Chapter 28

As evening fell, the girls made their way cautiously out of the hotel lobby, turning left towards the center of town once again. Neon lights blazed in the distance as shops closed up for the night and the club life began in earnest. Music spilled from roadside bars and cafes as they threaded their way through the narrow, noisy backstreets.

"Hey!" whispered Emma, "Do you think it's, you know, safe down here?" She looked around as though expecting to be mugged at any moment. Lauren squeezed her waist, feeling the heat of the young girl though the thin fabric.

"Sure, we'll be in the main square in a minute. We can just find a nice cafe and have a drink while we watch the world go by. What about that big one over the other side?" asked Lauren, pointing the other side of the cross-roads. Emma shrugged, still unconvinced.

"I hope it's cooler in there. It's so humid tonight"

The cafe turned out to be an elegant restaurant that had spilt out onto the pavement. It catered for dinner but also served coffee and cold drinks outside. They found a table just under the awning and giggled when the waited arrived even before they were seated.

"Senoritas?" he asked, flamboyantly presenting them each with a menu and a well- practiced smile. "What can I give you two beautiful ladies tonight?" he asked, eyes locked in Lauren's breasts. Emma nodded towards Lauren.

"We'd both like Perrier with ice and lemon, please."

"Very good, anything to eat?"

"No thanks." replied Lauren, folding and returning the menu. She watched him hustle back to the bar, his buttocks encased in impossibly tight black trousers. She turned to see Emma watching the traffic and tourists as they both passed slowly on their way.

"Hey, I've just remembered, I should get something for my Mum before we go." said Emma, touching Lauren's arm. They both leaned with their elbows on the table as though huddled in thought.

"Get her a plate, or something local. Like pottery or a rug. There's tons of tourist shops" suggested Lauren.

"Yeah, maybe we should get it on the way back to the hotel"

Their drinks arrived and they spent the best part of the next half hour watching and occasionally chatting until it was time to wander back. Lauren paid, apparently leaving such a generous tip from the profusion of compliments that came from the waiter that she thought she might have given him the wrong banknote. Arm in arm they happily retraced their steps, daring on several occasions to dive into dimly lit shops, resurfacing minutes later wiser but not bearing gifts. As they crossed the street to enter the hotel they both noticed a small shop a little further down the road, past the hotel.

"Hey, let's try, it looks like it's got lots of stuff!" said Emma, pulling

Lauren with her. The shop indeed was packed to the ceiling with tourist memorabilia, from American shot glasses to castanets, rugs, blankets, Mexican hats, ponchos and everything else that may or may not be connected with Venezuela.

Lauren examined the goods with great interest, tempted almost to buy something for her own parents. A couple of gaudy paintings hung on the wall, and she stood back to appreciate them.

"Ow!" shrieked the girl as Lauren crunched her toes.

"Oh, I am sorry!" exclaimed Lauren genuinely. She looked up to see a girl younger than herself, with a boyfriend approaching, a concerned look on his face. Lauren examined at their features and decided they were European. The girl's expression suggested that the pain was slowly disappearing.

"On holiday?" asked Lauren loudly, her hands flaying.

"Hey, are you from Switzerland?" asked the boy, smiling. Emma arrived to find out what the commotion was about.

"Mmm. We're living in San Falino, just here for the weekend."

"Wow, whereabouts in Switzerland?" asked the girl as the shop assistant rounded the corner to inspect the scene.

"Andelburg, near Interlaken. Know it?"

"No, but I know where you mean. We're closer to Zurich. What do you think of this dump?" asked the girl.

"It's OK. Hot"

"Yeah!" replied the boy, "We slept about half an hour last night. They said they had air conditioning when we checked in, but it's only in the big suites, not in our cheap rooms."

"And the bath doesn't work. Well, the water comes out but there's no plug, no shower."

"Bung it up with a towel!"

"Hey, that's an idea. Nobody really knows we're here. We're both supposed to be visiting friends. But the hotel has really spoiled our fun and we can't afford to move to a better room."

