[Illicit Desires 1]: An Entanglement With My Bestfriend’s Husband

Jennifer’s POV. It’s been more than twelve years since we last spoke, but Sasha Willbough was exactly as I remembered. Bold, eccentric, chatty with an innate proclivity for making the most inappropriate jokes at random instances. At first I was doubtful when an unknown number randomly messaged me and claimed to be the best friend that I hadn’t spoken to in over a decade, but I knew Sasha from heart, and all it took was a few minutes of idle messaging back and forth for me to realise that it was really her. Our conversation was easy, like we hadn’t spent twelve years on opposite sides of the globe without contact. She spent most of her time cracking the funniest jokes, effortlessly killing all the tension that might have been there. She asked about my life and I gave as much detail as I could, but really, there was nothing to tell. I went to work every day for a flimsy paycheck just to send half of it to my parents and then I’d spend my weekends at home, answering the occasional call from work and sleeping in an attempt to regain my strength. She on the other hand had a lot to talk about, as expected of the heiress of a multimillion dollar Cooperation. Even though she wasn’t running it full time, she got the privileges that came with it. Such as a Black Amex and the ability to fly all around the world first class or in a private jet if she pleased. All that and the fact that she was getting married to a man twice as rich as her father in a couple of days. I smile tersely when she fills me in and switch the phone to my left hand so I could properly stir my pathetic excuse of a dinner. We switched to a proper phone call a few minutes ago and it was refreshing to hear her voice again, though it was older and more refined. “Congratulations,” I force excitement into my tone. Not that I wasn’t happy for her but the thought of marriage right now stung a lot especially after all that's happened to me in the past few weeks. “I’m guessing it’s going to be an elaborate affair.” “Of course! His family insists on sparing no expense!” She shrieks. “To be honest I can’t wait to be married to him because I love him so f*****g much and I literally can’t wait to be married to him.” I smile again, genuinely feeling excited for her. “That’s nice to hear, really. It’s a rare thing to find true love these days.” She sighs happily into the phone then mutters something to someone who’s probably in the room with her. “Hey, look. I was thinking… why don’t you come to the wedding as well?” I freeze, then turn off the cooker before my meal burns even further. “I’d really love to, but…” I chew on my lower lip unsure of how to say this exactly. She lived so damned far, a whole other continent and my paycheck might allow me to rent out this average looking apartment, but it’d take several months of savings if I wanted to make that trip. “Is it about money?” Her tone wasn’t mocking or spiteful, more of the nonchalant tone that only a person born into wealth can adopt perfectly. “Don’t sweat it, I’ll send a plane over just for you.” “Uhm… Sasha that’s really generous of you but…” “But nothing, don’t turn down my offer, either that or I book a first class ticket for you. Trust me The jet costs less.” “But…” I start again, gathering excuses together to use. “No buts, just say yes and I’ll make the preparations,” she says with a tone of finality. “We’ll have so much fun together, Jenny, like we used to. The city is beautiful and full of bars and handsome men. I might be extremely busy when you’d arrive, but I swear I’ll give you a tour and we’ll have fun, just like the good old days.” The good old days. I swallow down my objections and finally I agree to her offer, she squeals excitedly and promises to send the details later. After the call I drop my phone on the table and pick at my meal with mixed feelings. Even with the constant dark cloud hanging over my head these days, I truly was happy to be reunited with Sasha again. We met when we were five and she’d approached me first– tiny, bold, blonde and dressed in designer clothes back then, she looked me in the eyes and said she wanted me to be her friend. Of course five year old me was stunned, I was a social pariah even then and she was the most popular girl in our year, I’d thought it was a joke at first, after all she was rich, popular and pretty, I came from a middle class family and I had kick me signs taped to my back most of the time. But after she followed me around for a couple of days and promised to let me ride in her dad’s helicopter, I agreed. It was by far the best decision I’d ever made in my entire life. We were inseparable as kids, her parents were mostly absent in her life so she spent most of her time in my house, we’d bond and wreak havoc on anyone around. She was the troublemaker and I was the one who tried to keep us out of trouble, of course it didn’t matter how much trouble we got into, all it took was a call from her Dad and we’d be walk away scot free in no time. Sure, she was reckless but she was a good friend, hell she was a great friend and it broke me when she moved away abruptly after seven years of friendship. On a random Sunday afternoon her family just up and moved, we didn’t even get to say goodbye and I’d heard the news from one of our classmates. I never expected we’d get back in touch. As children we ran in completely different circles, her parents were millionaires and my parents were avarage office workers, it was already difficult fitting it with her as children, I can hardly imagine what that’d be like now. Two entirely different worlds, hers was all glitz and glamour and elaborate weddings and mine was work and unexpected breakups. It’s barely been two weeks since Mike, my boyfriend of four years, called to tell me that he was engaged to a girl whom he has been with for almost as long as we'd known each other. The conversation had been heated of course, the bastard hadn’t even seemed remorseful and had merely hung up after having the audacity to invite me to his wedding. I bite down on my lip to stop the tears from flowing all over again, after all the only thing I’ve really done since I got the news was cry and shovel take out into my belly. Maybe this wedding was what I needed anyway. A few days off in a different country with an old friend, surrounded by glitz, glamour and alcohol. Maybe I’d finally be able to get through the day without a nagging headache and constant self pity just hovering over me, with that thought in mind I pick up my phone and fire a text to my supervisor to request for some days off, I’d earned it anyway. Maybe this was what I needed. ———— What was the first indication that this trip was going to go horribly wrong you might be wondering? Well, it was when I had to navigate