“Could I just have a beer?” The bartender nodded and fished out a frosty bottle from a nearby fridge. The label was something local that I didn’t recognize.

“Mind making that two?” A deep voice asked from my left as a guy sat down next to me in the bar. Since the bartender stood closest to him he got the beer that was intended for me.

“Just a moment, Sir. I’ll have to go downstairs and get another case.” The bartender disappeared, leaving me without a cold one in the baking heat. I looked over at the guy who had just sat down, who was in the middle of drinking. His appearance matched his voice. Tall, muscled, dark-skinned and slightly older than most of the people here. Probably five years my senior as well. He was dressed pretty casually, with a plain, white tee and cut-off jeans.

He caught me looking.

“Oh, sorry. This wasn’t yours, was it?” He seemed genuinely worried that he’d made a mistake.

“No, no. I mean… sure. Maybe it was, but I’m sure I’ll get one pretty soon.” I waved it all away and did my best impression of someone with a higher social intellect than a that of a doorknob. I was fairly sure that I did a good job. Besides, the guy didn’t seem like an asshole, so I didn’t have much reason to be one either. And Mia did want me to try and talk to people. “I’m Jacob. I’m from out of town and I’m here against my will.”

The guy had a laugh that rumbled and vibrated through me, and he grasped my hand with just the right pressure, not squeezing hard just because he could.

“Marcel. Nice, meeting you, Jacob.” He gave me long look, took a swig of beer, and pivoted around on his stool to lean on the bar while looking out at the view of the pool. “It’s not a bad place to be against your will though, right?”

“It definitely could be worse.” I conceded, nodding sagely. I caught myself mimicking Marcel as I leaned back on the bar, squinting slightly against the sun as I looked at the some thirty people who were splashing about in the blue, crystalline water. Some of them seemed to be playing some sort of game involving a comically large beach ball.
The bartender had gotten back behind the counter, and did short work of a bottle cap before handing me my long-awaited brew. Marcel clinked our bottles together, giving me a ‘cheers’ before we both drank and leaned back further. I could almost feel my shoulders relaxing already.

“I mean. We’ve got beer. Which in this weather is an absolute must. And, well… there’s the view. With plenty of nice things to look at.” He gave me a wink and an innocent look that I couldn’t help but laugh at. He started laughing as well.

“Alright, yeah. Anything down there that looks good?” I wasn’t usually this forward with people, asking them what girls they were into, but Marcel seemed relaxed and like he’d be a good sport about almost anything. And he had brought it up.

“Hmmm… Most of them, I guess.” He smiled and ordered another beer. I did the same. 
“But you’ve got to admire those curves on that redhead down there.”

“Which one?” I spotted three girls with red hair.

“The one applying sunscreen to the brunette in the green bikini.”

“Ah.” There wasn’t much else to say. The girl had curves, and shapes, and a waist to breast ratio that fell off the edge of what most people would consider normal.

“A bit too much?” Marcel arched an eyebrow, giving me a cautious smile.

“Yeah, a little bit.” I smiled back and took another sip.

“Yeah, agree. Maybe that raven-haired one at the back, sunbathing topless?” Marcel asked. I nearly spat out my beer.

“Uhm… where?” I couldn’t spot anyone without a top on. 

“Okay, maybe she’s not topless. But she might as well be with that nude colored outfit.”
“Alright, I see her. Pretty good choice.” I agreed. In some ways she reminded me of Mia, with long legs and a fit body. This one was wet and glistening from being in the pool. I swallowed as I looked, feeling a bit guilty for being so obvious.

“Well? How about you? There’s anyone down there who can meet your standard?” Marcel asked coyly. I did a quick survey, scanning the poolside before landing on a perky blonde that was in the middle of chatting up a guy in the world’s smallest pair of swimming briefs. I was amazed at how his gear was being kept in place.

“How about that girl? Blonde hair, black bikini by the edge there.”

“Nice. Probably the hottest one so far. And good choice going with a blonde, they’re always up for a good time.” He laughed, and ordered us two more beers. “I mean, not really though. Some of them are pretty hard to get.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“No, wait. Yours was good, but here’s a new winner.” Marcel nodded as Amanda walked out by some of the sunbathing chairs that had been scattered around a smaller, tiki-themed bar on the level below. She was holding hands with my wife. They had both changed into tiny, matching bikinis, white with pink stripes, which I had no idea where she had gotten. I was pretty sure she hadn’t brought it with her.

She must have borrowed it from Amanda, or one of the other girls. I grinned and shook my head.

“You picked a blonde, and I’ll do the same. Look at that figure. She’s no stranger to the gym, that’s for sure. And not a bad pair of tits either.”

My jaw dropped as I realized he was talking about Mia, and I quickly burst out laughing.
“Yeah. Not disagreeing or anything, but she might be a bit hard to get.” I said with a wide smile, knowing I had managed to get the girl that someone like Marcel thought was the hottest one at the party. “She’s the reason I’m here against my will.”

