Siren
"Aaron, my man!" Vince said heartily as he held the door open for one of his closest friends. He took Aaron's hand in his in a handshake, the other wrapped around to smack him on the back. "Come on in!" Vince pulled back and smiled at Aaron's wife, Chloe. "Chloe, good to see you, too." They came in the door carrying a platter of some incredibly good smelling baked beans.
"I thought you were the king of potato chips," Vince said jokingly.
"Nah, man, not since Chloe came into my life."
They smiled. Vince knew he was right. Chloe had had a great affect on his life. He became a very different person since he met her 5 years ago, at least from what he'd told Vince about his early adult life. He had been a complete horn-dog, sleeping his way through half the women in the city. Now, with Chloe in his life, he was a dedicated and devoted man. We walked into the living room where Emmanuelle, Vince's fiancΓ© of 3 months, sat with their other friends.
"Aaron, Chloe, this is Nathan and his wife Layla," Vince said, introducing them all.
Aaron and Chloe said their hi's and shaking hands.
"And this beautiful woman is my fiancΓ© Emmanuelle." Emmanuelle smiled as they came over and said hi to her, Chloe hugging her.
"Anyone who's willing to put up with this asshole gets my adoration," Aaron said.
Everyone laughed. Emmanuelle stood and offered to get drinks, disappearing into the kitchen to grab them.
"Can I help you?" Chloe asked as she went in behind her.
The guys talked in the living room for a while, the women coming and going, setting the table, putting the food out, before Emmanuelle announced the lasagna was ready and moved into the dining room. They all took their seats and began eating, drinking, and joking as only friends can do.
When the meal was finally over, they were sipping their wine, laughing and sharing funny jokes. Then the question Vince dreaded finally was raised.
"So, Vince, how did you meet Emmanuelle?"
Vince looked at Layla and smiled, almost nervously, then looked down, wondering how he was going to respond. To most people that was a simple question. But Vince never answered a question with a simple answer.
Vince saw Emmanuelle take a sip of wine, looking at him over her glass. The flare in her eyes and the seriousness of her gaze made him shiver.
"You're not going to believe me," Vince said, looking down at his drink, wondering if he should even say a word. What would the consequences be?
"Come on," Aaron said. "Spill it." The others laughed at his stalling.
He took a deep breath, knowing just how much trouble he was about to get himself into. Would he live through it, though?
"Well, I don't know if I ever told you or not, but before I met you guys, I was engaged... to Natalie. We were expecting to get married in November, what, two years ago now? But in June, she just decided she didn't want to marry me. I begged her to stay with me. I gave her everything and it just devastated me."
He took a sip of wine, remembering the day like it was yesterday. "I was depressed as hell. A friend of mine from work, Evan, and his girlfriend asked me to sail down the coast with them in his sailboat for two weeks, just to get away. I didn't have anything to do and figured I had vacation time to burn. I really needed to get away, you know?"
"I bet," Chloe said softly, empathizing with me.
He looked down and took a deep breath to compose himself, knowing he was connecting with his audience. He didn't know if he had the guts to tell the story... the real story. He poured himself another glass of wine, emptying the bottle. Emmanuelle stood to get another bottle from the kitchen.
"Well, we went out on Sunday morning. The sky was a beautiful blue and the wind was just perfect for sailing. We got out into the ocean and started sailing down the coast. We were completely out of sight of land and I had no idea where we were or where we were going. All I knew was that the sun was beating down on us.
"Audrey, his girlfriend, asked Evan to drop anchor so we could swim for a bit. It was mid-afternoon by the time we stopped, so it was pretty warm out. She slipped downstairs to the cabin to change and came out in a gorgeous white bikini a few minutes later. Evan looked at me and smiled, obviously aroused and proud of his girlfriend's sexy body.
"I slipped into the cabin next and slid on my swim trunks. I was already excited, sporting a growing hard-on from the image of Audrey in my mind. When I came out, Evan and Audrey were kissing. Evan had untied her bikini top and was fondling her breasts while her hand was stroking his obvious erection through his shorts. She giggled and covered herself slightly when they noticed me.
"Evan apologized weakly, saying he couldn't help but get turned on by her, as he moved down the short steps into the cabin to change.
"I stood on the deck uncomfortably as Audrey untied her top completely and tossed it aside. I tried not to look at her, a little embarrassed, but she just giggled and asked me if I like what I saw. I muddled through a 'yes' and told her she was an extremely attractive woman.