The Night that Never Happened

 She got up from bed as if it were any other morning. He was on the kitchen counter whipping up pancakes and bacon. She walks over and takes a whiff of freshly done slapjacks and stumbles as she lost her footing.

“I feel drunk!” she blurted.

He just looked at her. There was the temptation to confess but he thought better. The night was a mystery to him. With neither one saying a word, it was as though it never happened.

He too, was beginning to doubt whether they were in the same corner of the universe or the same timeline. Her face showed nothing to confirm his deeds or misdeeds. He could still taste her in his mouth. He can still feel the silkiness of her skin on his fingertips. He could still hear her muffled moans and feel her body shiver as she climaxed.

No matter how he rationalized, he was still perplexed. “Impossible!” he thought as he flipped another pancake. It was unthinkable how anyone could endure such torture and not react!

But there she was, seemingly oblivious to his disbelief. She was either feigning indifference or sending him a message to finish what he started as soon as chance favored them.

It may have been chance that brought them to where they were. He could find no other explanation or justification for his being there. They were friends it seemed who crossed the line which fell on the boundary of the ill-defined. He was certain she was conscious when he did what he did. 

They were on assignment finishing up the last few days of an out-of-town shoot. The production outfit they worked for decided to cut costs so they were booked not in a hotel but in a flat that was owned by the client. It was customary for the pair to share the same room on sorties like this one and it was not surprising that they even shared the same bed as there was only one room available. She had no qualms. Neither had he and they had gotten used to this arrangement in the years they’ve been working. 

It may have been the storm that was blowing that week—the same one that caused production delays and extended their stay a few days longer and a couple thousand more in expenses. It may also have been the loneliness they both felt. She was committed. He had been alone longer than he cared to remember.

Though the place had no decent air-conditioning, it was rather cold. He always had a problem adjusting to cooler temperatures. A window slammed from the gust of wind and woke him. It normally would never have bothered him but he was too uncomfortable to have dozed off like he normally would. She was into the depths of dreamland or so, it had seemed to him. He shook the bed just to make sure she was out like a light.

He raised himself on the bed. The howling wind precluded his return to slumber. He was stuck! Luckily, the power wasn’t out but there was neither television nor internet service where they were so he stumbled over to the kitchen, turned on the coffee maker and took a Marlboro out of a flip-top box.

As he was twirling the unlit cigarette in his hand, he curiously walked back to the room to check on her. 

She lay still amid the tempest. It was like she had taken a few downers or jacked up a Bob Marley. She was serenely quiet and he watched her with fresh eyes for the first time in the years that he had known her!

The gurgling sound from the coffee maker’s dry reservoir had roused him from the stupor. He walked back to the kitchen and turned the machine off and poured a cup. He settles into a counter stool and lights up. 

It felt strange to him to feel the way he felt. They had known each other for years and they were through some good times and bad. He even recalled of the time when she comforted him after his break-up with a girl she also knew. 

Suddenly he realized that in the last four years that he’s known her, they were together more often than she would be with her boyfriend or he with his girl. They’ve done more things, shared more secrets, rough times and life-changing experiences than would any couple! 

It was as if they were a dating couple, having shared more dinners, coffees, movies and countless other social activities. People often commented on how good they looked together. They would just brush the remark aside and go on like nothing was ever said.

He tried to shake off the feeling but he was slowly coming to a rude awakening!

He stubs the cigarette and walks back to the room. He stands at the doorway and looks over her. She had shifted and he noticed she was uncovered and her bare legs were exposed. His pulse quickened. His loose shorts suddenly became uncomfortable. He walks over to the bed and tries to put her legs under the blanket but she had her weight on it. There was no use covering her up without waking her.

Instead, he slips the blanket away from her. She made no visible sign of disagreement. As he peeled away at the sheet, he saw her loose tank top revealing more than half her right breast. He paused for a moment thinking of the consequences if he gave in to his hormones. They were miles away from home, far from any prying eyes. There was no reason to hold back, not at that moment! At that point, he realized that he had been holding back all those years. He had wanted and loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her. He had promised himself that he would take care of her no matter what. Unfortunately, he could not protect her from himself!

The sound of the raging storm drowned her moans and the squeaky sounds of lips pressed against flesh. For close to an hour, he had his way with her, his tongue memorizing every contour of her body; his fingers, mapping the way to bliss!

It was by far, their most extraordinary adventure but one that only he seems to have gone through.

He flips the last of the pancakes onto a plate as she settled on a stool. She had that glow about her. She seemed exceptionally happy that morning but he could see she was clumsy as she moved around. It was like she was subjected to rough sex the night before. She seemed to have enjoyed it but would never confirm it. He would never admit to the crime.

. He would never speak to her of it.