It was Marcel’s turn to have his jaw dropped.

“My man! What are you doing here with big ‘ol Marcel then?” He slapped my back, hard enough that I rocked a bit on my stool. “Shouldn’t you be by your girl’s side, fending off guys like me?”

 “Maybe I should, maybe. But she’s pretty busy with her girlfriends. Probably doesn’t want me hanging around.” I shrugged. “Besides, I trust her enough not to worry about stuff like that. We’ve been together for four years now.”

“Congratulations, Jacob. Really, I mean it.” Marcel clinked our bottles once more. “But a little word of advice, from someone who’s been around the block a few times; It’s okay to worry a little. Sometimes.”

“Thanks… What do mean? You think I should be worried that Mia’s going to stray? That she’ll find me too boring one day and just hook up with the cable guy?” Marcel threw his hands up in a defensive gesture in response to my questions.

“Your words, man. Not saying that particular porn-inspired scenario is going to happen, but maybe something slightly less random. Like a guy from work, or a smooth-talker like myself?” He raised his eyebrow’s knowingly.

“No way. I mean, you’re pretty smooth. Or you seem like it, I’ll give you that.” I took a sip of beer, its numbing effect starting to make itself felt. “But Mia’s a girl you can trust. She’s not the type to do anything like that, and we love each other. It’s as simple as that.”

“Is it?” Marcel shook his head. “She probably loves you, and you her. But in my experience, that isn’t always enough. Sometimes girls just needs to listen to their primal instincts. And I’ve been more than happy to give them what they need on several occasions.”

“Okay, so you’re saying, without exaggerating, that you think you could seduce my wife?” I asked, mirth coloring my voice to the point where I was almost laughing. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe that he could seduce someone’s girlfriend or maybe even someone’s wife. 

Just not Mia.

“Well, almost. I’m saying I could do it right in front of you. If I really wanted. Which I don’t, because we’re bros.”

“Cheers to that.” I clinked Marel’s beer and took a swig. “Would have been awkward though, seeing you try.”

“Probably. But it would have been fun.” Marcel shrugged. “Hell, for a chance at a girl like your wife, no offense-”

“-none taken-”

“-I’d be willing to make a pretty big wager.” Marcel looked out at the clear sky as he spoke, a hint of beading pearls of sweat on his smooth black skin shining in the orange light of the nearly set sun. He was good looking. Even I was ready to admit that.

“Really. You’d be willing to make it a bet?” A crooked smile crept up on me. Marcel had to be pretty smitten with Mia if he’d be willing to try and make a fool out of himself, and even pay for the pleasure. “I’d be interested in hearing what kind.”

“Ten grand.” Marcel said flatly. I nearly spat out my beer for the second time that evening.
“Ten grand? As in ten thousand?” I asked incredulously.

“Sure. It’s not like I’m short on money, and I like a good challenge. It’s a bad combo whenever I find myself in a casino.” He shrugged, rolling his massive, coiled shoulders. “There would have to be a few agreements of course. Just to make sure everyone are on the same page, and no one tries to make up rules as we go.”

“Uhum, such as?” I wasn’t really sure if he was being serious or not.

“Well, how long are you guys staying in town?” He asked casually.

“Leaving in three days, why?”

“Well, there’s a rule; It could only happen while you’re here. Giving me three days to work my magic. Not a whole lot of time though.”

“Nope, sure isn’t.” I half-laughed as I drank.

“Also, neither of us could tell her about our wager. That wouldn’t be fair, as you guys could just take off with my money if you worked together.” He had switched his demeanor, talking in a slightly more business-like manner. “It would have to be a gentleman’s agreement though, as I wouldn’t have any way of checking.”

I sat up a bit straighter. Was he actually serious about this?

“Uhm, sure. Yeah. I don’t… I don’t think I could tell Mia about something like that, she’d kill me.” I said, only partly joking.

“That makes sense.” Marcel gave me a wide grin. ”Any other rules you’d like to add?”

I raked my brain, trying my best to get it to think straight. The beers I’d downed didn’t make it any easier.

“Nothing that comes to mind right away. I think.” I immediately felt stupid for not managing to come up with anything.

“Okay. Oh, and one more thing. I won’t be able to talk to her if you actively try and keep us apart. So you would have to agree to anything she agrees to. Like, if I want to take her out for a drink or something, you would have to agree as well.”

“That’s fine.” I smirked at the fact that he thought he would be able to just ask her out for a drink, just like that. “Not like you could seduce her in front of me if I wasn’t there, right?”
“Exactly.” Marcel smiled. “Is that a deal then? We’re making a bet?”

I hesitated. He was literally offering ten thousand for a chance at talking to my wife, while I was there. I’d seen guys  try and flirt with Mia on several occasions, and she’d turned them down, every single one of them. And then we’d laugh about it in the car on the way home. No matter how cocky and self-assured Marcel seemed, I knew it wasn’t going to work.

“Sure, we have a deal.” I stuck out my hand.

