Tomorrow evening, there’s a bar in Borough Market I’ve wanted to try. 7pm? x
That was good… selfishly, it showed to Sarah that Amy was keen to talk rather than put it off. A small part of her had wondered if Amy would wait until after LA, so this was positive. A little terrifying, yes, because she now had just over twenty four hours until a conversation that could change everything. But, more than anything, exciting, because Sarah knew that she’d fallen for Amy hard and while she didn’t have a clue what they could look like it was thrilling to think about the sense of possibility… a sense she’d only had before with Jess.
As she thought about it some more though she started to work through the complexities of Amy’s reply.
A bar rather than either of their flats…neutral ground, so Amy wasn’t planning to throw herself at Sarah as soon as she saw her.
Borough Market…at the same time not far from either of their flats, so maybe leaving a possibility open?
Signed off with a kiss still…encouraging, maybe? Or just friendly?
Sarah smiled to herself.God, I could overthink this. Amy wanted to see her, that was the important thing, and that was exciting… she just needed to be mentally prepared for whatever Amy wanted to say.
She headed towards the reception desk, overnight bag in hand. She’d booked a room for tonight and Camila was meeting her mid-afternoon in the champagne bar, but until then she had important business to attend to… namely a massage in the spa and then some relaxation time in the pool.
With all that had happened that weekend, not to mention her work done and done well, Sarah figured she deserved it.
***
Fresh from the spa, Sarah was feeling as relaxed as she had in a while. Glass of champagne in front of her, the hubbub of the tail end of Sunday brunch echoing around the old banking hall, she was glad to have done this. A significant improvement, certainly, on sitting around in her flat waiting for Monday to come.
The champagne bar had a kind of Sunday-trendy style, in keeping with the brunch in the restaurant at the other end of the hall… nobody was dressed up for a night out, yet nobody was slumming it either. Fashionable jeans and tops were the order of the day, and Sarah had made sure she fit in, wearing a blazer as well to add that hint of gravitas that she thought befitted someone like her in her mid-thirties.
She took a sip of her champagne and looked down to check her watch, but before she had a chance to register the time she was surprised by Camila sliding into the seat opposite, that mischievous grin that she could never resist and those bright eyes looking at her.
“Hey, stranger,” Camila said.
“Hey to you too,” Sarah replied, unable to resist grinning back. She looked at Camila for a moment. “Your hair’s different.”
Camila turned her head from side to side to give Sarah a proper look. “You like it?”
“I love it… it really suits you.” And it really did. Until now Camila had always had her dark hair cut to shoulder length, but now it was more of a messy bob that framed her face perfectly and, Sarah couldn’t help noticing, made her exquisite neck and shoulders really stand out.
“Thank you. You’re looking great too.”
Sarah smiled at the compliment. “I don’t have the tan that you seem to have developed. You look like you’ve been away?”
“The beauty of a four month summer holiday when daddy isn’t making you work just yet… I spent some time back in Brazil, then me and some friends travelled around the Mediterranean. Lots of sunbathing.” Camila’s accent was almost boarding school English, with just the faintest hint of Brazil that her English schooling hadn’t been able to get rid of. That mischievous smile was back again. “Wait until you see some of my tan lines.”
Camila had a way of making Sarah blush that not many people could, and she managed it then. She smiled through it though. “Can I get you a drink?”
“A cocktail if they do them, something rum based and fruity.”
Gesturing to the waitress and ordering the drinks, the two fell to catching up. It was funny, reflected Sarah, that the woman she got on best with and had the best time with wasn’t one of hermentees, even though she nominally had far more in common with them. Instead it was the woman who was still at university, despite the age gap. Well, at least up until now… Amy had managed to change that.
Maybe it was because the others had something to lose while Camila was still care free, or maybe it was because her relationship with Camila had started differently, or maybe just because Camila came from a privileged background and wasn’t intimidated by Sarah. She didn’t know, but she always looked forward to catching up with Camila as much as she looked forward to the physical side.
“So how come you’re in London this weekend?” Camila asked as she took the last sip of her drink.
“I had some work to do and thought it best to save on the commute.”
“Makes sense. I was pleased when you messaged, it’s been a while.” Camila reached a hand out to take Sarah’s. Sarah glanced quickly around the bar to make sure that there was no one that she knew, then when she saw that the coast was clear she took hold of Camila’s too.
They looked at each other for a few moments, and Sarah felt a hunger build in her, almost a desperation for the simplicity of what she had with Camila. But she didn’t want to rush things. “Would you like another drink? Or…?”
Camila laughed. “I’ll take ‘or’!” She leaned forward to whisper into Sarah’s ear, “I’ve gone four months without a real woman fucking me, I don’t want to wait a minute longer than I have to.”
“A real woman?” replied Sarah quietly.
