Re: Story: Once upon a time in Singapore
Wang came from money. There was no way he could have otherwise afforded the penthouse suite at the top floor of his apartment building. We removed our shoes at the door. A wicker shelf held about fifty shoes, all of them either loafers or heels.
I don't know what made me change my mind about the dinner, well, yes I do, it was May. I wanted to be around her again. It was stupid, I know it, but I wanted to have that feeling of lust again. All day before the dinner party I couldn't get my mind off her. Yes I was disappointed with myself, I was married after all, and not only that but she was the wife of one of my subordinates; but I reasoned that it was pure fiction. A byproduct of sexless nights.
I may have come a little underdressed. Everyone was wearing collared shirts and slacks. While I on the other hand, the casual American, came in shorts and flip flops-though my shirt was collared.
"I didn't know it was a formal." I said.
"Oh, don't worry boss." Wang said to me with a bright red face. "Come in, come in." He held a wine glass in his hand. "May, pour another glass of red." He called to his wife.
I kicked off my flops and lined them up with the other guests shoes. His wife came over to us and handed me a wine glass. She wore a tight fitting red cocktail dress that hugged her upper body and flared out from her waist. It was a very short dress that made her look slutty. Wang always talked about how his wife was such a conservative prude, I was surprised to see she was wearing something so revealing; black stockings again, patterned with darkened diamonds and lines, forming a sort of checkered pattern. Her hair was in a cute brown bob that hugged the lines of her jaw. Her eye lashes were very long and ink black, accentuating her gigantic eyes. She had a sexy cartoonish look to her that night.
When she arrived with the glass she failed to look me in the eyes and scurried off before I could say anything but thank you.
I followed Wang around greeting the guests, talking business. We ended up on his large balcony overlooking the glowing city. A few of them enjoyed listening to me talk about America. Most were mid level executives who'd been to New York and Los Angeles. The Singaporeans are well informed about American news and culture, like most of the world.
"I'd like to go there one day." Wang said, stirring his wine glass and pointing it out to the city.
"And why haven't you?" A short finance counselor asked. "You've got quite the view here, surely you can afford a trip to America."
"Work. I'm too busy working."
By now I could catch a slight slur in his excellent English.
"Ah, well, we should send you on a business trip soon to Silicon Valley. You and the wife."
"Really?" The words came from behind me, but right away I knew it was May.
"Yes. Would be nice wouldn't it? We'd expense it all. You play golf, Wang? You can hit up Pebble Beach."
"That would be fun." May said.
"May, why don't you be a good wife and go get us some more drinks." Wang said, his voice turning cold. He muttered something equally sharp in Mandarin.
His anger took me by surprise, but the others acted as if nothing had happened. As soon as she left he started up a conversation about how he acquired the property. He was getting quite drunk, and I didn't think he'd notice if I slipped inside.
The apartment was finely furnished. A lot of great looking art and asian themed furniture. I saw May in the kitchen. I pretended to be looking at one of the paintings on his wall, but really my eyes were glued to her small bottom as she served drinks. I walked over to where she was and startled her.
"You need help?" I asked.
"No...well, yes, I need some bottles from the wine room." She gave me a short smile and led me past the living room and down a dimly lit hall way. Her perfume followed her.
At the end of the hall she opened one of them and turned on the light. Bottles lines three sides of the room.
"What are we drinking?" I asked.
"Doesn't matter, don't pick one from top."
"Those are the expensive ones?"
"His father gave him those."
"If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living? You have a very nice apartment. One I don't think I could afford."
"I'm not working right now. His father left him some money. He was in the banking industry."
She looked very pretty under the dim light. Two diamond earring sparkled from either side of her white face. I noticed she didn't like to maintain eye contact with me, constantly looking down, as if she were awaiting a scolding for something she'd done.
"How long have you two been married?"
"Three years."
"Ah, the first couple of years are the best. I've been married for ten years now."
"Oh, and your wife...is she in Singapore?" Her eyes flitted to mine for a moment, then away.
"No, Tokyo. She's waiting for me. Your husband is moving up quickly in the company. I see him having my position in a few years."
Damn, she was gorgeous. Her gigantic eyes twinkled. Her smooth skin looked fresh and youthful. Just being so close to her, smelling her perfume, inches from her petite asian femininity...it drove me wild. It dropped my heart to my stomach like a school boy. It raised the hairs on my arms in nervousness. I just wanted to touch her.
"He really wants it. He doesn't like having to rely on his father money-"
"I like this dress you're wearing." I said. "May I touch the material?"
I didn't wait for a response. My hand reached out and landed on her right hip. For a moment her eyes bulged and I realized that I made a mistake.
A silence flooded the room and threatened to drown us both. I could feel it in her eyes, not that she wanted me to touch her, but that she wouldn't tell me no either.
"What kind of fabric is it? I'd like for my wife to wear something like this, but I don't think she has the guts to wear something so short. It's very sexy, May."
There it was, I'd crossed the border and waited to see how things would play out.
She kept her eyes on the glasses of wine in front of us, her head slightly lowered as if I weren't speaking at all. I took this as a green light, as wrong as it was.
Gradually, I ran my fingers down the silky dress, to the hem above her knees. A sense of sexual power coursed through me. A masculine sense of authority over this meek Chinese housewife.
|