Chapter 7

The next day, Paul couldn’t concentrate at the office. He hadn’t slept a wink the night before, dreading Nikki’s date with Han that evening. As much as he had been aroused at the café--and during the phone call afterward--he was now paralyzed by fear of what the night might bring.

He tried to push those thoughts aside and focus on his work, and by the afternoon the fear had dulled, replaced once more by a gnawing excitement. He caught himself wondering where they might be going tonight, and if Han would dare to finger her at the restaurant again.

By five o’clock, his colleagues were leaving the office one by one. Paul, however, stayed behind, pretending to be busy by shuffling the same documents and staring at the same reports over and over. It wasn’t that he wasn’t eager to go home and rest--far from it. But he had already decided to use the office landline to check in with Nikki, and his lack of progress during the day gave him the perfect excuse to linger.

When the last of his colleagues finally left, Paul walked with him into the corridor under the pretense of heading to the restroom. As soon as the man disappeared around the corner, Paul glanced around, making sure no one else had stayed behind. He could still hear the janitor’s voice drifting up from downstairs, but he figured the old man wouldn’t come up to the offices for at least another half hour.

Paul immediately returned to the room he shared with five other colleagues and picked up the handset of the office landline and dialed Nikki’s number.

It rang for a few minutes before a familiar voice came through from the other side. It was Nikki’s.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me, calling from the office.”

“Paul?” Nikki said, and he could hear the surprise in her voice. “Babe, you know you aren’t supposed to call me here.”

“I know.” Paul sighed. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Oh really?” Nikki teased, a playful lilt in her tone. “Well ... now that you’ve heard it ... are you satisfied?”

“Yep.” A small smile crept up on his face since his girlfriend was teasing him now. “But seriously--do I need to hang up?”

“It’s ok, babe. Father isn’t back yet,” Nikki said. “But I don’t have much time ... You know I’ve got a date with Han.”

The mention of Han jolted Paul’s memory, and suddenly he remembered why he was calling Nikki in the first place. “When is he picking you up?”

“In about an hour,” Nikki replied, her bracelets jingling as she toyed with something.

“Are you ready for him?”

“Almost ... I just need to make my lips perfect,” she said playfully.

“Gosh ... I wish I could see them now. What colour are they?”

Nikki giggled on the other side. “Hmm ... maybe I shouldn’t tell you. After all, Han is the one who gets to see them tonight.”

“Really?” Paul let out a small laugh, trying to play it cool. “I can’t even know the color? Here I was thinking about asking for your clothes too.”

“Well,” she said, her voice teasing, “let’s just say ... I’m wearing something Han would like.”

Paul put the handset to his other ear, exhaling the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. “But please tell me you’re wearing your knickers this time.”