Indian Wife Is a Diwali Night Treat

"Where is your wife?" I countered, pouring the vodka over the ice.

"My wife went home."

"My husband....." just as I said that, I noticed Ajit standing in the hallway outside the kitchen. He took a glance at me, smiled knowingly, and walked away. "My husband is not here."

"Where is he?" Prabhu's face perked up at this piece of information.

"He is...." For a moment I considered saying he was in the living room. But I was curious to see where this inglorious attempt at hitting on me was headed. I poured tonic over the vodka and said, "he is out of town."

"Oh, that is very sad. Leaving a beautiful wife alone on Diwali nights. How do you manage?"

"How do I manage what?"

"You know......" he winked and moved really close to me. "If you need some company some night....."

That's when a couple of people walked in to get food and Prabhu took a step back. I used this break in the conversation to pick up my drink and slip out of the kitchen. The living area was even more packed. I was trying to spot Ajit when I smelled the familiar combination of scotch and turmeric near me again.

"I also got vodka."

"That's nice."

"Because you like vodka. And I like you." he meaningfully brushed his elbow against mine.

The place we were standing in was getting really crowded. Prabhu brushed against me again. I slipped away from the area and headed to a relatively secluded corner. Prabhu followed me. From there, I could see that Ajit was seated at a card table at the other end of the hall.

"Where do you live?" Prabhu asked me, taking a big gulp of his drink.

"Maple Ridge."

"Where in Maple Ridge? I can visit any time." he was making up for his lack of finesse and charm with sheer dogged persistence.

"Prabhu, there you are! We were wondering where you had disappeared."

The red kurta and the white kurta from before were making their way towards us. Prabhu looked annoyed at this interruption in what he thought was his wooing of me. The two men stood by us and the white kurta said to me,

"Hello again."

"Hello."

"Hope you are enjoying the party." He wasn't as creepy or leery as Prabhu. I knew he was the host, so I did the polite thing and said,

"Yes, it's a great party. Thanks for hosting everyone. You have a lovely house."

"Glad to be of some use to the community. My house is empty most of the time anyway. Kids are all grown up and live on the West coast. Wife passed away a few years ago. So these parties are just an excuse to relive the old days when this house was full."

"You seem new to the area. Haven't seen you at any other Indian events. I would've remembered someone like you." The red kurta joined the conversation. He seemed to be competing with Prabhu for creepiness because he cast a not so subtle glance at my tits as he said that.

"Been here a couple of years. Just never attended an Indian event before this."

"Myself Mohan by the way." he extended his hand and suggestively pressed my fingers when I reciprocated. He and Prabhu seemed to be sharing a playbook.

The next ten minutes were filled with small talk as the four of us sipped our drinks standing in a circle. I learned that the three men had been in the area for a couple of decades and all owned businesses. Lalit owned a real estate company. Prabhu and Mohan, not surprisingly, turned out to be related. They were cousins and they each owned a couple of motels. I told them the basic facts about myself - no kids, work as an elementary school teacher, husband is a tech consultant etc.

"Her husband is out of town." Prabhu added.

"What????" Mohan said with exaggerated surprise on his face. "How can he leave such a beautiful wife alone on Diwali?"

Yup, same playbook.

"You let your wife go alone, Mohan." Lalit said.

"If my wife looked like her....." he blatantly stared at me up and down. I noticed his eyes were red. ".... I would never leave her alone."

Lalit seemed mildly embarrassed by the transparent innuendo in this, and tried changing the subject.

"Is that vodka you're drinking?"

"Yes." I said, emptying the cup.

"Me too!" Prabhu piped up. "She likes vodka. I like her. I like vodka."

At this moment, I noticed Ajit walking about 20 feet away. He saw me and stopped.

"You like any alcohol, you drunkard. Back in India, you used to glug down even that smelly hooch." Mohan said.

"Only what you didn't chug down, you asshole!"

The men laughed. I smiled at the stupid banter and looked at Ajit. He gave me a meaningful smile. I could read his mind. He was thinking, there she is, scoping out some potential older lovers again. Which was partly true. I found Mohan and Prabhu to be laughable caricatures but Lalit did have that self-assured dignity I liked in older men. In some ways he reminded me of a retired school principal who had been my "Master" for a few months until he had a stroke and was out of commission. Under the right circumstances, I could see myself exploring my options with Lalit. He was a widower as well, so there wouldn't be any complicated drama. If he asked me for my number, I would probably give it to him.

