The Affair Read Online Free

moment. Ambi ence engineer. Mmmmm. It had a certain appeal. She tried to picture it on her business cards and laughed out loud.
    The driver sniggered as he turned left into William Street, joining the main throng of traffic heading out of the city. He made it clear he didn’t think much of the job title.
    The stranger looked at the driver then at Nina. He was clearly enjoying himself, his manner playful and infectious. Nina found herself relaxing, sitting by this amusing stranger. She shifted in the seat, liking the squelching sound her shoes made as she slipped them off her feet.
    ‘When are you going to do my place?’ he continued. ‘I still need help with my lounge room.’ His tone suggested that they had had this conversation many times before.
    ‘Help?’ responded Nina loudly. ‘You need more than help. If I told you once I told you a thousand times, floral pink walls with that baby blue carpet would never work. But, oh no, you wouldn’t listen.’Nina watched as the driver’s eyes flashed across to the stranger.
    ‘Well, what would you suggest in that room?’ asked the stranger.
    Nina put her head to one side, feigning thoughtfulness. She adopted her best interior decorator tone, speaking slowly and deliberately, as if the possibilities of this man’s lounge room were the most important thing in the world to her. ‘I think you need to reflect your own personality, your own interests …’
    The stranger raised an eyebrow. His shoulders were turned towards Nina and he focussed all his attention on her. She could feel the intensity of his scrutiny. Oh yeah, this will be good, his manner seemed to say.
    Nina continued. ‘A living room should be somewhere you feel comfortable because it says “you”.’
    The man could tell she was thinking while she was talking. He watched her with interest, keen to hear what she would come up with. He was relishing every moment of this game. Nina’s large expressive brown eyes darted about, looking past him, her mind working furiously. She locked back onto his gaze with a triumphant little smile.
    ‘The medieval jousting you like to do on weekends. Why not bring those suits of armour and the racks out of the basement, I mean, your dungeon. The racks would be perfect as the core idea for your living area.’
    The stranger fell back against the seat laughing,his enjoyment contagious. Nina felt it pass through her body as a wave of pleasure.
    Outside the rain fell steadily, producing a pleasant rat-a-tat sound on the roof. The windows had fogged up from their breath, making it difficult for them to make sense of the buildings and people outside, which passed by in a whirl of unrecognisable shapes. The streetlights came on, casting feeble halos that barely penetrated the silver curtain of rain. Inside the taxi the air was steamy and close.
    The car behind sounded its horn and the taxi driver was forced to turn his attention to the road. Nina knew he had been listening to every word of their conversation. His body and eyes were facing the road but his focus was very much in the back seat with them. His presence heightened their intimacy as every word they spoke was loaded with double meaning. Nina and the stranger seemed to exist within their own private world, a world they were creating together.
    ‘And are you still wearing red-and-blue tights and playing Spider-Man at children’s parties for a living?’ asked Nina.
    She looked across at the stranger, her eyes wide and innocent, her mouth gently lifted at the corners in an enquiring half-smile.
    The stranger squirmed in his seat. He looked Nina over, considering her carefully. ‘Touché,’ he said softly so that only she could hear. He leaned forward as he spoke, his breath warm against Nina’s wet shoulder. She was conscious of his closeness.His light cotton shirt was plastered against his chest. He wasn’t a big man but he was compact and muscular. She was very aware of his physicality, his broad chest and the heat