When No One's Watching, 2

Everything was present: the unbroken eye contact, the touch of the arm, the girl’s occasional twirling of her hair, the gentle seductive laugh, the guy’s constant raising of the eyebrows, the listener’s nods every now and then, and the focused interest in what the other was saying.

As he spoke, she kept on dipping her head nearer. He could smell the hint of shampoo on her hair despite the overpowering cigarette fumes and the fragrance of cologne floating through the room.

For a moment there, he lost control and reached out to touch her hair. It had been months that they haven’t touched; he was getting so excited. But he stopped himself as he observed the crowd.

He licked his lips and put on his signature winsome smile. As if she knew what he meant by the gesture, she reciprocated and smiled back. “So you wanna get out of here?”

“Sure” he blurted out almost instantly. Shocked by his own reply, he wanted to retract it. But too late. The girl has already stood up, gathered her lighter and the cigarette box. She was motioning for the door.

The guy was a bit hesitant; he knew this wasn’t part of the plan.

“Oh well” he said to himself, “I’ll be ending this affair … some other time.” An exciting night, this is going to be, he thought.