Chapter 6 - Fun In The Sun (Previously entitled 'Off The Cretan Track' ) Edited and extra chapters.

Nick asks Sal to wear her best dress.

Thanks for the lift, Sal," Nick said, turning to her as she pulled up outside The Apollo hotel. "Will you be out tonight?" he asked, "I definitely will. Want to say hi to everyone again."

Her face lit up. "Good idea. Actually, I decided earlier that I'd go out tonight. It's the treat I usually promise myself after an airport shift," she smiled.

"Great. See you in The Wheelhouse? Around 8?" he asked.

She nodded, "Definitely."

He smiled. Things were going great.

Nick opened the car door and manoeuvred his legs, head and finally the rest of his body out of Sal's tiny car.

Sal giggled to herself as she watched him. Then he disappeared from her view through the passenger window and she felt the back of the car lift slightly as he retrieved his suitcase from the boot. She reached across and closed the passenger door but it wasn't long before he was back, his head appearing through the open car door window.

"You weren't laughing at me, were you, Sal?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at her suspiciously.

She stifled a laugh and tried to look as serious as possible, shaking her head.

"Not me."

He reached into the car then with a sudden urge to break her resolve, making an attempted tickle attack on her ribs.

The laughter that she had been holding in came rushing out then as she tried to fend off his hand.

Nick looked pleased with himself and withdrew, seemingly satisfied with his revenge.

"Bobby dies," he announced.

"Not my Bobby," she replied, throwing herself dramatically onto the steering wheel.

She kept her face pressed against the hard rubber wheel for a moment before flinging her hair out of the way and turning her head sideways to see Nick's reaction.

But Nick's mind was on something else now. She was surprised to see he had a soft smile on his face and was watching her thoughtfully. Slowly she sat up and leant back in her seat, watching his expression and wondering what he was thinking.

His eyes travelled around her face for a moment, contemplating something until he finally spoke.

"Sal," he began.

"Yes," she replied, a little intrigued.

"Put on your best dress tonight. After 'The Wheelhouse', we're going down town," he said, and with that, he was gone.

Sal drove back to her apartment and got straight into the shower, mentally sorting through the clothes in her wardrobe for the best dress that she could wear that evening. She suddenly felt excited. It was going to be one of those nights, one of those great nights that nobody plans but it turns out to be amazing.

Earlier, she had thought maybe she would just go for a few beers in the 'Wheelhouse', that was all. But now Nick was back and everything seemed much more exciting.

An hour later and she had showered, dried and styled her hair and applied her makeup. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror with a towel wrapped around her and added a little extra lip gloss, standing back to view the finished results. Tilting her head for a moment, she studied her reflection and wondered how other people saw her. She was definitely happier with her appearance with makeup applied. Without it, she had always thought she looked too young somehow. Stupid really, it was good to look young. But now... she narrowed her eyes and drew her head back, to look at herself as if from another angle, or perspective. Now she looked sort of sophisticated.

She could maybe see herself as one of those girls on the front of some magazine. Nothing very famous or anything like that. But her eyes would pierce through the image at the reader, her skin, perfectly smooth and flawless with a hint of blush across her cheekbones, her lips soft and slightly parted, drawing the reader in.

She shook her head suddenly, pulling herself out of her day dream. No time to waste; she had to get changed.

Strolling into her bedroom, she searched in her wardrobe for the outfit that she had decided to wear. In Sal's head, it had just seemed perfect for that night. It was in some ways a classic black dress, but Sal would never have bought anything quite so predictable, and certain features of it had caught her eye in the shop. First of all, the material was really good; it was so soft and clung so invitingly to the curves of her breasts and hips. The hem stopped well above the knee and the material dipped daringly down her back, showing an expanse of tanned skin. She finished the outfit off by slipping on a pair of the highest black stiletto shoes she could manage to walk in and a pair of long, dangling, shimmery ear rings.

Ok, so now even she had to admit, she didn't look bad at all. If she didn't manage to catch the attention of 'Mr Mind Shattering guy' looking like that, then there had to be no hope for her!

"Go get him, gorgeous," she mouthed to her reflection, grinning to herself as she grabbed her bag, keys and phone, and left the apartment with a spring in her step.

She felt confident, excitable and... she had to admit it, daringly flirtatious.