Then we get to a sweet but somewhat unexpected transition to private time between Nooj and Paine. A very visceral and sensuous scene. I think you write moments of passion better now (if indeed you wrote this part), but it’s still….er…yummy.

Paine’s dream is intriguing and disturbing. Three cheers for creepy dream sequences and foreshadowing. I can’t figure out where it’s pointing, although it makes me think of the way Lulu’s been set up in parts of this story as a potential (although not serious) rival for Nooj’s attention.

The fact that she can’t yet tell him she loves him is so sad…or perhaps aggravating!