Chapter 26

They sauntered up to the long dimly lit oak bar and climbed onto two stools, looking around all the time while trying to remain sophisticated. The barman glanced at Lauren and took a long look at Emma.

"Two cokes, please!" said Lauren. The barman served them within seconds, bringing a little bowl of nuts and crackers with their drinks as he smiled at them both. Lauren asked for the dinner menu and they studied it, trying to determine from the French and Spanish descriptions exactly what each dish contained. Lauren was pleased that it included European dishes as well, and settled for the beef stroganoff while Emma had plaice and chips. With starters of prawn cocktail and the promise of coffee at the end, they waited at the bar for their table and continued to plan the rest of their stay.

The restaurant was dark, intimate and very refined. Lauren could discern couples at their candlelit tables, leaning towards each other as though conspiring over their meals. She wondered how many of them were married, and tried to look for wedding rings on their fingers. Classical music swayed her while the white-shirted waiters balanced silver trays of drinks high above their heads, weaving between tables back and forth from the kitchen and bar. She looked at Emma, sitting quietly, sipping occasionally. Her blonde hair shone brilliantly against the black of her dress, and her tanned arms and legs gave her a picture of health. Emma caught her staring.

"This is a lovely place. It looks years old, don't you think?" said Lauren.

"Maybe. I don't know. Don't you think we ought to keep our bill, you know, small. After all, we're not paying."

"You're right. Your Dad must be really good friends with the Ambassador."

"I think they work together a lot, or he went to school with him. Something like that."

Lauren smiled at her, watching as she turned towards the tables and carefully crossed her legs. Lauren caught a glimpse of the top of her stockings and felt a pang of hunger below.

"Your table is ready, madam" said the waiter. He gestured for them to follow as he showed them to a small table laid out for only two people. "Would you like the wine list?" he asked.

Lauren took the leather-bound booklet and studied it carefully, pleased to see some wines that she recognised.

"Could I have a half bottle of Nuit St. Georges?" she asked.

"I'm sorry madam, but we don't have half bottles."

Lauren looked at Emma then at the price. It worked out at about seventy-five Swiss francs, quite good value for such a remote place.

"OK, perhaps we could take the rest upstairs to our room after our meal?"

"Of course, madam" said the expressionless waiter as he swept away.

Their meal was relaxing, with the service impeccable. Nobody seemed to come into the restaurant, and certainly nobody left while they were seated. Lauren and Emma limited themselves to one glass of wine each, intent after tasting the wine to keep the remainder for later.

"We should go into the main shopping area, you know. I hear it's not great, but there might be some local stuff to buy." said Lauren.

"Yeah, I ought to get something for my Mum."

"Have you got any money?"

"Yeah, she gave me some as we were leaving. That's what it's meant for, I think!"

Lauren sat up straight, tossing her hair back so that the candlelight shone fully into her face.

"What's up?" asked Emma, looking round.

"Er, just a couple of boys who've walked in." Lauren suddenly realised that she was free to chase after boys if she wanted. There was nobody to chaperone her, and for some reason boys had been very low on her list for the past few months. She decided that she wanted some man. And it might be an education for Emma, if they managed to find two suitable boys who could buy them a few drinks and maybe even take them to a club. Her energy level soared with every stolen glance in their direction. She watched as they sat. They were maybe brothers, certainly one was older than the other. Both wore dinner jackets and looked very sophisticated with dark hair, clean shaven and brilliant white dress shirts. The rest would have to wait until she could see them better.

"Come on, toilet!" she whispered.

"What? I'm eating!"

"We'll only be a few minutes. Come on. Take a good look at them as we go past!"

The girls wandered past the table, giggling very slightly to attract the boy's attention. Lauren felt their eyes inspecting her as her heels clicked on the marble floor. Her heart beat delightfully within her chest as they pushed open the door and faced each other.

"Hey, the older one's OK. They took a good look at us!"

"What about the other one?"

"Not sure. I'll go back first, and then you follow after a few minutes. Walk slowly and make sure they see you looking at them." Emma nodded, looking at her shoes. Lauren raised her chin with her fingers. "Don't look at the ground! Tons of confidence, OK?"

Lauren checked herself in the mirror, shrugged slightly and walked out, the regular step announcing her across the hallway. As she entered the darkened room, she saw the younger brother, his fork poised between his plate and mouth, his eyes moving from her feet upwards. They reached her face just as she past, giving him a bright smile that caught him off-guard. He nodded, embarrassed.

Lauren sat and waited, sipping her wine slowly as she tried to work out whether the older boy could see that she was staring at him. Emma appeared across the room. Lauren was surprised to see the older boy turn as she approached, openly staring at her with the slightest of smiles on his lips.

"Damn! He looked at you more than me!" said Lauren, smiling as Emma sat down.

"Which one?"

"The older one. I thought he was going to fall off his chair!"

"The young one looks OK."

After their main course, they decided that a visit to the lounge was likely to be better for them than any desert, so, instructing the waiter to bring coffee to them, they walked past the boys once more, and slowly wandered off. Lauren made sure that they were seen periodically by visiting the bathroom and looking through the leaflets next to the concierge.

The lounge, not surprisingly, contained chairs. What was different was that they all looked over a hundred years old, with shiny leather seats and silver studs that ribbed the outline of the material. Groups of chairs were arrange in little enclaves surrounding squat tables that held the ashtray and nuts, decks of cards and cribbage boards.

The girls sat strategically, easily seen from the doorway but away from the main traffic. They waited less than five minutes for their coffee, and no more than ten for their potential escorts. Lauren dealt the cards for want of something to do, watching all the time.

"What do we do if they come over here?" asked Emma, looking around at them.

"We can either have a few drinks with them, or go out somewhere. If they're not much fun then we could just go to bed. It's fun to find out though. Let's play rummy"

"What do you have to do?"

"You collect a group of three - either a run or three similar cards - and a group of four."

"Yeah yeah, I know it. You deal!"

They played quietly at first, then as the wine had it's effect, more noisily. Emma cheated openly, flicking through the pack of cards until she found what she needed. They laughed, knocking the cards on the floor and bursting out laughing like two schoolgirls.

"It's weird to be alone. You know, without anyone checking up on me." said Emma.

"Shh, here we go! Here comes big brother!" whispered Lauren.

"May we join you?" asked the older boy.

"Er, sure" said Lauren in surprise.

"What are you playing?"

"Rummy!" said Emma, smiling at both of them. The younger boy's eyes found her little breasts immediately. "We can start again so you can join in." she said, shuffling the deck and dealing out seven cards to everybody.

They played for almost an hour, joking and relaxing as the boys ordered drinks for them on their account. The boys were brothers, twenty-two and fourteen. Both had thick dark hair and handsome, almost middle-eastern faces. Dressed in suits, dazzling white shirts with bow-ties and clearly at ease with the girls, they quickly discovered that Lauren and Emma were in a suite upstairs as guests of the Ambassador. They paired off quite naturally, stopping the game several minutes while they chatted about the city, how they came to be there and what they had seen as tourists. Lauren felt confident enough to propose a change of scenery.