In the dark: A short story by Rabi Thapa

He wanted me … it was obvious the second he appeared on the steps. His eyes were on my body, left right centre, and then he looked straight at me, like never before. I always knew he fancied me a bit, wouldn't mind, and he was cute too, but he never came out with it, always looking the other way, maybe because he always had that miserable Anna with him. And there she was that day as well, popping up behind him and looking around, not too happy to see me but making a show of it, well who could blame her really. But for the first time he really looked at me, those serious grey eyes on me, and suddenly I was liquid.

He wouldn't have done anything, though, and that would have been it, but now I wanted to see what he was like, I wanted him to, you know, crystallise my desire. I wasn't going to wait until he screwed up the courage to screw me. They looked so boringly comfy over dinner, like an old sofa set, that when she started to go on about all the happening shit in her life, oh I made a couscous the other day and I'm learning Arabic and Ben and I are going to Lebanon this year blahfuckingblah, I thought why shouldn't I have a new hobby of my own? Soon as dinner was done Simon and Tina dashed off to meet some mates up in the city and though I'd been thinking of tagging along, once Anna and Raj said they'd do the dishes I knew it had to be right then and there or never. I knew they would start nattering about something like yoga or aromatherapy, and that it would piss her off if I asked Ben if he wanted a joint, so much that she would pretend she was having a jasmine tea or something and wouldn't come down to the garden for as long as it took for a fuck in the dark.