this city alone, with only my clutch and nearly dead phone in hand, because my luggage was apparently missing and Sasha was too busy to come and show me to my hotel. I could sense her genuine remorse over the phone and that was the only thing that kept me from pouring three weeks worth of frustration out on her, she didn’t deserve it anyway, it was already a day to the wedding and I can’t imagine how stressed out she might be. But those thoughts didn’t kill the bitterness in my throat. I shouldn’t have thought that getting out of that hellish city and flying halfway across the globe to this place would cure the feelings of self pity and anger that have been bubbling below the surface the past few weeks. I would love to turn back now, but I didn’t have the money for a damn ticket back, so I square my shoulders and make my way into the bustling crowd of locals. It took me about two hours to find the hotel, then another forty five minutes for me to prove that the room was reserved for me. My day only went from bad to worse when my mother’s call jolted me out of my fitful sleep. I held the phone away from my ear slightly and let out a small tired sigh when her rant began. She didn’t bother to ask about how I was, how I was coping with the time difference or whether I’d even seen Sasha yet, no, typical of her ready to chastise and mock me. I took her mockery in stride as usual, merely humming at the appropriate moments and rolling my eyes when she became incoherent, but then the topic shifted to Sasha and I felt her words become well placed jabs that did nothing to help my pathetic mood. “… look at your friend, she had a jet come pick you up. Don’t you feel the slightest bit ashamed about how pathetic your life is compared to hers?” I don’t reply to that, not like she expected me to anyway. “Really Jennifer, I thought by this age you’d at least have some marriage prospects, but all you do is sit home and eat and get fat. Look at Sasha, she has such a flawless figure, next to her you look bloated. Maybe I need to start monitoring your diet again…” I once again drift off and shut out her useless drawls and complaints. She was like this when I was a kid too. After Sasha went home, she’d sit me down and start explaining the many ways I was a mess and how she’d prefer a daughter like Sasha. As a kid, it’d hurt, I’d even started to resent Sasha a little because of it. Back then I’d been beyond desperate to win my mother’s affection, I’d bring home the best grades and come out on top in every single extracurricular activity but that was never enough for her, not really, she wanted me to be a whole other person. Because I wasn’t enough, not for her and not for Mike either. When she finally hangs up I toss my phone sideways and slide off of the bed. It took me twenty minutes to get ready and exit hotel room in search of a bar where I could drown my sorrows in. The bar I stumble into is full of drunk patrons and sweaty dancers. I had to duck under several arms and dodge several groping hands to eventually make it to the bar and take a hesitant seat as I eyed the place in wonder. I’d frequented a lot of bars back home, but none of them had been this extravagant and wild before. The barely there clothing was a usual staple in most bars, but the flashiness, the exotic dancers on stage and the people sniffing white powder off of other people’s chest was very new to me. I continued to gawk at the place, so far gone that it took me a little too long to notice the man that sat next to me and watched my shocked features with an easy grin. Eventually I tore my eyes away from the scene of women belly dancing on the stage and eventually met the coal black eyes of the man sitting next to me. I was stunned to silence for a moment. He was… ‘handsome’ seemed too trivial a word to use for him. He was dark haired with tanned skin and an angular face, even with the button down blue shirt and the dark blue pants he wore, I could see the power radiating off of his body, everything about him screamed dominance and from the watch on his wrist, he seemed he was wealthy as well. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol surging through me at the moment or maybe the pressure of all those negative emotions, I leaned forward and smiled at the man, suddenly feeling very bold. He was clearly older than the guys that usually approach me. That, along with the fact that he was loaded financially, should be the first sign that he was way out of my league. “Hello there,” I yell a little. The music is loud and pulsing through the club, and I’m unsure if he even heard me but the grin that spreads across his face answers that question rather easily. “Hello to you too,” he takes a sip from his glass and I watch his throat bob as he swallows. He was attractive, terribly attractive. “You look stunned. First time here?” I chuckle and take a sip of my own drink too. “First time in the country even. I’m here for a friend’s wedding.” He lifts a brow and I clench my thigh together. Even that little expression is terribly attractive, f**k. “Really? And how do you like it so far?” I pause at that question, the music is still pounding and now people are cheering at some shirtless man on a pole. “I haven’t seen much of it really…” “That’s a shame, I’m sure you’d love it. It’s beautiful here, especially during the day,” he says with a slight nod. I shrug a little. “I was hoping to go sightseeing, but things don’t always go as planned, so far nothing here has gone as planned.” “That’s how life works, I’m afraid,” he pause and taps on the rim of his cup, his eyes remain on me, heavy lidded and as tangible as I expect his touch would be. “Did you come here with someone?” I smile brightly at him and shift a little closer to him so our thighs brush up against each other, I feel him tense a little bit, but the expression on his face is as cool as ever. “No, I’m alone. I’m not into dating right now.” He shoots me a wry, somehow self mocking smile. “Relationships have never really been my thing either.” I search his cool eyes, nearly unreadable except for the spark of intrest I can see lingering in his irises. I shouldn’t be entertaining him, after all he’s a stranger, an older, powerful one. But something about him, maybe it was his chiselled good looks or the way he just radiated power and arrogance, but something was pulling me into him. What was the harm anyway? I came here for distractions from all my problems. And this man, this man looked like he knew how to distract. “Do you want to leave? This place is terribly loud,” he asks, suddenly very close to me. I can smell the alcohol on his breath, and it’s surprisingly mild. His eyes trailed over me slowly and I felt breathless for a moment. I nod once and he smiles, stands and extends a hand to me. “Then let’s head out, hm?”