The three of them looked at Al. His eyes glittered in the candlelight.
‘Oh, don’t look at me like that.’ He tipped back the glass in one and stood with only a minor wobble. ‘You know I’m in. Wherever our glorious leader goes, so I follow.’
6
The Roof, Au Petit Suisse
‘Come with me.’
Camille stopped Ada before she could turn off the staircase at their rooms. Guil had already gone inside, and Al had left them to go ‘gather some more intelligence’ after dinner.
‘Where?’
Camille held out her hand. ‘Just come.’
Ada didn’t hesitate to take it, and let Camille lead her further up. The staircase eventually opened out onto the flat roof of the building. The café with its maroon and gold panelling stood at the junction of two streets, their building curving like a ‘U’ around the central courtyard before connecting with buildings on each street. The roofscape stretched into the distance. On a good day, they could see all the way to the hills of Montmartre.
It was late into the night, and above them, a thin blanket of stars rolled out from corner to corner, only slightly dimmed by the lights of the city. Ada paused on the threshold.
Camille’s hand closed around her own again, and pulled her into the starlight. ‘Come on.’
‘Why? What’s on the roof?’
Camille’s arm was firm around her waist, drawing her close so they swayed together to music filtering up from the busy café below.
‘I wanted to have you alone. And I wanted to dance.’
Camille gave her a smile, and Ada’s stomach belly-flopped. Even after all this time together, the soft curl of Camille’s lip could still make her heart flutter. It was ridiculous. But she hoped it never changed.
Camille extended her arm and Ada turned under it, coming back round to fit neatly against her side again. Ada could feel the heat of her skin through her flimsy dress, the swell of her breasts against hers as her heart raced as fast as the first time they’d kissed.
‘In that case,’ she said, ‘the roof is my new favourite place.’
They moved in sync for a while, lazily, with the warmth of the wine still in their cheeks.
‘Do you remember when you’d bring me up here to tell me about the universe?’ asked Camille.
‘You were still confused about the earth going round the sun.’
‘Was not.’
‘You were too—’
Camille laughed and kissed Ada to shut her up. Her lips were a little rough, a little urgent and her fingers held tightly onto her waist.
‘Hush. That’s not the point.’
‘Then what is this mysterious point?’
‘The point is you brought me up here when I was at my worst and showed me that in the whole, huge universe, I am just a speck. One tiny person among a plethora of other people and places and times and experiences and feelings.’
‘You brought me up here to tell me the universe is infinite?’ She pressed kisses against the corner of Camille’s mouth, against the line of her jaw.
‘Infinite, and yet I found you. I knew as soon as I saw you at that dinner my mother held, when your father brought you along for the first time. I knew I was supposed to find you.’
Ada laughed, drawing back to look at Camille with a raised eyebrow. ‘Camille Laroche getting sentimental. I never thought I’d see the day.’
Camille stuck out her tongue. ‘This isn’t sentimental. This is me being very, very serious. You nearly died today.’