“Great. Let’s go to my office and we’ll fill out some basic paperwork.” He grabbed my hand and shook it.

“Yeah… uhm… what?”

Apparently, Marcel was the rich owner of the mansion we were in, which explained why he had ten grand to loose.  And he had a lavishly decorated office, just down the hall from where we had been sitting. The blinds were down, casting the room in curious shadows and glints of orange light. It smelled expensive. Like leather, oak and single malt whiskey.
A couple of signatures later and I had secured myself a promise of a whole lot of money, if I could just make sure that Mia didn’t find out what we were up to and broke rule number one.

“Great. I like having things in writing. Makes it easier for you as well, once I have to cough up the cash.” Marcel joked as he filed the contract away and handed me a copy that he had stuck inside a neat envelope. It was small enough to fit in my back pocket. “Okay, then. Shall we go and say hi to Mia?”

“That’s Lara and Dave, and the couple over there by the pool is Liam and Celeste. Gary and his wife Hannah are somewhere around here as well. I think you’ve met all the others?” My head was spinning with all the new names that were thrown my way, and I sort of resolved to not remember any of them. I could barely remember a single new name whenever I met a new person for work. So learning the names of people I would most likely never meet again was an effort I just simply wasn’t willing to make. 

My wife, Mia, didn’t seem to have much problem remembering as she pointed out each person at the party, trying to do her best to keep me in the loop. 

“So… hey, Jacob. Are you even listening?”

“I am. But I’m also kind of rethinking my life choices.” I answered dryly. She knew I wasn’t seriously upset at her for dragging me to a party where we basically knew no one, we were on holiday after all. But she still rolled her eyes before leaning in to give me a quick peck on the cheek.

“You can be so childish sometimes. Let’s go make a round and say hello, and I’ll need to find Amanda and Vicky.” My wife was looking around absentmindedly, and tucked away a lock of light blonde hair as she spoke. It was a gesture that still managed to tug at my heart and make it beat faster, even after being married for almost four years.

“How do you know so many of these people after just meeting them at a bar yesterday?” I asked as I walked behind her, trying my best to look like I belonged. It felt like I was only partly succeeding. Most of the people here were about eight years younger than myself, perhaps around their late twenties somewhere, which wasn’t completely out of my comfort zone as that was about the age gap between me and my wife. She had just turned twenty-six, while I was turning thirty-four in a couple of months.

“I don’t know, babe… I talk to people. Amanda and Vicky seemed nice, and they invited me to come out here. We didn’t really have any other plans, so isn’t this better than spending the evening at the hotel?” She gave me a wide smile and arched her eyebrow questioningly. She knew I wasn’t going to be able to argue against that.

“I mean, I guess…” Truth be told, I wasn’t hating the idea of just chilling in our room and stream some random show. It would have given us an opportunity to fool around a bit as well. I drank in the sight of my wife’s ass as she walked ahead of me, climbing a set of modern-looking, white concrete stairs with no railings. She spent enough hours in the gym on a regular basis to make sure that anyone who caught a glimpse of those cheeks, tucked behind tight yoga pants fabric, would keep staring as long as they could. I was what I would consider fairly average in the looks department, maybe even a bit good-looking on the rare occasion. But when people found out that we were a couple, most of them did a double take. My wife was, for the lack of a more original expression, drop-dead gorgeous. She had long, toned legs, hips that seemed to have a life of their own as she walked, and just a generally fit and vibrant body. It didn’t make things worse that she also had the most perfect smile I had ever seen, and a glint in her eye that hinted to a sense of humor that made her get along with anyone. In other words; She was everything I was not, and I had little to no idea how I had managed to get her to marry me. She claimed it was my sense of humor and awkward personality.  

“Mia! You made it!” A busty, auburn-haired girl who was probably my wife’s age ran up to us and gave Mia a big hug, squeezing her tight as they both squealed. It kind of hurt my ears. Mia was sort of a tomboy whenever she hung around with guys, but could just as easily switch and become more of a girly personality when people around her fed her the right energy.
“Of course I did! Just had to convince this one to step out of the hotel for a change.” She winked at me as she spoke and I smiled back while shaking my head. “Speaking of which, Jacob, would you mind doing a round on your own? I’ll be busy with Amanda for a while, but I’ll catch up with you.”

“Sure thing. If you want me, I’ll be by the bar.” She gave me a wide smile, showing off her pearly whites before heading off, getting pulled along by her new girlfriend. By the time they had taken five steps they were already deep in conversation, giggling and laughing about something that I couldn’t hear. How she managed to make everyone like her that fast I would never know.

The modern-looking mansion that we’d been invited to belonged to some rich guy that Mia’s new friends apparently knew, and the party he was hosting had a fully stocked bar with seating that overlooked the large pool area on the level below us. It was the sort of scene you’d normally just see in a movie. And if I strained my neck I could even make out the ocean and the beach, peeking out behind the main building that glinted of glass and steel in the setting summer sun.