Sure enough, Nikki returned the kiss with a delighted smile, brown eyes flaring beneath neatly plucked brows.  Though there were still trepidations in here about all this -- it felt unfair somehow -- she wasn't about to question it.  More and more, the complexities of their marriage made it easier for her to take<em>yes</em>for an answer even when nagging doubt suggested she not.  She busied herself doing a bit of Googling and texting in search of recommendations for the evening, and by the time Chris announced that he was finished, she was ready for her own shower.  She passed him in their bedroom with a wry and mischievous smile, but if pressed she'd offer up not one sliver of detail about where they were headed.<br/><br/><em>"Gimme five,"</em>she returned.<br/><br/>It was fifteen minutes later before Nikki made her appearance.  Her slender form bounced with tangible excitement as she hustled down the stairway in bare feet.  Just as the photo she'd teased earlier suggested, the dress fit her like a dream; from its dipping neckline and emphasis on her supple cleavage to the way it flaunted her long and slender legs.  A pair of black heels dangled by the straps looped through fingertips of her left hand whilst the right touched up a smudge of crimson on the corner of her mouth as she paused in front of the mirror in their foyer.  Satisfied, she set the strappy heels down and looped a foot into each one, teasing fingertips through mid back-length locks of chestnut once she was upright again.  The couple inches her heels added gave her a slight height advantage of her husband, but that never bothered her.  She grinned playfully to him.<br/><br/><em>"You're gonna dance with me, right?"</em>She teased, grin splitting to bear the flawless whites of her teeth.<br/><br/><em>"We're eating at Mario's,"</em>she divulged with a flare of the eyes.  It was relatively new; a trendy little italian spot conveniently close to several hotspots for nightlife downtown.