Chapter 1

Daniel and Yaron were standing in a dark corner of a well-known hookup nightclub called ‘Lustful Desires’, trying to absorb the atmosphere of the place, meaning they were dateless and too shy to approach a girl. Their clothes and look were completely out of place. They stuck out like a couple of sore thumbs.

Yaron had a T-shirt with the words “Nerd Shrink” printed on the front. Believe it or not, he was a therapist, a great one actually, even when his methods were far from being orthodox. He got his Ph.D. in four years and earned a reputation working with married couples. He was also Daniel’s best friend.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Yaron said raising his voice. “I know you hate this kind of music.”

Daniel didn’t reply. He was tall and thin and was wearing sneakers, jeans, and an old T-shirt that read, “you read my shirt, that’s enough social interaction for the day” across the front. He didn’t like nightclubs, and he hated the music they were playing.

His freshly scrubbed hair was dark brown, and his glasses perched on the end of his nose. He looked more as if he were on his way to a chess club than in a nightclub. He was twenty-five, but he looked like someone who had refused to grow up.

Both men had survived elementary school, puberty, and high school together.

Two young women sitting on stools in the bar took a look at them and giggled. Daniel was certain that they were laughing at them.

Daniel would rather be playing World of Warcraft than being there, but Yaron had dragged him to this club because a DJ he liked was playing that night.

Daniel was looking around, bored. And then he saw her.

It was like watching Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus for the first time. Except that Venus was a brunette and she was wearing a short red dress instead of being naked.

The woman was tall with a hot body, big breasts, well-toned legs, and a long spill of black hair.

Daniel couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. He admired the lady in red with his mouth wide open. She was the kind of woman Daniel used to have sex with, in his wet daydreams.

She looked a little lost as if she hadn’t found what she was looking for. Daniel wondered what would happen if he went up and introduced himself. Probably she would just stare at him and laugh. Or maybe she would just ignore him and pretend he didn’t exist.

“DJ Spinner is doing an exceptional job tonight,” Yaron shouted in Daniel’s ear.

Daniel rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to answer. He hated DJs and trance music. He was more into classic rock, medieval music, and country-rock. His attention was focused on the lady in red. Through the darkness, smoke, and artificial fog, her red dress was shinning out like a ruby.

“Meanwhile,” Yaron added, “I wanted to tell you that I’m sleeping with your mom. I thought you should know.”

Daniel nodded absent-mindedly. The lady in red had made her way across the dance floor and he lost sight of her. Then, some part of his brain finally registered what Yaron had just said. He faced his friend and shouted, “What?”

Yaron laughed. “Relax. I was just trying to get your attention. Not that your mom isn’t a very attractive woman for her age,” he added.

Daniel shook his head, murmured something about Oedipus, turned around, and raised himself on tiptoe, trying to see over the crowd. The lady in red had just sat down at a booth.

He suddenly felt paralyzed, doubting about making a move or not. All he could think of were horror scenarios of what might happen if he did.

“Approach anxiety ... It had literally happened to every single man on planet Earth. Don’t think too much, Daniel. Just do it,” Yaron explained reading his best friend’s mind as usual. He gave him a gentle push on the back.

“Do or do not. There is no try,” Daniel said to himself.

“That works too,” Yaron approved.

Daniel took a deep breath and walked towards the booth where the lady in red was sitting. His knees felt weak and his hands were getting sweaty.

Why was he doing this? He really couldn’t tell. Probably because he didn’t want to go home and feel bad about himself once again. He was tired of regretting things he had not done out of fear. It was time to leave his comfort zone.

He kept walking across the dance floor, mesmerized by her beauty. He was attracted to the lady in red slowly, like a magnet. Maybe she was his polar opposite.

He couldn’t tell what it was, apart from the obvious, but something just clicked inside him. A connection. Like he already knew her, or something. He couldn’t define that ‘something’, but he didn’t resist it.