I was sweaty, breathless and surrounded by writhing bodies moving in time to a heavy bass line. It was my eighteenth birthday and I was out with my friends at a seedy back-alley club in Hanoi, Vietnam. I think it was called Hair of the Dog or Shaggy Dog or something along those lines, the sign above the door wasn’t in English but my best friend Amanda had translated for me when we walked in. Clubbing here was great, there were no lines because it was a Tuesday night but it was still pumping like it was a Saturday, the drinks were super cheap and there were plenty of hot tourists. We had started the night pre-drinking at Amanda’s house as she still lived here. I had lived here once too, many years ago, before I was old enough to go clubbing – not that that had stopped my fourteen year old self. But I had never been to this particular spot before, clubs came and went so frequently in Hanoi.

After Amanda’s house we had hit up the shisha bar Tiny Joe’s where the proprietor was a huge Vietnamese man with three chins. Nobody introduced us but I assumed he was Tiny Joe. After a couple rounds of watermelon flavoured hookah and a few cocktails later we stumbled on down the street and through a few alleyways filled with “beer hoi’s” or local bars, which were basically just single rooms with plastic stools spilling out on to the road serving nothing but the best local brew. I was tempted to sit down at one when we passed a group of 4 guys perched on their little chairs along the road, their muscled arms on full display in their sleeveless tank tops. They were laughing and joking in a language I didn’t recognise but you could usually rely on most tourists to have at least a little English. But anyway, Amanda pulled me along and promised there would be more attractive guys at the club.

When we turned into a particularly busy street I noticed there were multiple bars all in a row with various hilarious names that were obviously translated into English by someone who barely spoke the language and therefore the signs read things like ‘the happy happy club’ or ‘music loud club’. But we didn’t enter any of these perfectly good places. Amanda led our group down a side alley that wasn’t particularly well lit, and to be honest I probably would never have ventured down here alone, but my friend promised the best dancing was through a dark side door that had a few scantily clad Vietnamese girls standing outside smoking.

When we entered, I could totally see why this was the place to be. Bodies twisted and gyrated to the heavy bass as the lights flashed varying colours of the rainbow onto the floor. Amanda and I headed to the crowded bar and elbowed our way to the front. The Vietnamese didn’t believe in queues so nobody really batted an eyelid on what I would consider to be very rude behaviour. Just another reason why I loved this country. After ordering two rum and cokes, Amanda started scanning the bar for anyone we knew. Off in a dark corner, sitting on some questionable sofas, were a bunch of kids I had been classmates with back in middle school. Amanda grabbed my hand and tugged me toward them.

As we drew closer, I noticed one of the guys sitting off to the side was actually Tobias, who I had dated for a while in eighth grade. I hadn’t spoken to him since I’d left Hanoi, but the years had been kind to him and he looked pretty damn good. When we got to their table Amanda immediately yelled ‘DANCE FLOOR!’ and everybody groaned but stood up and headed for the back of the bar where the DJ was playing. I followed the group and soon the music was flowing through me, my hips swaying in time to the beat. I soon noticed some backpackers dancing in a small circle not too far from our group, and I caught the eye of a guy with dark hair curling around his ears. His skin was sun-kissed and his eyes were a bright green colour reminiscent of the jade coins you could find in many of the tourist shops in the old town. He smiled widely at me and nodded his head. I grinned back and, hell was I blushing? Thank god for the dim lights so nobody could see my red cheeks. I had had boyfriends and hookups before so I wasn’t a complete flirting novice but this guy was hot. His shirt was sleeveless showing off glistening muscles as he raised his hands in time to the beat.

Slowly, I inched my way closer to him and his friends, pulling Amanda with me. He seemed to be doing the same and we met somewhere in the middle of the dancefloor. He immediately put his hands on my waist and we started to move together to the rhythm. Amanda took up a similar position with one of his friends. I leaned in close and yelled in his ear, ‘I’m Peyton!’. He called back to me, ‘nice to meet you Peyton, I’m Jesse’ in the most heart-fluttering English accent. Wow a tanned British guy was not exactly common, he must have been backpacking in the sun for a while. We grinned at each other as we swayed, and he pulled me closer. We tried to make some small talk but the music was so loud I only caught every second or third word. After maybe three songs, Jesse leaned in and asked me if I wanted to move somewhere quieter and get a drink. I nodded enthusiastically and we moved off the dance floor.

I waved to Amanda and pointed in the direction we were heading so she knew where I was going. Jesse and I pushed our way through to the very back of the bar where there were a couple sofas and beanbags, plopping down on a couch that I doubted was meant for two people, but I wasn’t complaining about the proximity. Jesse rested his hand on my thigh and turned a beautiful smile on me. The way it lit up his whole face and made him glow just made me grin back stupidly. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say other than ‘hi’ so I just went with that. ‘Hi,’ he replied, then his free arm wound up around my back and his fingers wound into my hair. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he stated, examining my red hair through his fingers. I was blushing again and still I had no words. He seemed to sense this and he chuckled, not unkindly, and his palm cupped the back of my head. He leaned his face down to meet mine and our lips brushed in the sweetest kiss. But the softness only lasted a few seconds, then our tongues met in a fiery dance of passion that took my breath away. We sat there, making out like the horny teenagers we were, for at least 5 minutes before someone yelled ‘get a room!’ and we broke away self-consciously.

