"Shall we have a drink?" Karl Fletcher invited, taking her wrap when they were inside his apartment.

Karen's belly had become a knotted little cavern of queasiness from the moment he closed the door behind her. She had already drunk too much, but purposely, and when he had casually placed his hand on her thigh driving home, she was wondering if she had drunk enough.

"I don't mind," she replied, her vision somewhat blurred, her tongue just a bit thick. She saw her manuscript on a center table and strolled over to look down at it while he went to a corner bar to prepare their drinks.

"Turn on the stereo, darling," he said over the tingling of glassware. "I think we need soft lights and music, eh?"

She looked in his direction, couldn't see him but managed a smile anyway. She spotted the stereo and went over to it, trying to count up all the "dears" and "darlings" they had exchanged so far throughout the evening.

God, is it worth it? Is it…? And all over that pile of paper sitting on that table… Can I go through with it?

He came up behind her, moved a little to her right and handed her a glass while at the same time his other hand went around her waist, immediately smoothing down over the full round curve of her buttocks. She stiffened, her breath coming sharply into her throat.