Les Femmes Fatales [2]

▪ Thirty-Two

Her hands grasped the glass gingerly as she raised yet another glass of water to her lips, eyes appearing red as a ray of sun lit up her features. She glanced around the shop before she looked outside to the few passengers who had braved the storm and were walking the streets. It was then she saw her, dressed in a white coat that was tightly clasped around her, dark skin contrasting greatly with the cloth, hair kept down for once in wild curls to offer some kind of heat, most probably. She got in the café, smiling slightly in relief she presumed before she spotted her and walked her way.

"Hey, Branka," she said softly as she drew a chair and sat down opposite her, sending her a small smile. "I'm sorry I was late, Aili dropped me about a block away by mistake. I thought we would be meeting at another café and remembered at the last minute this is the place we were supposed to meet."

"It's fine, don't you worry about it," she said softly, eyes taking in her features almost desperately, as if she hadn't seen her in years. "You must be freezing, Amadi."

"Oh, that's nothing to the cold when you're on a bike," she shrugged as she let out a small laugh. "Have I ever mentioned Aili's driving is too dangerous at points? I think I've lost at least five years of my life after having the misfortune of having her take me around with her bike. She loves speed, maybe a bit too much."

Branka smiled widely at that, head tilting to the side as she didn't look away. "Why don't you find a way to move around the city on your own then?"

"I would never want to learn how to drive a bike myself and we don't have enough money to buy a car, I also can't walk around the whole city either and the subway is too far away from home by foot so my only chance is Aili at this point, as much as it pains me to think about it."

"Well, I could always give you a ride around the city if I'm close," she suggested with the same smile as before on her lips. "I don't have a bike but a car and my driving isn't dangerous. I actually drive at a reasonable speed too."

"That'd certainly be a nice change," Amadi admitted just as a waitress arrived. She smiled widely at both of them before speaking up.

"Good evening. Have you decided on what you'd like?"

Branka looked at Amadi, letting her speak her order first and she sent a small smile at her before speaking up. "A Nespresso with no sugar, please."

"And I'd like a Cappuccino with no sugar," Branka placed her order as well and the waitress wrote it down with a small smile as she nodded.

"Excellent. I'll be back shortly."

As soon as the waitress had left, Amadi turned to Branka. "That was a lovely girl. Quite friendly too, don't you think?"

Branka begrudgingly agreed. "She was. I think she was quite good looking too."

"Good looking?" Amadi raised an eyebrow slightly at her. "I didn't really notice, I'm afraid."

Branka smiled, "Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, how have you been?"

"Fine, I'm pleased to say I won't have to work for five days in a row," she said with a proud smile, "it's been about a month since that happened. Aili and I have been thinking of having some kind of a party, you know. Just the two of us, I'm afraid, we'll get drinks and dance, she'll try teaching me pole dancing again too but I know I'll probably be awful at it once more."

"Pole dancing?" Branka smirked slightly. "Well, it's a pity you don't invite people to just watch. It'd be a wonderful experience."

Amadi's eyes widened slightly and she instantly looked away, clearing her throat nervously, to her companion's amusement. "If you'd like to watch just ask Aili to dance for you once. She wouldn't mind, she loves dancing, she'd see it as a chance to practice a bit more."