My heart was racing and there was a warm tingling growing in my core. Jesse grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch and we ducked out the back door of the bar into another dark alleyway. Looking left and right, Jesse seemed to make a decision and we took off down the alley to the left and before long we were walking along the banks of a small river. It was around then that I realised I had just left with a strange man I didn’t know and my friends had no idea where I was. Stupid Peyton, this was how girls get murdered overseas, I berated myself. But once we were far enough away from the bustle of the streets and standing on a sandy shore with reeds that stood taller than both of us, Jesse leaned in to kiss me some more. My worry melted away and we dropped to the ground, tangled in each other.

I was on my back and Jesse was holding himself above me, his arm behind my head to angle my face up to his. Slowly, he released some of his weight and he pressed his hard, warm body flush with mine. I wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him all the way down on top of me. He felt divine. I tugged on the hem of his tank top and he pulled it off in one swift movement. My gaze devoured the washboard abs on full display in the weak moonlight. He was gorgeous. I couldn’t believe my luck at scoring such a hottie on my birthday. I raked my fingernails down his back and he groaned in pleasure. I made a little sigh of satisfaction and soon Jesse was tugging on my top too. I guess it was only fair. I slipped it over my head slightly awkwardly with him on top of me and soon the soft skin of my breasts was exposed to the cool night air. My nipples peaked at the cool temperature outside, but inside my body was burning up. Jesse made a small noise of pleasure deep in his throat as he squeezed my breast then rolled my right nipple between his thumb and forefinger. The pressure was just enough to create a throbbing sensation low between my thighs.

I could feel myself getting wet, and I could feel the hardness of Jesse’s arousal pressed against my stomach where it strained to spring free of his board shorts. I looked up into Jesse’s jade eyes and he paused his exploration of my body to ask ‘do you want to?’. I didn’t even hesitate. I nodded my consent and Jesse started working the button of my denim shorts open. I wriggled out of them as Jesse pushed his board shorts down and soon there was nothing at all between us. I shivered a little but Jesse was a warm weight on top of me, slipping his hand between my legs to stroke me. ‘God you’re so wet,’ he whispered, seeming pleased. I reached for his dick and began stroking the long length of the soft skin I found there. We pleasured each other with our hands until an urgency began to creep into our strokes and I bucked my hips up a little to indicate that I wanted him inside me.

I opened my legs a little wider and moved a little so that he was right at my entrance. Jesse grabbed himself and moved up and down a little, wetting the tip before slowly pushing into me. I gasped a little at the stretch. ‘You still good?’ Jesse asked and I nodded again, apparently unable to use my words anymore. Again I pushed my hips upwards and took more of him in, feeling exquisite at the full sensation. Jesse groaned as he thrust all the way into me and whispered my name breathily in my ear. ‘You feel so good around my dick babe, I want to make you come so hard,’ he declared. ‘Sounds good to me’. We moved together in a rhythm that set my skin blazing. I could see a slight sheen of sweat on Jesse’s brow as he worked hard.

His hand had come between us again to stroke my clit in small circles as his dick hit the best part of me inside. I ran my hands through his hair and my nails down his back again, which made him gasp in pleasure. ‘Keep doing that I’m going to come early babe,’ he confessed, which made me giggle and do it again. But there was a pressure building within me that demanded to be released, and I whispered ‘harder’ as I bucked up and down beneath him. He obliged me and his thrusts turned lethal as he pounded me. Good, I need him harder and faster than any guy I’d ever had before, because he was hotter than any guy I’d ever had before. One hand reached below my ass to lift me into a better angle and his hand gripped my hair as he rode me. The tension within me was about to tip right over the edge and I desperately wanted Jesse to come with me.

‘I’m gonna come,’ I gasped, and then I saw nothing but stars. I closed my eyes as pleasure rolled over me in one huge wave, then little ripples, like a rock that had disturbed a peaceful pond. Jesse panted hard and groaned ‘shit’ as he came just as hard and I felt a warmth inside me. Then he collapsed on top of me in a comforting weight of muscle and sweaty skin. He leaned his forehead against mine and kissed me gently. ‘That was amazing,’ he breathed, and I agreed, still feeling the lingering effects of my orgasm. I ran my hands down his back one more time before he pulled out of me slowly.

Together we searched for our clothes among the reeds and quietly got dressed. We looked at each other a little sheepishly and laughed. ‘I wasn’t expecting that tonight,’ Jesse confessed. ‘Neither was I, but it made for an amazing birthday present,’ I laughed. Jesse’s eyes went wide. ‘It’s your birthday?’ He exclaimed. I nodded and he laughed, ‘well happy birthday’. I laughed again and said, ‘you pretty much already said that with… you know,’ and I looked at his pants pointedly. He chuckled too and nodded, then held his hand out for me. ‘Should we get back to the party?’ He asked, and I took his outstretched hand. ‘Yeah we better, I’m feeling like a shot,’ I said, then we wandered back towards the lights and the noise of the city. Happy birthday to me.