"Nice . . ."

It was still dark when I woke up. Tae Jae was still curled up into a ball up against me. I carefully got up. She moaned faintly, I hesitated, waited to see if I woke her, then continued to move when I was certain she was still a sleep. I pulled the caftan over my head, slipped my feet in the sandals and left the room. I walked to the end of the hall and enter the bathroom. A sweet almond scent fill the air. It seemed to concentrate from one of the stalls. A deep voice moaned. I walked out and looked at the bathroom door. It was indeed the women's bathroom. I entered again. The person in the stall shifted their body for a second. I walked over to the sink and washed my hands slowly. The hairy legs straightened up and cloth fell to its feet. The door opened up and a man emerged from the stall. He was startled.

"Excuse me. Men bathroom stinks." His eyes where foggy and shiny. A small rolled up cigarette was stuffed into his mouth. He inhaled deeply, held his breath and swallowed. He smiled and gestured the cigarette to me. I shook my head and waited for him to leave. He slowly walked over to the basin, looked in the mirror, gave me a smile, and walked out. I waited a couple of minutes before I entered a stall. I left the door open and urinated quickly. I patted myself, washed my hands and walked out.

"You pretty, American."

He almost surprised me. "Thank you." I said moving passed him briskly. He stepped in front of me. He stunk that sweet-almond smell which filled the bathroom.

"I like American woman."

"Good," I replied stepping around him.

He grabbed my arm, "I give you some money."

I stomped on his sandal-less feet and gave him a punch to the stomach. He doubled over and dropped to his knees. He looked into my crouch area and gave a loud and strong whiff.

He smiled, "Nice . . ." moaned and planted his face into me.

I grabbed him by the hair and yanked. He yipped and looked up. I gave him an open palm hit to the jaw. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed. I stepped over him, silently and speedily headed for the room. I entered the room, closed it, locked the door, and shook for several seconds. I pulled the caftan off, placed the sandals in the corner and got into bed. Tae Jae rolled over placing her arm around me. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. She scooted close to me, her warm body gave me a sense of security. After my heart stopped racing and I was relaxed, sleep took over my body again. I drifted off into a flowing stream of dreams.

Sleep was what I needed, a lover was what I wanted, the body warmth of a good friend was what I had to settle for. The morning would be another day of headaches, and pains. One thing I was thankful for, Tae Jae and I hadn't started our periods yet. Not only would it be horrid, it would be embarrassing. I hadn't thought about buying us panties. Just one more day. One more day and this part of the nightmare would be over.