Ajit winked at me and walked away. I looked at him go longingly. The booze had gotten me somewhat drunk and I was starting to feel increasingly horny. I decided to wrap up this conversation soon and find a way to jump Ajit at the first opportunity.

"Do you like vodka a lot? Are you something of a connoisseur?" Lalit asked.

"I don't know if I am a connoisseur per se. But yeah, I like trying different kinds of vodka."

"Would you mind tasting a vodka my son got for me from his trip to Scandinavia? I'd like to have a second opinion on how good it is. I'm thinking of ordering a case as a gift for some of my business associates from Finland. "

"Sure." I'm always up for some vodka tasting.

"This way please."

I followed him as he walked through the crowds and towards the stairs. Prabhu and Mohan were walking behind me and I could almost feel their gazes burning into my ass. Lalit led us up the stairs to an elegantly decorated "man cave" on the second floor. It had a pool table, a dart board, a big screen TV, a couple of book shelves and expensive looking leather furniture. He walked to a fridge and took out a bottle with Cyrillic writing all over it. He poured the clear liquid into four shot glasses and handed us one each.

"I always find that the best way to really imbibe a vodka's flavors is to start with a tiny sip and then down the whole shot in one gulp." Lalit said, raised his glass and went "Nastrovia!"

"Nastrovia!" Prabhu and Mohan downed their glasses and grimaced.

I did the same, but without the grimace.

"Verdict?" Lalit asked me.

"I like it. Like it a lot." I said, then as he seemed to be waiting for more so I tried to read what my mouth was telling me and continued, "It's sweet without being cloying, and the citrus flavor really shines towards the end. Hint of pepper in the aftertaste. Smooth finish."

"You are a connoisseur after all!" Lalit said. "Try this one."

For the next ten minutes, we each downed three more shots of different kinds of vodka he had in the fridge. None was as good as the first one. When I got up from the couch to put the last shot glass away, my head felt slightly woozy, and I dropped right back on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Prabhu immediately slid over and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Yes." I said, surprised by how quickly he had moved.

"Are you sure?" Mohan got up off the chair he was sitting on and knelt in front of me. He put his hands on my thighs and pressed gently. To my surprise, his touch, even over the fabric, sent an odd shiver up my spine. Boy, I must have been getting really horny for my body to respond to this dirtbag's touch, I thought to myself. It took me a couple of seconds to firm up my resolve. Lalit was standing a few feet away, watching everything with a curious look on his face.

"Yes, I'm okay!" I could hear my voice slurring more than usual as I pushed the two of them away and got up. "I just need to go to the bathroom."

I really needed to find Ajit and go home. It would have been nice to get to know Lalit a little better, but oh well. There were other fish in the sea. I walked out of the room, and holding on to the railing for support, walked down the stairs.

With unsure footing but still able to maintain my balance, I walked through the crowded living area to try and find Ajit. I checked the kitchen, but he wasn't there. Had he gone to watch another cricket match? I was about to go down the hallway when I spotted him walking around a corner about 30 feet away with a good looking woman in her mid 20s. I jumped into an open room and closed the door leaving just a crack open to observe what was happening without revealing myself. At first glance, it seemed like Ajit had found someone to play with. And just like he had tactfully kept his distance, it was now my turn to do the same. An appearance by the spouse is not useful when you're trying to get into someone's pants. Well.... it was useful to him on this one occasion in Aruba but that's a different story. Usually, it is not.

Anyway, I stayed hidden behind the door as they walked past and caught a few snippets of the conversation.

"....and then he said if I really loved him I wouldn't care about my grades. Only his grades!" her voice revealed that she had been drinking too. Clearly not one of Mrs. Mohan's proteges.

"That's so unfair!" Ajit said sympathetically.

"It's like....his grades matter...his career matters....and I'm just in grad school to pass time. Doesn't my career have any value? I'm smart too."

"You are very smart. And a great person. He doesn't know how lucky he is."

"Oh Ajit...you're so perfect. Your wife is so lucky and she doesn't even realize it."

"Yeah well, what can you do. If only she was understanding like you though. Last week, I was in a business meeting when you won't believe what she did...."

