STRANGER

CHAPTER ONE

The thick dark liquid stared back at him, no idea why the man before it resorted to it every time he had issues. It had been sitting on a white porcelain saucer for close to an hour and this time it didn't have the answers to Brendan's list of unending questions. His boss delighted in making his life miserable, his wife was constantly unhappy and disconnected from the marriage. His parents were getting a divorce after 38 years of marriage and 3 grand children with 1 on the way, all from his brother. Yeah, He and Morgan had been trying for years, spent most of their savings on doctors from all over the world and they all returned with the same results, nothing was wrong they just had to follow the rules and keep trying. One of the reasons Morgan was unhappy. He sighed, pushing all the thoughts to the deepest part of his mind and leaving them there. He reached for the handle of the mug and- 

"Oh finally!" A voice cried out beside him and he turned immediately. One of the most exquisite human being in the world sat two stools beside him. 

"Excuse me?" he blinked severally beneath furrowed brows. 

" You've been staring at that poor cup of coffee for close to an hour. And I have never seen someone look at coffee that way...like it's a person. Its fascinating" she said, ending with a smile revealing firm well arranged set of white glistening teeth. "Really? Do you go to bars just to watch people?"he retorted. "It clears my mind" he added frankly, returning a forced smile. And she nodded slowly with a warm welcoming smile "Right. I chugged down four Margaritas watching you" Brendan's eyes widened, maybe he wasn't the only one with problems. 

"Four? Wow. That's a lot, so you come here to drink and watch people?" he really didn't expect an answer. She pouted, sweeping the half filled bar with one look. "No, the hot guy at the bar usually buys me a drink...you didn't even spare me a glance" she fluttered her eyelashes seductively with a sly smile. Brennan swallowed hard to moisten his dry throat and smiled back. He'd always been the clueless guy who didn't know when he was flirted with. But did he want this? This beautiful full figured woman with short golden blonde shoulder length hair and wayfarer glasses shielding her grey eyes. He straightened up, in his seat "okay, would you like coffee?" he asked. She scoffed and then he saw her laugh, her brows drawn upward together and the priceless glow in her eyes, she adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her slender nose, he noticed she wasn't wearing a ring. She shook her head, tossing her hair about. "This time, I'll make an exception" she said, transferring to the stool beside him and signalling to the waiter. Brendan stared back at her in shock, was this all moving too fast? What did she mean by 'exception'? 'And why did she laugh that hard?. The waiter appeared in front of them. "Bring us four glasses of your strongest drink" she said, biting her lower lip and giving the waiter a wink. 

"I can't do that. I have to get going soon anyway. My- 

"shh...you really need a drink that isn't coffee. You need to clear your mind. And I'm good at that" 

"No I mean -"

"One drink" she cut him again. 

"You ordered four" 

"In case the first one helps" he sighed. Looked deeply into her eyes he gave in quickly. The innocence surrounding her oval face, she had minimal makeup on so she wasn't concealing much. Her eyes lit up when she smiled and she had arguably the best dentition -'just like Morgan's, the tiny chastising voice of his conscience added. But this woman was beautiful; she had this little pout on her lips and that lustful but appealing look in her eyes. The same eyes that changed his conviction when he looked in them. 

"So what were you thinking about?" she brought him back to the bar. 

"UHM...work mostly" he answered briefly, better keep the conversation light he thought, and don't discuss the most pressing issue with a stranger-his marriage. 

"And coffee helps you come up with those big ideas you present at work" she leaned in a little bit. 

He laughed shortly. "More or less".

"So here's your drink" the waiter returned with four large pints of some dark brown substance before them, she adjusted in her seat excitedly, Alcohol "shall I take the coffee away sir" Brendan nodded. He picked the cold deserted saucer and walked away. He watched longingly as the waiter disappeared with his coffee and stared blankly at the drinks frizzing before him, it'd been so long since he had alcohol. Morgan cleansed the house of every trace of alcohol since they started trying to have a child. 

"Wow, I have never seen anyone look at coffee that way. It's weird and unhealthy. Common loosen up!" she picked up the first pint and chugged it down in for gulps. Brendan eyes widened with his mouth agape. "Alcohol is to you what coffee is to me" he said plainly, and picked his drink. The sour. taste hit his senses hard, he resisted the urge to spit it back, it made him dizzy for the first few seconds and then he cleared. He found himself laughing hard and shaking his head vigorously. 

"Ähh that was strong! wha-what is the name of this" he asked, half smiling half frowning staring down at the drink. She leaned it, giving him a clearer suggestive view of her cleavage. And his body leaned in too without his permission. 

" so...imagine...I am coffee- she laughed 'in the flesh- she paused again, her lips still parted from the last syllable. ' What would you tell me? " . 

Brendan tilted his head to the side. She managed to loosen him up. "I would say you make my life a lot easier" feeling awkward the next minute. Her brows drew upward again. "Was that weird?" he asked immediately. And she laughed shaking her head dismissively. 

