Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. Bride and Prejudice, Part 1. The move to Atlanta had been stressful for Abbey. So much had happened over the past few months. She and her long-time boyfriend Ryan had been married in June, shortly before moving here for him to begin medical school. They were both from a small town and had dated each other exclusively since high school. After high school they both went together to college close to home in the mountains of North Carolina. Ryan had proposed after had been accepted to medical school his senior year of college and she happily said yes. Ryan had been an exceptional student but even with his scholarships and loans and Abbey's income from her new job at an ad agency money was tight. Living in an expensive city like Atlanta was a challenge. Their small apartment was close enough to Ryan's school that he could ride a bike to class, which was good since they could only afford one car. Even then, Abbey usually took the train to her job downtown because of the high gas prices and horrible traffic. She wasn't terribly happy about that part. Most of the passengers on the trains were black, and this was the first time she had ever been around so many. She hadn't even known a black person all the way through high school and college and was uneasy about what she had read about crime in cities like Atlanta. She didn't think of herself as racist, but she felt nervous anytime a large group of black men boarded a train. She always dressed conservatively and did her best to appear inconspicuous while traveling to and from work in hopes of not attracting any attention. For Abbey the hardest part was being alone in such a big place. She could not believe how much work Ryan had to do just to keep up in class and it had only been a month. They only had a couple weeks to enjoy being newlyweds before moving and starting school, and now she barely saw him. School started early, and he spent several hours in study groups in the library after class before coming home to read more on his own. By the time they went to bed he was so exhausted he fell immediately asleep, too tired to even consider sex on most days. They had gone to bed together on their wedding night as virgins, something that hardly anyone ever did these days. They had fooled around quite a bit of course, and she had become quite skilled at oral sex. She loved the way he squirmed under her as she provided him "release" after a night of making out. She was by no means a prude, but they had wanted their first night together as husband and wife to be special. It was, in a sense. She was thrilled by the intimacy, of having a man inside her for the first time, but they were both rookies and the sex was clumsy. Their awkward early explorations had started to morph into something better, with longer and more energetic lovemaking sessions over their brief honeymoon. She finally had her first orgasm the last night before they moved to Atlanta and it caught her by surprise. She had seen enough movies to have an idea that it would be intense, but when it happened it felt to her that every nerve was alight. She had screamed and dug her nails into Ryan hard enough to draw a little blood, but from the look on his face that night he didn't mind. Much to her chagrin, that had been her first and only orgasm. Since moving they had only made love a few times, and Ryan was so tired and distracted from school that they had just not found the right groove again to get her off. She knew it would get better once he got used to the new workload, but now that she had experienced an orgasm she craved that feeling again. To put it simply she was now horny for the first time in her life, and being home alone so much did not help the situation much. The one thing that made it better was Katie, her new friend at work. They had started going to the gym together after work and hanging out on weekends while Ryan studied. Katie had gone to college here and was a couple years older than Abbey. One day at work Katie invited her to join her and her boyfriend and some of their other friends for dinner. Katie had talked about her boyfriend Mike on several occasions but Abbey had not met him yet. She knew Ryan had an exam the next day and would be out late at the library so she said yes. Money was tight, but she had only rarely eaten out since moving here and could afford to splurge a little now and then. As they left the office that afternoon Katie caught her in the lobby. "Abbey, why don't you ride with us to dinner tonight? The place is a little far and Mike and another friend of mine are meeting me at my place around seven to have a drink before heading over to the restaurant." "OK" she answered eagerly, relieved at not having to ride the MARTA train after dark. "That sounds great. I'll meet you around seven." Abbey rode home feeling happy to have something to do that night. While on the train she called Ryan to let him know she was going out. He sounded nervous about his next exam but seemed happy that she had found some friends to hang out with while he was studying. When she got home she showered and changed into a slinky blue dress and put on her favorite pair of heels. She never would have worn this getup to work, but she knew Katie would be dressed to the nines and didn't want to be the dowdy one in the group. She was a little nervous about being around a bunch of "city girls" and didn't want to look