They walked hand in hand along the pier.  The evening was warm with a subtle breeze.  Raymond gave Charmaine’s hand a firm squeeze then pulled her to stand in front of the rail.  “It’s a beautiful night,” he commented staring up at the stars twinkling down at them.  “Did you enjoy your dinner?”

Looking up at the brilliance in the sky, Charmaine nodded, “Everything was delicious.”

“Where do you feel like going tomorrow night?” Raymond asked as he looked down at her.  “Italian again?  Or would you prefer French?”

Charmaine shook her head and placed her hands lightly on his shoulders.  “We’ve been dining out every single night and at all these expensive restaurants.  You’re going to go broke one day and when that happens don’t blame it on me,” she teased.

Raymond shrugged his shoulders and slid his arms around her waist pulling her close to him.  “I can afford it,” he said arrogantly.  “As long as it makes you happy.”

Keeping her eyes on him, Charmaine said tenderly, “Being with you makes me happy.  Not where we go or what we eat.  I would be just as happy standing on the streets and eating a hot dog with you.”

Raymond was horrified by the thought and with eyes bulging said, “Hot dog?”  Wrinkling his nose he added, “That’s disgusting.”

Charmaine giggled at his reaction and said, “How about hamburger instead?  Or even pizza.”

Now it was Raymond’s turn to chuckle.  He brushed a strand of hair from her face, letting his fingers caress the smoothness of her skin and said, “I don’t even have to eat when I’m with you.  Just being with you sates me.”

Charmaine was warm by his words.  With a pleased smile, she leaned forward and rested her head against his chest feeling his arms tighten around her and liking the feel of them around her.

After a moment of just standing there, holding each other, Raymond pulled away from her.  His hand dug inside his jacket and pulled out a small jewelry box.  “For you,” he said and waited for her to take the gift.

Charmaine looked up at him with surprise and slowly picked up the box.  Without opening it she asked, “What is it?”

“See for yourself,” Raymond instructed mischievously, his eyes never leaving her face.

Charmaine flipped the lid open.  To her astonishment, inside on a bed of silver velvet was a necklace with the diamond teardrop pendant that she had seen at a window display months ago.  It appears to be the very same pendant that she had looked on with longing because of its unique opaque color.  Smiling tenderly at him she asked, “How did you…”

“Do you like it?” Raymond asked eagerly cutting off her words.  He didn’t know why but he wanted to please her so much and he would spend as much as he have to just to see her smile at him the way she is now.

Charmaine looked down at the pendant again admiring it’s extricate and exquisite handy work.  She had never owned a piece of jewelry this beautiful and expensive and being that it was a gift from him, it held even more meaning.  Her voice quivered with emotion when she repeated her question, “How did you know?”

Dumbfounded by her question when Raymond expected her to thank him with joy, he asked, “Know what?”

Charmaine searched his face for a sign that he was toying with her but saw none.  Instead his expression was of genuine confusion.  “I love it,” she whispered achingly.

Raymond removed the necklace from its bed and gently turned her around.  After clasping it behind her he turned her around again to survey her.  “The pendant suits you.  When I first saw it I thought to myself, hmmm… this is something Charmaine would like and now seeing it on you and your reaction to it, I knew I was right,” he bragged with a sly smile.

Charmaine lightly touched the pendant as she stared up at him.  “To be honest I actually came across this very same pendant a few months ago and had fallen in love with it at sight and now you...”

Raymond’s soft laughter stopped her from finishing her sentence.  He placed his arms on her shoulders and bent his head so that their foreheads were touching.  “We have more in common than I first thought,” he jested then placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Is that a good or bad?” Charmaine joked along with him as she took a step away from him and pulled him to look out at the calm water below.

“Definitely good,” Raymond said.  He stood behind her and slid his arms around her waist pulling her back against him while his head nuzzled her neck.  “I could stay this way forever,” he murmured all the while planting soft kisses along her neck.

Charmaine fell back against him to better enjoy the softness of his lips on her skin.  She tingled every where his lips touched and wondered what was it about him that causes all these newfound feelings in her.  Even with Steven, whom she was extremely fond of, she didn’t have these feelings.  Steven’s kisses were nice and sweet.  However, Raymond’s kisses excited her and made her crave for more.  Thinking of Steven, she felt a pull in her heart at hurting him the way she did.  That day when he stopped by their department, although he acted as if he wasn’t upset and was back to his usual self, Charmaine still saw the sadness in his eyes.  She wished she could have re-done certain things.

Raymond felt her stiffen and lifted his head.  With his fingers under her chin he tilted her head back to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

“I was thinking about Steven,” Charmaine admitted.

Raymond turned her around to face him and teased, “You’re in my arms, and here I am kissing you and you’re thinking about another guy.  How do you suppose I should respond to that?”

Charmaine laughed softly, “You know perfectly well what I mean.”

Giving her a humorous smile, Raymond said, “I do.  All I can say is what’s done is done so stop fretting about it.  I’m sure he’s fine and is probably over you already.”

“I hope so,” Charmaine said.

Raymond picked up her hand and pulled her along, “Come on.  It’s getting late.  I’ll drive you home now.”  With fingers entwined they walked away from the pier and did not see the shadow lurking behind a nearby column.

Steven stepped out from his hiding place to stare after the couple.  His usual friendly face was wiped clean to be replaced by a dark menacing scowl.  His eyes narrowed with hate and he clenched his fist with rage.  Soon, he thought, he’ll make them pay for making a fool out of him.