Challenge 1 - The Dinner Party

RevJen · February 2011

We arrived a few minutes early to our neighbors' house. They were having a dinner party as they were new in town and wanted to meet a few people. Not knowing what to bring, I had had my husband pick up a bottle of red wine. I did not want to show up empty handed. She opened the door and greeted us warmly. She was in her mid 30s with long wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. She was shorter than my 5'6" but not by much. "Hi! My name is Anne." Her voice was slightly hoarse as if she was just getting over an illness. She shook my hand and reached out to my husband, her smile changing slightly. It became ... flirty? That couldn't be right. "I'm Laura and this is my husband, Tom," I said by way of introduction. They shook hands and Tom glanced at me curiously. Apparently, he'd caught the smile too. "My goodness! Where are my manners? Please, come in," she said and sidestepped to allow us access. Her husband was waiting to take our coats in the living room. Tom handed Anne the bottle of wine. "This is great! We love a good cab franc. My husband, Steve," she said by way of introduction. We shook hands all around and made small talk for a few minutes before Anne brought in the appetizers. There were mini quiche tarts, cheese and crackers, and some grapes on the platter. I took a bite of a tartlet and tasted cheese along with a few other things I couldn't identify. Out of habit, I popped it into Tom's mouth for his identification. Anne and Steve chuckled at the two of us. "Oh! I'm sorry. I forgot where I was for a moment!" I said. I could feel the blush working it's way across my face. "Tom is a chef so I'm used to having him identify spices that I can't." I turned my attention to the room's d?cor as they chatted with Tom about his job. It was a very comfortable room, painted in a pale gray with white modern looking furniture and pops of red in the throw pillows, the carpet, and the flowers in their vases on the various surfaces. I turned my attention back to the conversation. Anne had just stood up to move us into the dining room, which I could see just past the room we currently occupied. Odd, I thought. There's no one else here. "Will any of the other neighbors be joining us?" I said aloud. Anne and Steve glanced at each other. He was about 6 feet tall with very white teeth set in a face surrounded by dark blond hair and blue eyes. While Anne had a few extra pounds on her frame which only seemed to emphasize her femininity, there was no fat on Steve at all. "Not tonight. The other couple that we invited couldn't make it." I looked at Tom again. He seemed a bit disconcerted at that but it was too late to back out now. We went into the dining room and I checked it out covertly again as we were getting settled. In this room, the walls were painted a light green that had a grayish tone to it. There was a long modern black table with 8 chairs surrounding it. The chairs were upholstered with a black fabric that had a subtle stripe pattern, almost like pinstriping running through it. The china was plain white but expensive and shone moonbeam bright against the black table. Two antique silver candlesticks sat in the middle of the table with red candles burning merrily already. They seemed to glisten with some sort of oil and had strange markings carved into them for some reason. In the center of the table was a pot with white hydrangeas tumbling out of it. I was reminded forcibly of a movie set. Everything seemed to go together perfectly. The silver of the candlesticks was picked up in the cutlery. The china contrasted with the black finish of the table. The buffet in the corner was the same style as the table and chairs. The red of the candles was mirrored in the color of the napkins. I looked at my husband once again as we sat down. There was a sensual tone to the entire house which may have worked for our new neighbors but that I didn't like. Tom cleared his throat as he opened the napkin and placed it into his lap. Something was going on but I wasn't sure what. Anne was a very good cook as well and served us a pot roast with all the trimmings. The gravy was rich but I could taste the alcohol that she used to deglaze the pan. The mashed potatoes were creamy and the asparagus steamed to a crisp. The rolls were light and fluffy. All in all, it was a good meal. Tom and I both relaxed into the conversation as it ebbed and flowed. I helped to clear the table before dessert. I brought our plates into the kitchen and handed them to Steve. His hand brushed mine and lingered for a second before taking the plates. I started. No. I had to have imagined it. I went back and sat down closer to Tom. "I think Steve just hit on me," I whispered in his ear as Anne came back into the room with a coffeepot. He nodded at me to indicate he'd heard me and turned his attention back to our hosts. "It was a lovely meal," I said when they had both sat down again. We had slices of rich dark chocolate cake in front of us now for dessert. "Thank you," Steve said and glanced at Anne. "We actually invited you here tonight for another reason." His deep voice took on a playful tone which was echoed in Anne's eyes. "What's that?" Tom sounded wary now. He knew something was up and squeezed my fingers in warning. "We're swingers," Anne said. "We thought you two might like to swap with us. It's why we moved here in the first place. We've been looking for a new couple for a while now." They looked at each other with affection and then back to us expectantly. We stared at them in amazement as our thoughts rioted. What do you say to an offer like that? Tom and I looked at each other in confusion as the chaos continued.

notquiteblushing · February 2011

I love it, definitely sets the scene for the funny/awkward reveal! Something about the first paragraph bugs me because they must have met another time to set up the dinner so I would maybe start out with explaining how your characters met.

Also I may make Steve's seduction less subtle, like rubbing against her in the kitchen as she cleared her plate, which would lead to the confrontation.

Good work! I hope to post mine tonight.

RevJen · February 2011

I wrote this in about an hour without the benefit of caffeine. lol ... I was also trying to keep it to three pages.

Smtih&co · March 2011

This is so terrific! Talk about the ultimate uncomfortable moment! I also would like to know more about how the couples were ever introduced in the first place. And this is just a style comment. I liked how when you described Steve, it was something to the effect of although she had some extra weight, he didn't. In the first paragraph, you give her description like mugshot: 5'6, wavy hair, etc. I'd like to see that kind of description woven in a bit more.

Challenge 1 - The Dinner Party

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