Instinct and Influence
They drank glass after glass of top-shelf tequila. It was unlike any hard alcohol Audrey had ever drunk. This was no eye-watering shot. It was an acquired taste to be developed. She tried to like it and she tried to keep up with Noah.
Then “Sexy Back” came on. Tipsy now and nearing drunk, Audrey jumped up from the table. “I love this song!”
Vicky was quick to get up and join her. And then Noah and the businessman got up. They danced. The businessman touched Vicky at her hips. Vicky pushed herself closer to him. Noah rolled his eyes at the other couple and innocently held Audrey’s hand as they bounced to the music. Audrey moved her shoulders back and forth to the beat. She tried to accentuate her figure by sucking in her stomach. Then she slinked closer to him. Noah smiled and kept dancing, as though he didn’t notice. Audrey then upped the ante and put his hand on her waist. Noah smiled and held on, a little more tightly than Audrey had expected. Vicky then gave Audrey a bump with her hip. The two couples melded into a bumping, jumping foursome.
And then the song changed to the ubiquitous theme song of the season, Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind.”
“I gotta go pee,” Vicky hollered at Audrey.
“I got to go, too.” Noah said.
“Me too,” Audrey said.
“I’ll hold down the fort,” the businessman said.
Vicky led the way, but this time Audrey held on to Noah’s hand. He didn’t let go when they arrived at the scarlet hallway of unisex stalls, Vicky rushed ahead into the extra-large one for handicapped people. “Fine. The closer I can be to you,” Noah whispered in Audrey’s ear from. Audrey, stunned by excitement and fear, let go of his hand and turned directly to him. They were face to face. She could kiss him right now, kiss a major star. She could brag about it to Vicky. She could tell her children. Would she tell her mother? The door of a stall next to them opened up. As a slightly overweight girl walked out, Noah nudged Audrey into another nearby stall to let the girl pass. Noah gave Audrey a push further into the stall. “What is he doing? A bathroom make-out session? Yuck. These bathrooms are nasty,” she worried. Then he made himself clear. He undid his belt and began unbuttoning his jeans. Audrey lit up. Before she could weigh the options of what to do next, her instincts made her move. “I really have to pee,” she said, and pushed him out of the stall. She locked the door behind him with trembling hands.
Alone in the stall, she read graffiti to slow her mind down. She noticed a scribble about asparagus pee and one of a penis wearing a sombrero. Relaxing now, she got in position hovering over the seat. She balanced without touching the walls. “Go, go, go, go,” she chanted to herself. The music paused between songs. Audrey heard Vicky moaning loudly, exuberantly like a porn star.
When Audrey walked out of the bathroom, she saw 3 pairs of feet in the handicapped stall.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Love this story! Awesome job Willow.