"I hate that cunt," he said through gritted teeth. This made me smile.

"Not as much as I do," I said, smiling too. My new friend leaned over so that he was close enough to me for me to be able to smell his cologne and feel the warmth of his breath on my neck.

"Really, though," he said quietly. "Before I played for The Rivers, I played for a social team. I versed your ex-boyfriend's team once, probably about a year ago, and he was an absolute dickhead."

I groaned inwardly, embarrassed even though I wasn't attached to Dan anymore. I could see where this was going. My new friend was a large, dark-skinned guy and obviously a better basketball player than Dan. It was a recipe for disaster.

"He tried to fight me for no reason and, well, he's a..."

"He's a racist, I know," I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's not your fault," he said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I didn't even know this guy's name yet and already he was touching me. It wasn't perverted, but it was quite forward. An unexplainable adrenaline rush took hold of me and my heart began to race. I shoved my hands under the table so that nobody could see they were shaking.

"I'm Jerome, by the way," he said smoothly, and I felt the heat in my face. Jerome. Of course that was his name. Across the table, Aja was grinning and motioning for me to check my phone.

"I'm Maree," I replied, retrieving my phone from my bag.

Look at Dan, the text from Aja read. I looked across the garden bar to see Dan gathered in the corner with his basketball buddies, having only moved away from the pokies machines so that they could watch their enemies from a distance until Dan was drunk enough to start a proper fist fight. His girlfriend was hanging on to him, which was sickening. What Aja wanted me to notice, however, was that Dan had his eyes planted firmly on me. His jaw was clenched and he only removed his gaze from our table when his girlfriend tried to talk to him.

The rush continued as a notion formed in my brain. I'd planned not to sleep my way out of this heartbreak, but this opportunity was too amazing to pass up - if it was even offered at all, that is. But I had a strong feeling that it wouldn't take much. Jerome's hand was still on mine and he hadn't stopped grinning at me.

"I know who you are," he said, "Everyone knows who you are. Nobody can understand why Dan dumped you for that ugly whore."

I laughed into my drink. It was nice of Jerome to say that about Dan's new tramp for my sake, even though she was kind of pretty.

"You and me both," I said with a sad sigh that I hadn't intended to release.

"Don't worry about it," Jerome said, leaning ever so slightly closer to me. I could smell the beer on his breath and when more of his massive arm pressed against mine, my pussy grew moist. I turned away, worried that somehow my arousal would show on my face. "Everyone knows that he is an asshole," Jerome continued. "There's nobody in the basketball world who doesn't want to beat him up."

"And now you are presented with the perfect opportunity to piss him off properly. Flirt with me, drive him mad, and he can't do anything about it because he's with that other girl now."

Instead of agreeing, Jerome looked shocked. It only took a moment for me to realize he was faking it.

"That's not what I'm doing," he said. "I want to hang out with you, no matter who you are."

"I don't mind," I said, encouraging him to admit that he wanted to use me for the same reason I wanted to use him. "It would work in my favor too, you know," I lowered my voice before I continued, speaking right into his ear. I could barely hear my whispering above my own heartbeat. "I've never slept with a black guy before. Dan may not want me anymore, but he would hate the idea of...me and you...fucking."

Jerome looked genuinely shocked this time. I guess he hadn't expected it to be that easy.

"Shall we get out of here?" I suggested, swallowing the last of my drink.

"Uh, yeah," said Jerome, still looking at me in disbelief. Aja's smile was a mile wide as I walked past her with Jerome's hand in mine. When the two of us strutted back inside the bar, walking straight past Dan, Dan looked ready to kill. Somebody shouted something out - I don't know whether it was Dan or whether it was someone else, and I didn't hear what they said. Jerome and I were in the parking lot and climbing into Jerome's car before anyone could follow us.

"You've had a fair amount to drink," I reminded Jerome as I fastened my seatbelt.

"I'm fine to drive, I promise," he replied.

"Maybe so, put what if we pass through a check point? The cops won't think you're fit to drive."

"Meh, I don't give shit," he said with a casual shrug. I really don't think he did give a shit either. My heart was still pounding away - I couldn't believe what I was doing. I'd never, ever had sex with somebody who I didn't know before. I love sex, more than I ever admit to anybody, but I'd only ever done it with boyfriends or guys who were soon to become my boyfriend. I'd never had sex purely for the sake of sex. I didn't now Jerome at all, and already I'd pretty much offered to fuck him. For half a second I experienced regret and fear in that car, but all it took for that to go away was to think about Dan and how he would be beyond pissed off to find out that I'd fucked a black guy. I knew I could leave it up to Jerome to be sure that word of us getting together would get back to Dan.

I was embarrassed at my lack of self-control as Jerome drove along the highway - presumably heading for his house. My eyes were on his crotch, wondering what was beneath his jeans. I could feel that my panties were wet, and my bra was thin enough for my hard nipples to be showing through the fabric of my shirt.

"You sure you've never been with a black dude, Marie?" He asked me. I was so surprised at his blatant reference to his race that I didn't answer right away.

"I haven't," I replied once I'd found my voice. "Never."

Dan parked the car in the parking lot of an apartment building that I'd been to once before when Dan was buying drugs. I'd pretended that I had no idea what he was up to or why we had driven there at the time, but of course I knew what Dan was doing.

Jerome started to kiss me as we rode the elevator, and his hands weren't shy about going wherever they wanted. Through my clothes he grabbed at my ass and my thighs, and even after the elevator doors had opened he was pawing at my chest. He only retracted his tongue from my throat long enough to guide me down the corridor to his apartment. I wondered how many women he had brought back here before. For all I knew, he had a girlfriend who was out of town or something. I looked at him and cocked my head as he was unlocking his front door and decided that no, he didn't seem the type to have a steady girlfriend.

"You're not cheating on anyone, are you?" I asked. I don't know how I would reacted if he had confessed that he was.

"Course not, baby, you know I can't be tied down," he smiled sassily. I guess I did know that, despite having met him a half hour ago "I'm the man at pleasing women," he told me, taking both my hands and leading me through the living room. "I've gotta make sure my gifts don't get used up on just one woman. You're a prize, though, and I'm gonna send you to heaven tonight."

Jerome was the type of guy I had intentionally steered clear of my whole life. He openly admitted to being all about sex. I reflected back on all those times where I'd practically had to beg Dan to have sex with me, and I was always the one trying to make it exciting. Many of those times had been all about the sex; the fact that I was having it with Dan was because, well, he was just there. It could have been anyone. Wasn't that just how a relationship worked? I was turned on by him, sure. And I liked the thought of him being turned on by me. But it took so much effort to get him interested.

I swallowed nervously as Jerome hastily unbuttoned his shirt. I felt like a nobody - like I could be anybody. That feeling was something new for me and I wasn't sure if I liked it. The true me didn't like it at all, which was why I'd spent my whole life steering clear of types like Jerome. But the thought of Dan's face when he heard about me fucking a black basketball player whom he hated kept me going.