Chapter 25: Getting Ready

It took about an hour to get everything sorted out, but then we could leave in a mini convoy. Daise was driving her new car with Alina sitting beside her. They had the top down, and the admiring looks from other motorists were obvious. Two beautiful women in a cabriolet, I was surprised that there were no accidents, from the inattention of other drivers, on the way home.

Once we were home again, I called everyone together in the lounge to discuss the activities planned for the evening. The most obvious issue was that neither of the two women should show themselves in the club, and we decided that it would be a bad idea for me to sit with Roy as it was likely that he had been identified as a policeman. I was a little concerned about the fact that we would have to be unarmed in the club, the search at the door as likely to be very thorough, so we had to figure out how to make the situation as safe as possible. After some discussion, we decided that the best bet was to work with some misdirection and we worked out a plan for that. Once we had settled on that, I called Roy and discussed it briefly with him.

I explained our concerns to Roy, that we were concerned about security and his being identified. He was quite happy to go along with our plan, so it was settled. We would enter the club separately with a little diversion to draw attention away from us. Sgt Major Dhlamini was designated to take care of the outside security, and possible backup, while Cpl Maseka and a couple of the others would form a raucous group, celebrating a bachelor's party. I would sit on my own as near to them as possible, and Roy would also sit on his own, but far from us.

Nqobile had prepared us a nice meal of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and some salads, which we all enjoyed before moving off to our various rooms to get some sleep in preparation for an expected late night.

When I walked up the stairs to my room, Daise took my hand and Alina walked right behind us. I expected her to turn off to go to her own room, and was a little surprised when she followed us into my room. I shrugged mentally and stripped down to shorts before climbing onto the bed. Daise climbed up next to me and snuggled up in my arms, and Alina, after some hesitation, lay down on my other side. I decided that just pretending to ignore the situation was my best option, so I closed my eyes and before I knew it had dropped off to sleep.

I woke to the delightful sensation of two beautiful women cuddled up to me. I eased my way out from between them and jumped in the shower before going downstairs. It was just five o'clock when I got to the lounge, so I turned on the TV and caught the highlights package from the days play. It was day three in the cricket test match between South Africa and Australia, and it looked as if we had a good chance of beating them by an innings. It was very nice to see, even though we had lost the series already as they had won the first two tests.

Sitting and watching a bit of cricket was a relaxing activity and I allowed my mind to mull over the events of the past few days in an attempt to put everything into perspective. There had been a lot of things happening and I hadn't really had a chance to think them through and decide what I really felt about what had happened. I had discovered fairly early on that it was important for me to take time to process things as soon after they happened as possible, otherwise some overlooked facet could jump out and bite me at the most inopportune moment.

I decided that I was very happy with the fact that Daise and I had gotten on so well, and I was really starting to like Alina after a pretty rocky start. The fact that the two of them had started pulling me into a conflict was a little more difficult to get my head around. On the one hand, I didn't want or expect anything of the kind to happen, but on the other I was finding myself enjoying the mental challenge. I had to admit to myself that the threat of danger added more than just a touch of spice.

My ruminations were interrupted by the sight of Daise walking down the stairs. I turned the volume on the TV down and greeted her quietly, "Hi. You sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you. I can't believe how nice it is to sleep snuggled up safely next to you," Daise replied. She walked over and settled onto the couch next to me, tucking her legs up under her in that effortless way that women have. I lifted my arm and dropped it around her shoulders as she scooted up closer to me.

"How are you doing?" I asked her. "We haven't really spoken much since Alina got here."

"Actually, I am doing a lot better than I thought I would. Rupert, I must tell you that you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I was really worried that I would be just a trophy wife or some sort of sex-slave, and I was prepared to accept that if that was what it took to escape from my situation, but you have taken me into your heart and your life in a way that fulfils my dreams. I wanted to thank you for that, as well as to tell you that you really didn't have to buy me the car or anything else, I am quite happy just being with you."

"Thanks Daise. I really appreciate that. I think you know that I am in love with you. I was also more than a little worried what would happen when Bev pushed me into making those first moves, and I can tell you that you are way more than I expected. I have noticed though that you seem a lot more relaxed now that Alina is here..."

"I am. I don't think you realise exactly just how close Alina and I are," Daise told me. I looked closely at her and I could see that there was a faint blush that had spread across her face.

"I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean," I said, pretending not to have noticed the blush. I had a pretty good idea, picked up from observing the way the two of them interacted with each other, but I wanted her to tell me in her own way and, more importantly, in her own time.

"I think I told you that we shared everything," she asked looking up at me as she did so. At my nod, she continued "Well, we became very close in the last year or so. Alina didn't have any boyfriends. I think what she was being forced to do had made her scared of men. So..." Her voice trailed off and she looked down, tracing a pattern with her finger on her bare leg.