And they walked out of earshot.

From that, it was easy to put two and two together. Ajit was in a situation he excelled in and was going through a tried and tested routine that was almost infallible. Most of the women he seduced since we "opened" our marriage had been having trouble with their husbands or boyfriends, didn't have any close friends around, and were looking for a shoulder to cry on. Ajit, ever the great listener and conversationalist, knew exactly the right things to say without seeming too eager. He knew how to take the woman's side and agree with her when she bitched about her man without going so far as to make her stick up for him.

The other part of Ajit's routine was to portray me as some sort of a monster who coincidentally seemed to have traits that were similar to the errant man. If the woman's complaint was that her man was a workaholic who never had enough time for her, I was the career-minded ice queen who had been so caught up with a work assignment that I forgot his birthday. If the man was too possessive and overbearing, I was someone who texted him 50 times a day and kept tab on his email. That time he even made me send him a few hundred needy texts over a week so he could show them to the woman he eventually bedded. And with this girl, since the problem seemed to be a guy who treated his career as more important that her's, my guess was I was someone who was forcing him to pick up the slack by focusing on my career. It's amazing how well this strategy worked.

Anyway, seeing Ajit have a nubile thing on the ropes changed the situation. I didn't want to interfere with his plan by making an appearance. I decided to kill time until he came back. There were several card games in progress. I thought of watching or joining one of them when,

"Ah! There you are, Yashodhara!" Lalit walked up to me. "Everything alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I hope Mohan and Prabhu didn't cross any lines. You know how some people get when they are drunk. If you felt violated, as the host, I apologize." he said sincerely.

"It's okay. No harm done." I smiled.

We just stood there staring at each other. Lalit really was a charming old man. Just my type. Since I had nothing better to do but wait for Ajit to return, maybe I should just do him? But how and where?

"A few friends and I are starting a poker game. Would you like to join in?"

What they hell, I thought. A game of poker sounded like fun.

"Why not? Which table?" I looked around the crowded living area which was beginning to resemble the cards room of a casino.

"It's too chaotic here. We're going to set up in the attic where it's quieter."

I followed Lalit back up the stairs. At the end of the hallway on the second floor, there was another staircase leading up to what must have been the attic. We walked up the stairs and entered the attic.

"Hello everyone. This is Yashodhara." Lalit said.

The attic was fairly big, lit by a couple of dim lamps. There was a table with ten chairs around it. Six of those were filled, including Prabhu and Mohan who flashed me leery smiles. Lalit directed me to an empty chair next to Prabhu and himself sat on the other side of the table. Soon the remaining seats filled up too. Lalit made the introductions. There remaining men were a mix of young and old people either from the neighborhood or business associates of the three guys I knew.

The game was Texas Hold-Em with a buy-in of 100 dollars each. Lalit had a big poker set with several stacks of chips which he passed around. He also had next to him a trolley with many alcohol bottles. Drinks were passed around. I asked for a screwdriver. Prabhu asked for the same and gave me another of his creepy smiles, repeating his line from before.

"You like vodka, I like you, so I like vodka."

A couple of the other men around the table smiled at his cheesy line.

For the first twenty minutes or so, the game was pretty standard. Bets were small. I won a couple of small hands. The conversation around the table was mainly about the game, and occasionally about cricket or politics. Throughout that time, Prabhu had made many more suggestive comments to me which I had shrugged off or laughed at. Some samples -

"After this, I can take you home if you like."

"You are looking even more beautiful in this light."

"If you want to come meet me in private, I have many motels with comfortable beds."

A few other men were checking me out as blatantly as Prabhu and Mohan were. I overheard one of them whispering to the other, "I think she is Prabhu's girlfriend", maybe because he was the one monopolizing conversation with me. Lalit was pretty low on chips, so was more focused on his cards. By now there had been a few big hands and the chip count on the table was getting very uneven. I was doing pretty good by just playing the game on probability.

Then there was a hand with a flush draw in which I folded pretty early, but Lalit and a couple of other guys went all in. A guy with an ace flush won and Lalit and two others lost all chips.

"Oh well!" Lalit shrugged and got up. "I should check on the other guests anyway."

