chapter four

It was the night of hell. I was walking to the acupuncture centre with Ken in my black jacket, a pair of DKNY jeans and black boots. The jacket did not help me at all. I was still cold. Maybe, I was scared to death with this whole thing.

“Mallory, I am so excited. It has been a while I haven’t been coming here. Busy schedule.” Ken said with a smile.

Did he say the word ‘excited’? God, help me.

“Yeah. Me too. Had a rough day in the office and nothing is better than some needles.” What a lie.

“It is the best treatment in the world when you are stressed, don’t you think?” He asked.

“Exactly Ken. We are so on the same page. I would rather go for acupuncture than manicure in Saks. Plus, you can really forget your problems.” Rule number three: Exaggerate the excitement especially if it involves activities he love.

“Are you sure, Mallory? I thought you are the type who loves manicure and shopping and all those girly stuff?” he frowned.

“Well, of course I love shopping. But manicure? Come on baby.” I replied. Another lie. I would do manicure once a fortnight. Having fire red nails is a must and it makes me feel sexy.

“Okay then. I was just curious because your nails are red.” He said. He could not make me flip just like the other day.

“I would do it once in a while. Not as often as going to acupuncture centres. Do you like my nails, Dolce?” I asked, winking my left eye at him.

“Dolce? Suddenly my name is Dolce? Why Dolce?” he smiled. Stop smiling or we would have sex at the street.

“Dolce is a cute name. Since you are special to me, so you deserve a cute name.” I explained.

“I am special to you Mallory?” he blushed. Okay, wait, I was blushing too. I was walking with my heads facing the pavement, hiding my smile.

“Em, I guess so. And it sounds like I am not special to you Ken.” My face was still facing the ground, nervous.

“Of course you are special, Gabanna.” We were both blushing under the dim light. I would prefer Gucci than Gabbana. But that was cute and it made sense to call me Gabanna. Dolce & Gabanna is a perfect brand for us, and the name is inseparable. It could not be Dolce & Gucci right? He held my hands and I gripped his big hands. I was happy.

“Here we are, Gabanna. Our second home.” He continued. Shit. The acupuncture centre. Okay, my red flush has vanished and my face turned as white as sheet. We climbed the stairs and though I was not in my heels, my feet felt heavy and it felt so difficult to walk. 

He pulled the door for me and we were at the waiting area. Ken was talking to an Asian girl at the counter. The place was full with frames with Chinese writings on it. There was a frame right in front of where I was, with a diagram of a naked man with needles penetrating him. And I am telling you, there were hundreds of needles on him. Okay, I was freaking out. Hopefully, we would do the treatment in different rooms. Then, I could sneak out.

My eyes bulged when I saw hundreds of needles in a transparent box on the coffee table. This place is psychotic, I thought. Are all of those needles are going to penetrate my skin? Wouldn’t I bleed? Wouldn’t it hurt? I could feel I would shout like a mad man. But, I had to compose myself. I could not let Ken laugh at me and knew I was lying. Ken walked from the counter and sat beside me on the couch.

“So Ken, what is the treatment today? A 30-minute treatment?” I asked.

“We are going to have the full package Mallory.” He answered.

I did not understand. What did he mean by a full package? Does it mean that the needles are going to penetrate my brain, my armpits, my vagina and my butt? I needed a fucking dictionary at that time to check the word ‘full’ and ‘package’. We were waiting to be called and while waiting, he held my hands.

“Mallory, is it just me or are you sweating madly? Look at your forehead honey. And your hands are so cold.

 Are you okay?” He asked in a concerned expression. Hell yeah, I was sweating profusely.

“Yes, I am sweating honey. This place is so hot. Can’t you feel? It is so stuffy here.” I pulled some tissues from my bag.

“Oh good. I thought you are nervous. We can always do this later Mallory.” He suggested. I felt like shouting ‘Yes!’ and do a pole dance there and then. But, I would not do that. I had to do this and it was not the time to drop the ball. It was too early.

”No biggie, Ken. I am totally fine.” I said convincingly.

“Glad to hear that. Don’t you worry. You will have the best treatment. I have requested Mr. Chung to do the treatment for you. He is the best practitioner here.” His hands perched on my elbows.

I had no idea who was Mr. Chung. He better be handsome or at least wear a nicely tailored Versace suit. Only then, I would consider doing this freaking treatment.

“Ken Albert.” A woman stood in front of a door.

Oh my God. It was too late to run. I had to do this. I gripped Ken’s hands so tight and walked with him into the room. Shit. He was going to be in the room with me. How was I going to sneak out? There was no Plan B. I had no option but to do this treatment.

I was going to die. In an acupuncture centre?

Maybe.