Chapter 51
51
Lars
We started to get hungry, so we caught a taxi back to Vauxhall – the neighborhood my hotel was located in. There was a cool little Portuguese bar/restaurant nearby that Rachel liked, so we walked in to be seated –
When I heard a male British voice say, “Rachel p>
I turned to see a guy in an expensive suit, white shirt, and loosened tie. He was as tall as me, though he was wiry and much lighter. He had neatly trimmed brown hair, a clean-shaven face, and the straightest posture I’d ever seen.
“Alistair!” Rachel said in a surprised voice – though not exactly pleasantly surprised. “What are you doing here p>
“A few of us came for drinks after work p>
I had thought Rachel spoke with an elegant English accent, but Alistair’s practically screamed ‘aristocrat p>
“I thought you were more a fan of Le Gavroche or Club Gascon,” Rachel said.
Those sounded like far more expensive restaurants than the one we were in. What with his suit, his accent, and a name like Alistair, it seemed a likely bet.
“Yes, well, one doesn’t always get to choose,” Alistair said with a smile, then looked expectantly at me. “And you are p>
“I’m sorry, I’m being rude,” Rachel said. “Alistair, this is my friend Lars p>
Considering that we’d just said ‘I love you’ a few hours ago, I was a little surprised to be introduced as a ‘friend’ – but I saved that conversation for later.
Rachel continued. “Lars, this is Alistair, a colleague of mine p>
“Lars Henriksson,” I said, offering my hand.
“Alistair Webb,” he said as we shook. “So – you must be why Rachel’s taken a week off from work. How’s the trip so far p>
I noted the slight discomfort on Rachel’s face when he mentioned her vacation time.
“Wonderful,” I replied. “She’s quite the tour guide p>
“Do I detect the slightest hint of Swedish beneath your American accent p>
“You do p>
“Charming,” he said, and his smile seemed genuine. “How did the two of you meet p>
Before I could answer, Rachel grabbed my arm and said, “Dating app p>
I looked at her in surprise.
“Oh – how long ago?” Alistair asked.
“A while,” Rachel shot back.
Alistair gestured towards the bar section of the restaurant. “Well, if the two of you would like to join us for a drink, I’m here with Reginald Blakely and Patricia Leighton – you know both of them, Rachel p>
She smiled. “Thank you for the invitation, Alistair, but we really must be going p>
“But… you just arrived,” he said, confused.
“Yes, well, we’re late for something p>
“What p>
“Sex. Toodle-oo,” she said as she pulled me towards the door.
“Oh,” Alistair said, a look of shock on his face as he watched us go.
As soon as we were outside in the twilight, I asked, “What was that all about p>
Rachel looked grumpy. “I don’t like mixing my work and private life p>
I laughed incredulously. “If you don’t want to mix your work and private life, telling him we were late for sex was a hell of a way to do it p>
“It was the only way to shut him up p>
“Why did you need to shut him up? Why not have a drink with your co-workers p>
“Because I don’t want to p>
“I have drinks with the guys in my unit all the time p>
“Your job and my job are very different p>
I came to an abrupt stop. Rachel was hanging onto my arm, so she got pulled up short, too.
“Do you not want other people to know about me?” I asked, slightly offended.
She sighed. “No, it’s – it’s not like that. It’s Alistair’s job to go poking his nose into things. I don’t want my personal life to be one of them p>
“He was just asking normal questions p>
“When someone works in British Intelligence, there are no normal questions p>
“Is that why you lied about where we met p>
“Yes. He doesn’t need to know that p>
I frowned. “But – ”
“In my line of work, information is currency. And every piece of information you give away is a little bit of power you lose that they can use against you p>
“‘They’? Who’s ‘They p>
“I think you know who ‘They’ are,” she said wryly.
“I thought ‘They’ were your bosses p>
“They are. So I know whereof I speak p>
“You sound a little bit paranoid p>
“Maybe I am.” Her tone turned jokey as she said, “Doesn’t mean they’re not still out to get me p>
I still didn’t understand. “You work in Intelligence p>
“Yes, and?” she replied impatiently.
“They must do background checks on you all the time. They probably have a dossier on you two inches thick p>
“Doesn’t mean I have to let them add another inch.” She grinned. “Besides, you’re giving me plenty of inches already p>
I smiled in amusement. “Glad you feel that way p>
“Oh, I definitely feel it. Come on, I want to go feel it some more,” she said, tugging at my arm.
“What about dinner p>
“We’ll get room service p>
I let her pull me along the sidewalk towards my hotel.
But the whole incident with Alistair – and Rachel’s obvious desire for secrecy – made me start going back over the entire conversation in my head.
That’s when I remembered something that had bothered me.
“By the way, what was that about me being a ‘friend p>
She looked back at me with a knowing smile. “Ohhhhh – is that what you’re upset about p>
“I’m not upset,” I protested.
“Mm-hm. So why bring it up at all p>
“It just seems to me that we’re a bit more than ‘friends p>
“We are,” she agreed.
“What are we, then p>
She laughed out loud. “You’re the girl in this relationship p>
“I am not,” I said, incensed.
“Yes you are! ‘What are we, what is this’ – that’s a girl thing to ask!” she said, finding it hilarious.
I stopped and pulled her back into my arms. “Alright, then – just this once, I’ll be the girl in the relationship. What are we p>
She smiled up at me. “We’re really good together p>
I smiled back because I agreed, but I wasn’t going to let it go at that. “Will you be my girlfriend? Just us and no one else p>
She beamed. “Yes p>
And then we kissed again – long, slow, and romantic.
I finally broke off the kiss and playfully looked at my watch. “You know… we really do need to get to that sex p>
“…mmm… yes, we do…” she purred, and pretty much dragged me back to the hotel.