Lalit started walking away, then turned and came to me. He asked me if I was okay. I was drunk but didn't think I was too drunk. He asked me if I wanted to cash out and go downstairs with him. I considered it for a moment. Maybe take this charming old man to a room and see what he could do. But I was doing pretty good in the game. From what I could see, I had the second highest chip total behind Prabhu, who despite the distractions of hitting on me, was doing very well. So I told him, maybe later. With the new buy-ins, I had a chance of winning a thousand bucks.

Lalit left. The other guys hung around. And the game resumed with higher blinds. I was feeling pretty cheerful and pleasantly drunk and had even started bantering a bit with Prabhu and a couple of other guys, although within limits.

I was on my 3rd drink of the game and feeling very light-headed again when I drew a pair of pocket aces. I focused hard on the cards to make sure I really had two aces and wasn't seeing double. I was really drunk and decided that this would be my last drink. The flop came out. King, Seven, Two. Looked good. I kept a straight face and just called the current bet, not wanting to scare anyone away. Half the table folded, including Mohan. An ace came up on the turn and I couldn't suppress a smile. I was wondering about whether to make a big bet when Prabhu did, raising it by almost five-fold. I called.

"Ace? You have an ace?" Prabhu asked. I said nothing. "Ace in your hole?"

Prabhu mangled the idiom, probably on purpose and a couple of other guys giggled. The others folded. It was just me and my creepy new friend. I was feeling pretty confident. I was drunk but could still calculate that I had the best hand possible. A flush was no longer possible as all four cards on the table were of different suits.

The river card was a seven. Prabhu made another big bet. I looked at the cards on the table carefully as I tried to decide what my bet should be. Flush and straight were out. With the two sevens and the ace, I had a full house. Wait, was I statistically invincible? I tried to do some more calculations when the room swam in front of my eyes again. Wow, I was really drunk. I closed my eyes and tried to focus.

"Are you okay?" Prabhu put his hand on my shoulder and asked. He pressed my shoulder as he did so.

"Yeah, fine." I opened my eyes and brushed his hand away. This guy was getting really annoying. If only he had lost all his chips. Hmm, maybe I can make that happen, I thought. I was invincible anyway.

"All in!" I said, pushing my entire stack of chips. But my hands flailed a bit and the chips scattered around the table.

There were some audibly drawn breaths around the table. No one with a chip count as high as me had gone all in yet. I looked at Prabhu. He smiled at me leerily. Chances were he would fold. He hadn't been reckless so far. But I really hoped he would go all in. Which he did. Pushed all but five of his chips in, which was the lead he had over me. yes, another hand or two and he would be gone!

"Hahahaha!" I giggled and threw my cards down. "Full house!"

I got up and put my hands on the chips to draw them in.

"Not so fast!" Prabhu said and shoved his cards in my face. It took me a while to comprehend what had happened. He had two sevens. Four of a kind. Four of a kind beats full-house. Shit, I wasn't invincible as I had believed in my drunken state. It was still a pretty decent risk but I had lost. I stood there stunned, bent over the table with my hands around the chips.

"Bring it all here!" Prabhu put his hands on mine and dragged them along with the huge mountain of chips towards him.

I stumbled sideways and lost my footing, my head feeling suddenly light.

"Careful!" Prabhu took his hands off mine and put them on my waist. The room spun in front of my eyes and before I knew it, I was on Prabhu's lap. Everyone in the room was laughing.

"Let go..." I slurred and got up off his lap. But I stumbled again, and he pulled me back on his lap.

"Arre sit for a while, my darling. To the victor belongs the spills."

"Spoils." I remember saying before it all went dark.

I was in the attic. It was completely empty except for me and Ajit. He was sitting on a chair by the table and I was on his lap with my head resting on his shoulders. His hands were inside my salwar, fondling my ass. I could feel his erection against my thighs as I sat on him. I put one hand between my legs and rubbed his erection over his pants.

"Ummm...Ajiiiit." I said.

"Who is Ajit? Your husband?" he responded. There was sound of laughter.

I opened my eyes and let out a small shriek. It had been a dream. I was on Prabhu's lap, not Ajit's. There were four other guys at the table including Mohan. There were still chips and cards on the table so the game was still going on. My salwar was untied and his left hand was inside it. His right hand was around my waist, propping me on his lap. And my hand was on the tent in his pants. I quickly pulled my hand away, but he grabbed it and put it back.