Ben uses it on his friend Amanda

Amanda was tired, but she agreed to go to happy hour with some friends anyway. It had been a long week at work, and she had been working late hours to meet deadlines. Her supervisor had called in sick this week, so she'd had to pick up some of his work as well; when she finally shut her laptop at 6:30, all she wanted to do was go home and sleep.

Amanda knew herself, though. She was an extrovert and she needed contact or she'd just sink into a deep funk all weekend, wasting her hours rewatching bad TV in cheeto-stained pajamas. She needed to get out and be with her friends.

Of course, when she showed up at the bar, everyone was already there. She gave the usual greetings and got to drinking. Several hours later, everyone was feeling good and buzzed and Amanda was enjoying herself in spite of it all. As her inhibitions were lowered she was allowing herself to get a little more physically affectionate with her friends, which made everything a little awkward. It was especially awkward with her friend Ben, who'd just gone through a nasty breakup.

By the time she looked at her watch and realized it was nearly 1:00 am, Amanda was pretty drunk. Everyone agreed it was time to go, and so they all paid their tabs and parted ways. In the parking lot, Ben approached her. He was a little tipsy, but not quite as drunk as her.

He offered to share a cab since they lived so close together. Had she been more sober she probably would have used her better judgment and declined, but she eagerly agreed.

On the ride home, they shared the kind of easy drunken laughter that comes naturally to good friends after a few drinks. When the cab pulled up to Ben's place, he paused awkwardly.

"Would you, ah, like to come up for a nightcap?"

Before he had opened she knew what he would say, and she knew how she would respond. As they walked down the hall toward Ben's apartment, she seemed to sober up a bit. Was she really going to sleep with Ben tonight? For the first time she was having second thoughts.

As she entered the apartment, Ben seemed weirdly nervous. He offered to take her coat, and she gratefully turned around to let him slip it off her arms. As she did, though, she felt a little prick on the back of her neck. Her eyes suddenly swam out of focus.