"Come and cool down in ours!" exclaimed Emma, clearly taking a liking to the girl who might have been only a couple of years older than her.

"No, we must be getting back, try and get some sleep!" said the young boy, making a move towards the door.

"Hey, look, we've got a spare room, use that."

"We couldn't. But I wonder, could I use your bathroom, just to get clean?" asked the girl, a plea in her eyes as she looked up at Lauren.

"Of course, come on. Or do you want to buy something?

"Nope, we don't really have the money, we were just looking." The girl slipped her hand in her boyfriend's. "I'm Amelia, and this is Ben. Most people call me Amy" They nodded at each other, Amy's pony tail bobbing behind her. Lauren noticed a facial similarity between herself and the young girl. Their brown hair colour was similar, but Lauren was much slimmer and had a more athletic build, and was good two or three inches taller. The boy was by no means handsome but his face was cheeky, full of laughter and reminded Lauren of a playful rogue that she had seen in a Dickens film of eighteenth century London. She noted the body language as they moved within the confines of the shop. Gentlemanly courtesy from the boy, a shy glance at both herself and Emma. The girl however took a good look at Emma, almost measuring herself against her as they shuffled out of the shop, into the hotel and straight up into their room.

"Oh, wow. It's so cool in here, and so big! God look! You could fit three of our rooms into your lounge." said Ben, awestruck.

Lauren was pleased. She watched their faces as they took in the splendor of the suite, and then slipped out to her own room to grab two new towels.

"Here you go. You two get in there and when you've finished we can all have a nice cold drink" said Lauren, busying herself around the fridge and ice bucket.

Ben looked sheepishly at Amy. "Er, you go first, I'll wait"

"No, you first, and clean the bath!" smiled Amy, handing him a towel. Ben shrugged and followed Lauren to the bathroom. When she returned she motioned to Amy to sit on the sofa. Emma joined her while Lauren sat on the floor.

"We don't mind if you bath together, it's OK you know" said Lauren.

"Well, we're not really boyfriend and girlfriend, you see."

"Brother and sister?" asked Emma, a little too keenly.

"No. Oh No! We're more friends at the moment." She turned to see a quizzical look on Lauren's face and exhaled, slumping against the sofa as though resigned to tell the story. "Our parents think we're with schoolfriends, but of course we're not. We've been seeing each other about a year and this was supposed to be our first romantic... you know, time together. But it's turned into a nightmare.

"But what's wrong with the hotel? asked Emma.

"It's so hot you can't sleep. I woke up this morning when the traffic started at about five and was covered in sweat. I've slept about five hours in three days. The first night wasn't so bad but I'd eaten something and had tummy trouble. Ben thinks I'm making it up, or that I prefer girls but I'd dreamed about these few days for so long and it's all going wrong"

Lauren recognised the advent of tears and shuffled along the carpet towards her. She touched her knee, instinctively glancing into the gap between her thighs and skirt. She was rewarded with a picture of blackness and a pang of excitement. "Hey, don't cry. Emma was right, use our spare room. It's no problem, although we go home tomorrow afternoon. At least you'd get one lovely night." The tears stopped with a sniff and Emma skipped off for a tissue.

"Are you sure?" she said, confidentially in Emma's absence. Lauren nodded. "He still might not want me. I don't know what to think". Amy looked glumly at her lap, fiddling with her skirt. Lauren took her hand.

"Of course he will. Why not? He's a young boy and you're a pretty girl" Amy smiled warmly at Lauren. She started to speak and paused. "What?" asked Lauren.

"Well, he thinks I don't like boys that much"

"And prefer girls?"

"Yep"

"Why?"

"Just some rumours. At school" The tears welled up as her lower lip quivered. "I hate some people. They just want to bloody meddle"

"What concern is it of theirs? We all do some experimenting, don't we." suggested Lauren, running her hand over her knee. Lauren squeezed her leg before dropping her hands to her lap.