine that Madison had brought with her. The living room was a bit cramped, so the three of them had ended up on the floor. Ah, alcohol, thou doest remove our usual decorum.
'So Madison, I think the last time I saw you was at the company Christmas party,' said Sean, 'with your husband.'
Raine nudged him with her elbow in an attempt to shut him up, but he continued, 'and just look at us now!'
'Hell, yeah! Three cheers for divorce.' Madison retorted, 'Best thing that's ever happened to me.'
'Listen, would you two like to come back to my place for coffee? I think my dad's finally run out of crazy games for the evening.'
Madison looked over at Raine who was giving her a lift home and raised her eyebrows in a question.
'I'm keen if you are,' said Raine.
Sean made them a pot of coffee and invited them into the TV room. The sofa was soft and comfortable, and not surprisingly, he positioned himself in between the two of them.
Madison found herself admiring her friend. Raine was a classic beauty, with high cheek bones and a strong jaw line, and as tall and skinny as a model. She just had to walk into a room and she had the attention of every man. She was flirting with Sean now, circling the camp so to speak.
But then he suddenly turned to Madison, 'I didn't mean to be flippant earlier,' Sean said, 'you know, what I said about you being married and all that, I didn't mean to offend you or anything.'
'No, it's fine.'
'But I'm sure that this must be quite a stressful time for you.'
'Yeah,' not trusting herself too much around kindness, 'it's been a bit rough.'
Sean turned and put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. 'Wow, you are really tense! Sit here in front of me and I'll give you a bit of a rub.'
Doing what she was told, Madison couldn't help feeling a bit like Alice down the rabbit hole. The touch of a man's hands on her made her want to cry. She didn't feel like dealing with the jumbled rush of emotion that his touch was releasing within her. She was also painfully aware that for once Raine wasn't getting all the attention. She didn't know how her friend was going to handle that, not ever having had it happen to her before.
A few minutes later, 'Thanks Sean, that was great, but I think it's pumpkin time for me.'
On the drive home, 'Oh my God, I think he likes you! Oh God you are so lucky! He's so cute! I had such a crush on him about a year ago, but oh my God I think he likes you!' Raine gushed.
So at least it looked like Raine wasn't going to poison her for inadvertently catching the attention of some guy she had seen first.
She received the first text message the next day, 'Hi! Hope you got home before you changed into a pumpkin! Sean ;)'
'Thanks, made it just in time! Where did you get my number?'
'It helps being the boss's son!'
'True. I forgot that.'