"Tell me about yourself " it dawned on Brendan that they hadn't introduced yet. " I'm Brendan, I work at Bradley Locke. marketing and advertising... I'm sorry I didn't get your name" she smiled. "You didn't ask- Lydia Starks " she replied. "I'm a photographer at MODE Magazine" she added. "I noticed you're not wearing a ring?" Brendan curiously looked at his ringer finger like he didn't know he didn't have it on.

"uhh...uhm...i-" he couldn't form the words. 

"Divorced?" she chipped in again. "No...its complicated" he felt a tinge of guilt when he said that. Reducing his marriage to that, but it made him feel better, admitting to himself that things were really complicated with them.

"So work wasn't the only thing on your mind after all" she said. Brendan looked at her, searching for her eyes for a reason to delve into the details of his failing marriage. And the reason came too quickly. Her eyes, even the strongest men could get lost in the. He spent the next half hour telling her about his marriage to Morgan how he met her on exchange in Australia and their constant unending struggle to have a child like yesterday. He made sure to emphasize his love for his wife to dissuade her attraction towards him. She made him feel relaxed, and he poured out his deepest secrets to this stranger. She gave the occasional nod and laughed when he made a joke about his boss. He lost count of how many drinks he had after the first two, it took him to heights coffee couldn't. And after they had at least 5 more drinks, he asked her about herself, and why she drank alone at the bar on that evening. She waved it off lightly with a shrug and a one worded reply "Habit" then urged him to keep talking. That didn't seem weird to Brendan, he enjoyed her company already and beside, she looked harmless. 

"uhh....he said, tipsy from all the drinking. He looked behind him, the dimly lit bar was almost empty now. He stared at the wooden frame grandfather clock at the corner and jumped the next minute. His fingers dug into his pockets searching for his phone, Lydia already called out to the waiter and whispered something in his ear to which he nodded. Brendan stared at the screen of his phone, the light illuminating his face in the dimly lit bar. "Shit!" he exclaimed. " It 8:45! I've got to get home! Morgan will be worried" the disappointment registered on his face when he didn't find any missed call or message from his beloved wife.

"Do you want to come over to my place? I've got something stronger than... " she said, eyeing the now empty pint glasses in front of them. He smiled, shaking his head and repeatedly saying no to all her advances. He managed to get to his feet with a slight stagger, she steadied him with her shoulder, "Someone is really drunk. Come on! I'll flag a cab for you" she said. He mentioned the bill and she said she'd taken care of it. 

They sat in the backseat of the yellow taxi cab, he stared out the window at nothing avoiding her gaze, her left hand rested on his thigh casually. Her touch churned his stomach, and she smiled up at him warmly, she wanted to make eye contact, drive him until he couldn't control his longing for her and send all his defenses crumbling to the ground. But even in his drunken state he knew better. Hell! If the driver didn't step on it, he'd probably take her up on her offer and go to her place. He needed a good screw. - with his wife, and that was exactly what he planned to do. Make love to her all night like he fantasized he would Lydia. Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front her apartment. She must have sensed his uneasiness as he remained mute throughout the ride to her place. 

"I'll call you" she said briefly, planting a kiss on his cheek. The color faded from his face, he barely said goodnight to her. The taxi driver drove on making the next turn, he accelerated as he entered the empty street. Brendan sighed heavily, staring down at the slight bulge in between his legs. He rolled his eyes and swallowed hard. Making eye contact with the driver in the rear view mirror and immediately looking away. 

Soon he was jogging up the stairs of the place he called home. He walked into the bedroom, slowly pushing the door open and hoping Morgan didn't catch the strong smell emanating from him. She lay there sprawled on the bed, in her silk nightwear. The one that exposed her ample cleavage. 

"Hi honey" she said, beaming as he walked in. She opened her arms to him, and he crashed into her warm embrace. Placing his lips firmly on hers and kissing her with all the hunger he'd held for the last half hour. Stopping briefly to stare into her beautiful blue eyes. " you are on fire tonight. Have you been drinking?" she asked, she must have tasted it, he blinked severally, he wasn't about to lie to her. 

"Yes. I'm sorry...it was-"

"its fine. " she cut in. "I've been drinking too." , wrapping her arms around him and staring deeply into his eyes searching for the spark that pulled at her hearts strings the first time she met him. When did it become okay to drink? Brendan thought to himself, but that was the least of his worries. "So I'm guessing you're in the mood for some-"

"No..no..no..Honey...I had a lot of errands to run today before hitting the gym. I am exhausted" she said. And Brendan rolled off her disappointingly, the same excuse for close to 5 months and once again ruining his fantasies. "I'm sorry...honey...? I'll pull out the cuffs for you tomorrow . I promise" she said. He nodded walking into the bathroom disappointed. He sighed, what was he thinking, what made today any different from the last 5 months? Lydia - he thought with smile. Just then his phone buzzed in his pocket and swiped the screen several times. It was a multimedia message from an unknown number. He opened it immediately, and watched it download, gasping the next minute when he saw the cleavage he spent the last hour lusting for stare right back at him bare in all its magnificence. "Lydia".