like a little redneck girl fresh out of the mountains. The stunning woman she saw in the mirror as she walked out the door was far from that. Abbey arrived at Katie's apartment complex and walked up to her door. She knocked and heard footsteps coming toward the door. When it opened she felt her heart skip a beat and took an involuntary step back. A tall black man stood inside the doorway. "I'm sorry," she stammered, "I must have the wrong door..." "You must be Abbey. I'm Mike." He said, smiling. "Katie's still getting ready. Sorry I startled you." He extended his hand to welcome her inside. Abbey had been excited to meet Mike, but this was not what she had expected. Katie had spoken of Mike many times, but had never mentioned he was black. Her mouth felt dry and she could feel herself starting to blush a little. She had to say something soon or else she would look like a total fool, or worse a complete racist in front of her only friend in town's boyfriend. "No, it's OK, I was just expecting Katie to answer the door." She finally managed. She took his hand and shook it, realizing that it was the first time she had ever touched a black person. "It's good to finally meet you Abbey; Katie has told me all about you." She sat across from him in the living room while they waited for Katie to finish dressing. They made small talk about Abbey and Ryan's move to town and about how they were adjusting to life in Atlanta. Mike didn't look like most of the black people she saw on the trains. He was well dressed, perfectly groomed, and spoke like he was well educated. Most importantly he seemed like a really great guy. Deep down though she was struggling with the idea of her friend being in an interracial relationship. It was just something she had never had to deal with before. Katie finally came out to join them, looking beautiful in a black skirt and white silk blouse. "Hi Abbey, I see you and Mike are getting along fine. Sorry I'm running late, I wanted to introduce you two properly." She went to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of wine and four glasses. "Marlin should be here any minute, so we can get started." Marlin arrived at the door right on cue, and when Katie opened the door Abbey was only slightly less surprised than when she first saw Mike when another black man walked in. There was clearly something to her friend's lifestyle that she had not expected. Katie introduced them, and Abby stood to shake his hand. He just as well dressed as Mike, if not better, and appeared to be very well off financially. To Abbey he looked like a late twenties version of Denzel Washington. He was extremely attractive. For some reason this made Abbey even more nervous. They all sat in the living room with a glass of wine. As they talked Abbey learned that both Mike and Marlin worked in the business side of the music industry and spent quite a bit of time on the road. Both had just returned after a few weeks on the west coast scouting new talent. Abbey loved hip-hop for her workout music and was amazed at all the stars the two of them had worked with. They both had great stories from their trip, and this combined with the wine helped to relax her nerves. One bottle of wine turned to two, but Mike had stopped at one glass, volunteering his services to drive them to dinner. By the time they left for dinner Abbey felt slightly buzzed. Abbey and Katie rode in the back of Mike's range rover to the restaurant, listening as the guys told more stories. At dinner they met three other couples, all black men with white girlfriends. By this point Abbey was unfazed. All of the men knew each other, but two of the girlfriends appeared to be new to the group as they were introduced to Mike and Marlin. "So Marlin, are you going to introduce us to your date? I didn't know you were dating someone again!" One of the other men asked. Abbey blushed, mortified that someone thought she was with him. She was even wearing her wedding ring for Christ's sake! She was about to protest when Katie cut in. "No Tee, she's with me. This is Abbey, she's a friend from work. Her husband is in med school and is out studying every night and I wanted to get her out of her apartment. Besides, you know that Marlin prefers blondes." Tee laughed and then shook Abbey's hands, introducing her to the rest of the group. It took her several minutes to relax again, but another glass of wine helped that go away. She was surprised at how much fun being out to dinner with this group was. The guys were quite a bit more animated than the crowd they had known in college, and sometimes the inside jokes and slang was difficult to follow, but she was enjoying herself. She noticed Katie was having a blast herself and had already worked her way through her third glass of wine since getting to the restaurant. She was cuddled up against Mike, clearly happy to have him back in town. She had thought she would be spending the evening talking with her friend, but it wasn't ending up that way. Abbey didn't mind, Marlin was good company and at this point she was just happy to be out on the town having a good time. Her initial unease at being around so many black men was long forgotten. Marlin seemed to be the perfect gentleman. When the check came Abbey reached for her purse but he stopped her. "Let me get this one. I'm glad I had someone to talk to tonight. Consider it a welcome to town present." She wanted to refuse, but the meal and wine