In the back of Nikki's mind, that irrational fear still lurked.  Though passive, a side of her was still conscious of the idea that she<em>must</em>have stuck out like a sore thumb.  With an easy five or ten years on just about any other young woman in the place, insecurity grounded in her age could've reared its head at any moment.  Alcohol warded most of that away, though, and the fact that they were out celebrating -- this was all for Chris, you know -- took care of the rest.<br/><br/><em>"Hmm,"</em>Nikki's lips curled wide despite that he couldn't see them that fragrant shroud of chestnut tussling gently about her shoulders as she swayed up against the other man.  The thoughtful murmur somehow carried above the music, intimate in the same way that his whispers were.  Meanwhile, nimble fingertips were warm, guided by neatly manicured and perfectly purple polished nails which teased across the backs of his hands.  The gentle gesture reassured him as he went out on a limb and touched her, even going so far as to draw his grip more fully across one hip whilst its sister cradled him to the flat warmth of her tummy.<br/><br/><em>"I still don't see 'em,"</em>she mused, instinctive and reflexive in turning her head to the side only to expose more of her neck to him.  She hadn't expected to feel his breath on her like that; let alone his lips.  Still, she graved more of it, and the squeeze of her hands across his must've shown it.<br/><br/><em>"Things feelin' okay back there?"</em>she teased, and though he couldn't see it, Richard must have<em>heard</em>the sultry grin she was wearing.  Nonchalant, those slender long legs tensed a little more, assisting in her upper body's slightly forward lean into his touch.  Those ample swells of her backside tucked tighter into his crotch, rolling in a slow and intricate side-to-side wind that was well beyond anything one might've considered appropriate.<br/><br/>What could she say?  Nikki liked playing with fire.