Back to the bar

I let out a defeated sigh. "Ugh, fine... let's go in and ask around. Worst case we'll just get drunk and watch the game here. We can sleep in the car if we have to."

"That's the spirit!" Nicole chirped, taking a swig of beer and handing me the bottle. "We're in for a big night whatever happens!" she said with a grin. How prophetic those words would become.

"Back already?" the bartender asked disinterestedly as we stepped back inside, half the bar turning to watch our return, all eyes quickly sliding over to Nicole.

"Car trouble." I explained with a shake of the head. "Don't suppose there's anyone around who can help at this hour?"

The negative grunts that came in response were expected, one older, husky guy sitting at the bar explaining our best hope was that the local mechanic might be around some time tomorrow. Resigned to our fate, we orded a shot and a beer each and returned to our table, preparing to settle in for the night.

"Well babe, here's to new experiences. It might not be what we had planned, but lets get fucked up!" We clinked our shots together before knocking them back, then set about getting properly drunk. We were several rounds in by the time the game started, our moods significantly improved and we had even made friends with a couple of the locals who had engaged in some friendly banter about the match.

Nicole was particularly feisty, a few drinks ahead of me she was giving it back to the locals, even agreeing to a few little wagers here and there... shots for scores, that kind of thing. In my increasingly drunken state I began to find the general vibe fun and relaxing, Nicole's playfulness rubbing off on me. The fact our team was winning certainly helped, by half time we were well in front with several shots - our winnings - lined up on our table.

From there the night quickly became more blurry, our team's continued success driving us on to more and more excessive drinking. The game was such a blow out that when one of the locals proposed a new bet Nicole outright laughed in his face.

"We win it from here and you have to give us a kiss..." he proposed confidently. "Lose and we'll pay for your tab tonight, whatever it costs to fix your car as well."

Before I even had time to think about it I heard Nicole cry gleefully, "Deal!"

Chuckling to myself I turned back to the screen, struggling to make out the graphics clearly, the numbers coming into focus just enough for me to realise the lead was not quite as significant as I had thought it was. With only a few minutes left I wasn't too worried though. Free drinks and car repairs were in the bag.

Then everything fell apart. Nicole was too busy chatting and teasing the locals to notice at first, but the momentum of the game swung rapidly. In no time scores were level and then, just as she finally started paying attention, the opposition hit the lead.

"What the fuck just happened, no... no!" Nicole cried, still playful but with real frustration in her voice. She had been teasing the local guys all night about how shit their team was and here she was, about to eat humble pie. The game ended and just like that, we had lost.

I held my head in my hands for a long time, dejected but also attempting to stop it from spinning. Now the distraction of the game was gone I realised just how drunk I was, and I was not feeling well at all. Sensing a strange hush fall over the bar I **** myself upright and looked around, gradually getting my bearings as blurry shapes came into focus. There, in the embrace of one of the locals was Nicole, my wife, leaning up and kissing him passionately. It took several moments for my brain to process what I was seeing as the man's hand reached behind her to squeeze her ass as he leaned in deeper, enveloping her in his arms.

Despite my wobbly legs, my first instinct was to barge over and rescue Nicole, but then I saw something that gave me pause. As the man groped my wife's chubby ass through her yoga pants, I saw Nicole's reach up to his chest, not to push him away but instead to grip his shirt, grabbing for something to keep her from falling. She was loving it and the realisation set my stomach churning. I had a split second decision to make and my judgment was beyond cloudy...