had been expensive. It would destroy her fun budget for the rest of the month. "Thanks Marlin. That's really nice of you." She said, allowing him to take her check. When the four of them walked out it was clear that everyone but Mike was tipsy. Abbey was pretty buzzed and knew she would have to take a cab home from Katie's apartment and get her car the next day. Marlin was walking OK but slurred his words a little. Katie was by far the worst, leaning on Mike just to get to the car. "I need to ride up front going home OK?" Katie asked. "I get a little carsick when I've had too much." Abbey nodded OK and climbed in the back with Marlin. While riding home he stretched his arm across the back of the seat. His fingers briefly brushed through her auburn hair sending a tickle down her neck, but she thought nothing of it. His hand brushed against her neck again, then rested on the seat just barely touching her. She made no effort to move away. She felt a warm flush come over her, not embarrassment this time, but something different. She tried, unsuccessfully, to convince herself it was only the wine. By the time they got back to Katie's apartment it was clear she was not feeling well. Abbey was still too tipsy to drive home, but not as bad off as her friend. Marlin was a little drunk as well and offered to call a cab that they could share for the ride home. He only lived a mile away from her apartment and could have the cabbie drop her off on the ride home. She felt uneasy about this, married women just didn't hop in the car with men they had just met. She started to say no, then realized she would be more worried riding alone this time of night than she would be with someone she was starting to consider a friend. They waited on Katie's couch for the cab to arrive, trying to drink a little water to lessen the hangover they both knew would be coming tomorrow. She was enjoying his company more and more as the night drew on, making her feel a little guilty about her earlier reaction to his skin color. She could clearly see that his interest in her had gone beyond simple friendliness, catching him glancing down at her chest and the hem of her dress a couple times. It was after just such a glance that he looked up her and met her eyes with a look that could be taken as nothing other than desire. Their conversation broke into an awkward pause, causing Abbey's mouth to go dry. She almost jumped when Marlin's cell phone rang. She felt his hand brush along her thigh as he reached to answer his phone, and she realized it must have been there for awhile. She had been either too tipsy or too distracted to notice at first, but the faint feeling of coolness on her thigh from where his hand had been was unmistakable. She was speechless, terrified that she had been giving off the wrong vibes. She didn't have much time to think about what to do, it was the cabbie calling from outside. "Guess we had better go." Marlin said, clearly looking a little disappointed. Abbey almost backed out and took her chances driving home, but when she stood she staggered a little and knew she was in no condition to drive. Marlin opened the door for her and walked down the waiting cab with her. He opened the door for her and slid into the seat beside her. They chatted a little on the ride to her apartment, and to Abbey's relief the spell seemed to have been broken. Marlin hardly looked over at her the entire time. The cab pulled up to her apartment building, and Abbey could see the lights were off. Ryan must have gone to bed already. She was about to get some money for cab fare out of her purse when she felt Marlin's hand on her cheek, turning her face to his. Before she could react he was kissing her on the lips, quick but firm. He pulled away smiling. "I had a great time tonight with you Abbey. I hope we can do more again soon. A pretty woman like you shouldn't be alone so much." Abbey was in shock. She wanted to scream, to slap him, anything. All she could do was stare at him dumbstruck for a moment before opening the door and nearly running up the walk to her apartment. She stopped at her door and looked back to see the cab pulling away. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest. No one besides her husband had kissed her on the lips in a very long time, and she was infuriated at Marlin for violating her this way. But mostly she was mad at herself for letting it get this far, because part of her had liked it, liked it very much. That part wanted more to happen, and she wasn't sure he would be able to turn those feelings off. She slept little that night, her thoughts flashing between Marlin's hand on her leg and his lips on hers. When she did finally sleep her dreams betrayed her. She was back on the couch with Marlin, only this time he was slipping her dress over her head, exploring her body with his hands. He unclasped her bra, her breasts falling free to be met by his waiting lips. She could feel his hand slide into her panties, working its way across her wet pussy lips. She awoke with a start, almost crying out, half expecting to find herself naked and violated on Katie's couch. She was in her own bed, Ryan still sleeping soundly beside her. She could feel dampness in her crotch, the dream had been a little too vivid. She hated herself even more, feeling like she had cheated on her husband. She cried quietly until she was able to fall asleep again, hoping it would all be forgotten in the morning.