We had eaten vast subs for lunch, sitting in the sun in Central Park. And gone to a fantastic pizza place for supper, and Dave and Simon had gone in for a Pizza eating competition with six other guys.
I had cheered them on, and drunk far too many bottles of Bud. For the first time, I was a little tipsy, but I was really happy.
Neither of them won, but they had matched each other, and I was taking side bets on which one was going to throw up first.
We sat in my room, as it was bigger, and emptied the mini-bar. It was Dave who suggested strip poker, and like a fool I agreed. Needless to say, I was crap, and within a very short time I was down to my underwear.
I had three fours and a pair of twos and was quite excited, but Simon had four queens, and Dave had three aces over sixes, and Mike had nines and a pair of kings. So my bra came off.
At this point the guys got embarrassed, and Mike decided he wanted to go to bed. I was left with my two dream men.
“I ought to go to bed, we’ve a long day tomorrow.” I said.
Neither of them moved.
“I am sleepy.” I said, and went to the bathroom. I went to the loo, and cleaned my teeth, and looked at myself in the mirror.
I was standing there in my knickers, and I knew I wanted them both. But that was not an option.
I put on my nightdress, and went out to the main room.
“Well, are you staying there all night, or what?”
They looked at each other, and then at me, both saying in unison,
“Or what.”
Visions of being made love to by these two at the same time flitted through my brain, and I was sorely tempted. But, once again common sense prevailed.
“Much I would love to be taken to bed by such hunky guys, I am still a virgin, and a threesome is not on my agenda tonight.”
They both kissed me goodnight, and both reluctantly left me alone.
It took me ages to get to sleep.
10.
Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco were all places on maps. We flew in, checked into the hotel, unloaded the clothes, I did my stuff over a couple of days, and we flew to the next place. It was windy in Chicago, wet in Seattle and humid in San Francisco. I had very little time to myself, and no time to see the sights.
Dave and Mike said goodbye to me in NY. I was sad to be leaving them, but excited about the tour. Dave took me to one side in the bar, and we sat close together.
“Sandi, I don’t know how to say this.”
“Oh, Dave, that sounds ominous?”
He smiled, a little nervous smile.
“Not really. It is just that I feel something has changed between us. It isn’t Simon, as he is a good bloke and I like him. I don’t blame him for fancying you, as it would be strange if he didn’t.”
“Dave. Don’t get jealous. I told you how much you mean to me.”
“I know, and I think you are the greatest, but we are very different, you and I.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have moved into a different world, and I don’t feel I belong in it.”
“I’ll be home in a couple of weeks.”
“Yeah, and then I’ll be off to uni, and you may or may not go back to school. I still think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever known, but I am not sure that we have enough in common to get it together.”
“Dave.”
“No, hear me out. I would love for us to get and stay together, more than anything. But you say you are not after a serious relationship, and I accept that. I can see that you have a career, and although there is room for a social life, and a steady boyfriend in most careers, I accept that you are not ready for one just yet.
“I want to be a pilot. That means three years at Uni, and then pilot training, and probably overseas postings, or the wilds of Scotland. I want you to know that I don’t have a hold on you, but if we get it together later, then I will be the happiest man alive. If we don’t then you know I will be your friend for life.”
I flung my arms around his neck and cried. He was a real sod, but in a beautiful way, as he was taking away my need to choose. But in doing so he put himself back at the top of my list. They were not making it easy on a girl.
I told him that he was lovely, and that whatever happened he would always have a special place in my heart. We both ended up in tears and hugging each other for all we were worth.
We then set off for the airport, and he waved goodbye. I wondered whether we would end up together or not. I thought about what he had said, and decided that I was not likely to become a pilot’s wife.
Simon, however, became my constant companion, and he really started to open up to me. We sat next to each other on the planes, and invariably had adjoining rooms in the hotels. I recognised his mother’s controlling hand in all this, and couldn’t have cared less.
The FBI had different people in each city, and as the tour went on, I became more and more relaxed.
We landed at L.A. sometime after ten p.m., and were taken to the most garishly luxurious hotel in Beverly Hills. Dad would have loved it. I met the FBI agent, Richard Curtis, at the airport, and he followed us to the hotel.
My suite was superb, but I ached to swim, so I changed into my swimsuit and went to the Spa Centre, I dropped off at Richard’s room to tell him where I was going.
There was a lovely pool and Jacuzzi, with steam rooms, saunas, sun beds and everything one could wish for. The place was deserted, and it was very peaceful.
I dived in and swam a few lengths front crawl. It was lovely to be free and the water was so refreshing. After half an hour, I got out and went and sat in the Jacuzzi. The bubbles tickled, and I giggled when a jet shot between my legs and gave me a real thrill.
Two men came in, they were in suits and I immediately got a bad feeling about them. They were obviously looking for someone, so I took a deep breath and sank beneath the surface of the Jacuzzi.
After a long time, I could not hold my breath any more, so I slowly surfaced, and looked around. I couldn’t see anyone, but heard the sauna door bang. I took another deep breath, and sank again.
I surfaced and took a gasp of breath. I could not see them, but I heard their voices. I was afraid now, and wondered what would be the best thing to do. I couldn’t stay here, as I was slowly turning into a prune, so I slowly got out and cautiously made my way to the main doors.
They were standing just the other side of the door, and a third man had joined them.
“I don’t understand, I saw her go in.” one said.
“Okay, are you sure she’s not in the pool?”
“Positive, we even checked the john.”
“Shit. Frankie was adamant, he wants her real bad.”
“What’s so important about this English chick?”
“Her father owes the man a whole lot of cash, and the man needs a lever.”
“So, she’s the lever?”
“Something like that?”
“How about we just wait for her in her room?”
“Nah, there are too many people looking after her, so it needs to be away from people. The pool would have been perfect.”
“Well, she went in and hasn’t come out. She has to be still in there.”
“Okay, I’ll watch the door, you check it out, and I mean, check it all out.”
I ducked into the janitor’s cupboard. There was a set of maid’s overalls hanging up and a wheelie tub full of old towels. I put on the overalls, and stuffed my damp hair under a baseball cap. I put on the sandals I had brought with me, and pushed the bin along the corridor. Two of the men were coming out of the steam room.
“Scusi, Senors? You looka for someone, si?” I asked, in the most ludicrous Spanish/Italian accent.
“Hey, you work here?” asked one.
“Si, senor.”
“Have you seen a tall English girl in here?”
“Si, she take a telephone call, and go onto the patio.” I said, and waved my arms in the direction of the other side of the pool.