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It was a small, crowded, hot club which seemed to be packed with hundreds of our friends. I don't know whose idea it was to spend the last day of work before vacation in a karaoke bar, but Eddie persuaded me to go. "It'll be fun!" he said, "Everyone wants to, so you have to go." One by one, everyone got up and sang courageously, as I drank Cosmopolitan after Cosmopolitan.

"Can we go yet?" I whined unattractively.

"No, we have to be polite, they worked so hard all year for us." The room got warmer and warmer, and I took off my jacket, exposing my bare shoulders. Someone in our row had to get up, and Eddie pressed me forward to let her by. '"Emmie's shoulders are so soft, I had no idea," he whispered. By then, I was swimming in music and martinis as I leaned over and said "That's not the softest part..." Yikes, what was I saying? I worked with this man, I should be more political! I tried to distract myself by looking at the list of songs for the karaoke disc jockey. "Every Breath You Take," "Every time you go away,""Fever."

Fever! I knew that song...and suddenly, before I knew it, in my martini haze, I found myself walking over to the DJ and requesting "Fever." The next thing I knew I was standing on the stage...it was do or die. I figured, I either have to go for it or make a total fool of myself. So...

The room was dark and the only face I could really see was Eddie's...his blue eyes shining from the lights on the stage, mesmerizing me, and I found myself singing only to him...."Never knew how much I loved you, never knew how much I cared, when you put your arms around me... you give me fever....when you kiss me, fever all through the night...." His eyes pierced through me as he carried me through the song. The crowd applauded when I finished, and I sat back down. "Come outside with me while I smoke a cigarette," he whispered as he brushed my neck with his cheek. "Wait until the next singer is done," I breathed. Those next few minutes were the longest of my life. My heart pounded in my chest, my skin felt hot and raw, I could feel the heat rising from Eddie as he tried patiently to wait for the next person to finish. As soon as it was over, I started to applaud, but Eddie grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd. "Where are they going?" I heard someone whisper, and I turned back and said to the room in general, "We're going out for a smoke." But I knew if I didn't believe it, no one else would.

We rushed outside into the warm summer night, redolent with the fragrance of honeysuckle and jasmine. He pulled me to the edge of the deserted patio and studied my face. "Weren't you going to smoke a cigarette?" I stalled, nervously. "Oh. Yes." he stuttered, as he pulled out a cigarette. He tried to light it, once, twice, and I finally took his hand. "You didn't want to smoke, did you?" He smiled and eased his arms around my waist, pulling me agonizingly close. I thought, I've never kissed a man with lipstick on, what would it feel like? I would soon find out as he murmured, "No, I didn't" and his lips parted to meet mine.