Then This Happened

We were headed into the next room to see the spot where I was once rained on indoors. Somehow Dr. Castillo got ahead of us, entering the connecting hallway first. Ms. Romero was behind me as we headed to join him. I thought nothing of this until pow!

With speed and power a hand connected solidly with my posterior. The shock, as well as the impact, lifted me from the ground, drawing a loud squeak of surprise from me. Somehow, I'm still not sure how exactly, she managed to slip a finger into an area where I really don't think it should have been but that's why I jumped as extra high as I did.

When I landed, I spun round to face Ms. Romero, needing to confront her. Now I don't dance as my feet are not that skilled. I get the impression that she is a skilled dancer as she managed to move with me as I turned, maintaining her hold upon me as well as wrapping herself about me and pinning me to the nearby dry erase board. She squeezed the part of my person most within her grasp. “You're very firm,” she breathed in my ear. “You must do a great deal of walking.”

I began to panic immediately. Trust me, I would have liked to have just stood there and enjoyed the situation but her husband was mere steps away and I was sure that my expression of shock would certainly draw his attention. “What are you doing?” I whispered.

She laughed. “You have yet to figure it out? You are an innocent boy, are you not?” She blew in my ear, jellying my knees. I managed to protest further, pointing out the proximity of her husband, just in case that concept had escaped her in the heat of the moment. She did not seem very concerned by this reminder. “I am not worried about him so why you be bothered?” To emphasize her lack of concern, she began to nibble at my ear lobe. Had she not been pressing me so firmly to the wall, I would probably have fallen down then as my legs were no longer a visible means of support.

“I feel I am missing out on something!” Dr. Castillo declared loudly. “You are not keeping a story from me I hope.” From the sound of it, he was returning to the room, just as Ms. Romero had given up on my ear and was coming around to my face, opening up the Zone.

There is a closeness that people get, a specific distance from one another, when they are about to kiss. It's often accompanied by a Look. They stare deep into each other's eyes from maybe six inches away from each other, no more than a foot apart, and then each person's personal gravity draws them to the other. You can feel the Zone open up. There's a tingle that accompanies it. Normally this is a good thing. As Ms. Romero gave me the Look, I swore I heard her husband's footsteps drawing nearer and nearer.

Rightfully, I think, I panicked. I managed to shove her away from me, which didn't appear to please her. This had the unfortunate side effect of making me collapse as she was supporting me more than I believed, my earlier jokes aside. When the brightly smiling Dr. Castillo returned to the lab, he found his wife leaning back on the long, dark lab table and myself hovering over my shoes. Concern appeared on his face as I looked up at him. “Is all well?”

“Well? Oh yes very certainly all is well,” I burbled. “Just a little problem with my shoelaces, no big deal.” I kept fidgeting with the ear that had been toyed with by Ms. Romero as it felt very warm.

Dr. Castillo's smile faded in intensity. “Patrick my friend, your shoes have no laces.”

“That's the problem,” I quickly clarified. “They were loose and I had to adjust this tongue bit here, well, nevermind, they're all fixed now.” I popped back to my feet somewhat successfully. “Now then, where were we again? Oh yes! Where I sat, Na'Dar lady on my lap and raincloud above my head. Right this way.”

I scurried away in a manner I hoped would look casual but I'm sure didn't appear so to my observers. I made sure I kept a good distance from Ms. Romero. She made no further efforts to approach me as I told my story fragment; she just stood next to her husband. However, this did not mean she left me alone, far from it. When she knew my eyes were upon her, she blew kisses, she winked, she would gyrate ever so subtly. Once she made a gesture with her tongue that was impressively rude.

Thankfully, we were nearly done. We wandered back to my office to collect their coats. I shook hands with Dr. Castillo. I politely kissed the hand of Ms. Romero. They thanked me once again and they left me.

I collapsed into my chair. I had survived.