CHAPTER 17

When Niles saw her legs appear under the table in front of him, he froze. He knew it was her. He recognized the way she crossed her legs. Her shoe slipped off and he looked at her foot, which was freshly pedicured in a flirtatious shade of red and almost completely visible through her nude-coloured stockings. Her hands were always plain or French-tipped. The red varnish on her toenails was surprising.

I always knew she had a cheeky side to her, of course, he thought. She began stretching and circling her foot as she played with the bottle in front of her, completely unaware that Niles was under the table. He didn't touch her. He told himself he was trying to think of a trick to play on her but watching her was distracting.

Suddenly, he heard her voice. "Hello, Damon!" She said, excitedly.

Oh no, Niles thought, I don't want to be under here if he's in the room!

He heard a muffled voice. She must be on the phone, he realized, relieved.

She laughed that low laugh he loved so much. The one she had always reserved for him when she was proud of a good zinger she had offered him. Now she was using it on someone else. He pursed his lips as he shifted to sit a little more comfortably under the table.

"Well, with all the brandy you fed me, I'm not surprised you found me so entertaining," she giggled.

Ah, of course. That's why she laughed when she saw the brandy I was drinking last night. She was thinking of demon mc moron, Niles thought in annoyance.

"Oh-ho, well I'm not the kind of girl to get to second base on a first meeting," she teased. "I need to be sure I can trust a man before I let him touch me so... intimately. Either that or he'd have to do something to really turn me on..." She giggled. She'd never spoken like this to a man before but she felt as though it was expected in a relationship with this type of man.

Niles thought back to the moment they had shared in the living room. She had moved his hand to her ass, urging him to cup her intimately. Even though he hadn't kissed her that night, he had, technically, got to second base and she had led the way. He smiled smugly.

So she trusts me? Or I did something to 'really turn her on' AND she hadn't let McMoron get that far. He relished the thought but was a little confused. What exactly had he done that was such a turn on for her?

... And how could he do it again?

To get rid of McMann, of course.

I mean, because he's annoying, not because he's with Babcock. He tried to stifle the side of himself that was pointing out his true motives.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard her gasp.

"Damon, you are so naughty!" She squealed. "I'm at work, I can't do that! Well... Yes, technically I'm alone in the dining room... I haven't done it before..."

Niles wondered what she was talking about. Sex? He threw his head back in a silent laugh. She would have enjoyed that zinger.

He put his hand over his mouth, nervous that a sound might escape. He continued eavesdropping.

"Alright, alright..." She said, seemingly giving in to whatever McMann was begging for.

"Um... I...don't know what to say... You start!"

He had presumably asked her what she was wearing and obviously wasn't satisfied with her answer by the sounds of her second attempt to answer him...

"Well, it's somewhat fitted... No, my bra isn't visible, I'm at work!" She giggled.

"Okay... I'm unbuttoning the first few buttons... but Damon, someone might walk in here at any moment so I'm not going all the way with you on this one, just sayin'"

Niles was glad when he heard that. He had realized McMann wanted to do some dirty talk with her and was worried how far she might take it. He was especially worried because he was sitting right there, under the table.

"Why?" She asked into the phone. "Ohhhoooh, so you're getting me ready for later, are you?" she said with a slightly deeper voice. "Okay..."

Niles saw her hand appear under the table to lift her loose skirt to her thigh. He got an up-close view of her crossed legs in her thigh-high stockings. She slid her hand a little higher and Niles stopped breathing out of panic... and curiosity.

He slowly released his breath when he realized she was unclipping her garter. She began to roll the stocking down with one hand and he swallowed, enjoying the view. She lifted her leg slightly as she got near the bottom of her calf, almost unable to pull it off completely without bending under the table. She slipped off her shoe and pulled off the stocking completely.

Niles gasped inaudibly as she uncrossed her legs and then recrossed them in the opposite direction to unclip her garter belt at her other leg.

"Ok," he heard her say, "They're off..."

She chuckled evilly at something she heard over the phone. She began lifting the thigh of the leg that was crossed on top so that she could slowly rub her thighs together. Niles was conflicted. He wanted to enjoy this but at the same time, he was annoyed that it was Damon turning her on. He watched as she slipped her heels back on and stuffed her stockings into the handbag which she had placed on the seat next to her.

"Yes, Damon... I am..." Niles heard her whisper the next part, "touching myself."

She obviously didn't want any eavesdroppers to hear... Either that or she didn't want Damon to hear that she was lying, Niles thought as he noticed her hand was still in her purse and the other was presumably still holding the phone to her ear.

Niles rolled his eyes. Even when Babcock does manage to find a man to date her, she still doesn't lose herself in the moment and just enjoy it.

Unless, he thought, McMoron doesn't turn her on like I did! He grinned to himself.

He heard her whisper a few more dirty lies as she got up from the table to peek through the door to see if anyone was coming. Then she returned to the table, picked up her handbag and said with some forced heavy breathing, "Yes... ah, Damon...Oh, Yes!"

Niles was in silent hysterics. He was going to love having this to hold over her head. That and the fact that she was really bad at faking it. She always either overdid it or undersold it, whether it was dirty talk with a boyfriend or pretending to like someone to get a big investment in a show.

She forced a giggle that was half hummed. "We'll see. Depends how things progress later tonight." She said. "You, too, Damon." And she hung up.

Niles lifted the tablecloth as he heard her heels clicking out of the room.

He quickly came out from under the table and grabbed the brandy to throw it out. He noticed one of her thigh-high stockings on the chair where she had placed her handbag. He grabbed it and put it in his blazer pocket to use it against her later.