A Crazy Favor Part 1 – The Favor

A Crazy Favor

Part 1 – The Favor

It started as a harmless lunch, or so I thought.

When Jessica messaged me out of the blue, I couldn’t believe it. We’d been best friends, practically sisters, but that was years ago. We went off to different colleges, lived our lives, and somewhere along the way… just drifted. But seeing her message made me feel like I was seventeen again. I wanted to rekindle that bond, to feel close to her, to feel like I had someone who knew the real me.

Lunch was wonderful. She looked just as I remembered, maybe a bit more polished, a little wiser, but still Jessica. The conversation flowed like no time had passed, and all the insecurities I’d felt—the way her life seemed so perfect while mine felt like a pale shadow—started to fade. She opened up about her life, her husband, the expectations, the pressures. And then, almost casually, she mentioned him.

She told me about him—not her husband, but another man. She confided that he made her feel alive, like herself again. Her husband, on the other hand? He was dull and clingy, always wanting to stay in, always needing her by his side as if even a single night apart was unimaginable. Their sex life had become a chore, routine and uninspired. She admitted she hated being in bed with him and that she was contemplating a divorce.

Then she dropped it on me. She needed a favor. A crazy favor. I sat there, blinking at her across the table, wondering if I’d heard her right. She wanted me to pretend to be her, just for a night, just so she could have one evening of freedom.

“Why don’t you just say you’re going out with your girlfriends that night?” I asked, half-laughing, hoping she’d crack a smile and say she was joking. But her expression didn’t change. She leaned in, lowering her voice.

“You don’t get it. He’s… possessive. If he knows I’m not home, he’ll text me constantly, probably even come looking for me. I need you to stay in my place. Just one night, that’s all I’m asking.”

I took a sip of my coffee, staring at her as the words sank in. “You want me to sleep in your bed? Pretend to be you? Jessica, this is… extreme.”

“I know,” she said, eyes pleading, “but I haven’t felt this way in so long. I just need to feel… something different. Just this once. He might be the one.”

My heart raced as I tried to process it all. I knew it was risky, probably stupid, but the truth is… I missed being her friend. I missed being her partner in crime. And there was a part of me that wanted to feel what it would be like to be her, if only for a few hours.

“Why me?” I asked, my voice trembling just a little. I still couldn’t believe what she was asking me to do.

“I… I need someone who’s not in my current circle,” Jessica replied, her eyes steady on mine. “Someone Trevor doesn’t know.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And I guess it was—I just hadn’t thought of it. Her logic made sense, even if the whole plan felt borderline insane.

“But… won’t he figure it out?” I asked, feeling a pang of dread.

Jessica let out a dry, almost bitter laugh. “Oh, god, no. He will come home from work and pass out drunk like normal!” She leaned in a little closer. “He probably has some slut at the office. Always stays late, saying he has work. Trevor hasn’t touched me in ages.” Her voice softened just a fraction as she finished, and for a split second, I saw the cracks in her otherwise perfect life.

“Oh… I’m sorry,” I said, not sure what else to offer.

She brushed off my sympathy, waving her hand dismissively. “Just do me this one favor, Ashley. Please. It would mean the world to me!” Her eyes were pleading, almost desperate, and somehow that vulnerability got to me.

Maybe it was the old loyalty I still felt for her, or maybe it was that I wanted to feel needed by someone who used to mean everything to me. Whatever it was, she convinced me. By the time she started explaining the details, I found myself nodding along, taking mental notes as she laid out every part of the plan like she’d been rehearsing it for weeks.

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The plan was surprisingly well-thought-out. She gave me all the details, from her nightly routine to the things her husband wouldn’t notice. By the time I showed up at her place, I was already a bundle of nerves. Jessica disappeared into the bathroom, leaving me alone in the dimly lit bedroom, and that’s when I knew there was no turning back.

I took a deep breath, slid under the sheets, and curled up, just like she told me. The silk sheets were soft, cool, and foreign against my skin. I lay there, trying to still my breathing, half-excited and half-terrified, waiting in her place as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And that’s how I found myself here, tangled up in Jessica’s life, in her bed, waiting for whatever would come next.

I lay there, barely breathing as I heard him stumble into the room. My back was to him, but I felt his presence—the weight of his steps, the slight stagger that gave away just how much he’d had to drink. The smell of whiskey drifted over, faint but unmistakable.

“Jess, babe, are you there?” His voice was soft, searching, and for a moment, I thought maybe he’d leave if I didn’t respond. But he wasn’t going anywhere. “Jess? I can tell you aren’t asleep.”

Panic jolted through me. I forced myself to mumble, letting my voice come out groggy and distant, praying he wouldn’t catch on. It must have worked, because he seemed to relax, shifting his weight.

“Good… I…” He paused, sounding uncertain, and vulnerable. “I just want to tell you… once I get this investor secured I promise I’ll have a better work-life balance. I know this has been hard on you. I… I guess I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”

His words were quiet, almost tender, and they caught me off guard. The sweetness in his voice hit me in a place I hadn’t expected. Lying there, pretending to be his wife, I felt a sudden ache I hadn’t anticipated, for this man who was reaching out, trying to close a gap he didn’t even fully understand. I could see, for the first time, how much he was yearning to connect with her.

He brushed a gentle hand over my shoulder, lingering for a moment before he pulled back, in silence.