***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.
Author's Note: In case anyone recognizes this story, I had this story published here over a year ago but then took it down to make some edits.
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Brandi didn't realize what time it was when she left the office. She usually stayed later when everyone else left, but never this late. She was finishing up the last of her real estate listings online and answering emails from potential buyers when she got a text from her friend Rachel, who she hadn't seen in ages. She was asking Brandi if she was on her way and realized she was twenty minutes late to meet her. She made up an excuse for why she was late, closed her computer, and ran out the door.
She had no time to go home and change; she would have to go in her pantsuit and fix her hair and makeup in the cab ride to meet Rachel. She had fixed herself up as best she could just as the cab arrived at a wine bar; she usually meets Rachel and some of her other friends. In the lobby of the wine bar, there was a hanging mirror, and she checked herself once more to make sure she looked alright. Her makeup was good, and long blonde hair was not perfect but straight, and there were no stray hairs. The pink pantsuit she was wearing was business casual enough to go out in. When she first came to these places in her early twenties, she used to wear short dresses which showed off her perfect body, but now she was thirty, and it just wasn't her style anymore. She kind of missed how she used to dress; she never had to pay for a drink. But she was a professional woman now, so it wasn't proper.
She went inside and found her friend sitting on a stool at the bar. She was being hit on by some guy, and she politely declined his advances. Rachel already had a boyfriend, but that didn't mean men stopped hitting on her. Rachel was a cute brunette with an athletic body; she had a decent-sized bust, but her ass was her best feature. She was wearing a short blue dress with matching heels. The guy who was flirting walked away just as Brandi came up to her. They hugged and exchanged greetings before Brandi took a stool next to her. Brandi was about to order a drink, but Rachel already had one ready for her.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Rachel asked.
"A few months, I believe. What have you been up to?"
"The same old stuff," she replied. "Work, TV, gym, boyfriend stuff, blah, blah, blah."
"Well, at least you have a boyfriend," said Brandi, feeling envious.
With the way Brandi has been burning the midnight oil the last several months, she hasn't had much time for dating. In fact, she had missed at least three good booty calls from some ex-boyfriends which she would've accepted if she had just paid attention.
"How's the fabulous James doing, by the way?" Brandi asked.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," said Rachel. "I need to break up with him."
"What? Oh no, I thought things were going well for you guys."
Brandi never met James, but from what she had seen from Rachel's social media, she thought they were having a lot of fun together. She even looked up James's socials and saw he was a pediatrician who once competed in the Olympics for swimming and runs blood drives. Maybe there was more to what was going on between them since nobody shows what they're really like on social media.
"Things are good, but I'm just not into him anymore."
"Really?" Brandi asked, looking surprised. "From everything I've seen, he seems like such a good catch."
"If you want him, you can have him," Rachel told her.
"I just might," Brandi joked as she sipped her wine.
"No, I'm serious," said Rachel. "In fact, that's the main reason I asked you here; I want to set up a trap for him."
Brandi almost did a spit take with her wine but quickly stopped herself.
"Please don't tell me you're asking me what I think you're going to ask," said Brandi.
"It is what you're thinking. I need you to booby trap him for me."
Brandi rolled her eyes in annoyance before drinking more of her wine.
"Please stop using that term; I hate it," said Brandi.
"You came up with that term," said Rachel.
Rachel wanted out of her relationship with James, and her best friend Brandi was her only way out of it. There was nothing really wrong with James; he was, in all senses, a good catch. He was handsome, fit, treated her well, always got along with her friends, and had a well-paid job. The problem was that they had nothing in common. While she was a party girl who liked to go clubbing and getting wild on the dance floor, he enjoyed nice dinner outs and hanging out with friends in bars and never getting drunk. While she was into trashy TV shows, he enjoyed good TV dramas. While she liked to vacation in hotspots where she could jet ski, go out in sexy bikinis, and again party, he liked to go mountain climbing, visit ancient ruins, and do other things where he could expand his mind.
The only thing keeping them together was the great sex between them. He was the best guy she has ever had sex with, including the three guys she has cheated on him with in the last year. She knew it was a mistake cheating on him, but she couldn't help herself; she wasn't into committed relationships, which made her relationship with James more of a problem. She had thought about just telling him that she had cheated on him, but she didn't want to look like the bad guy in the breakup, even though she clearly was being a bad person. She was aware of how selfish she was being, which did make her feel guilty.
"You're cheating on him?"
"I can't help myself," said Rachel. "I'm just not into monogamy like most people; I need a variety. I don't want to keep cheating on James, and I don't want to hurt his feelings either, so I thought maybe I could find another way."
"And you think I'm the best way?" Brandi asked.
"I can break up with him easily, and he would at least get laid by another sexy woman. It might help him to move on from me if he knows he can have other options."
"I'm not sure that will work," said Brandi.