Despite the cost, travel in Africa is never easy. Alex is reminded of this fact for this umpteenth time as she drops her large, soft-sided brown leather bag on the floor. She presses a button on the wall to close the metal grate that covers the freight elevator cage she just stepped out of and another one to illuminate the interior of the apartment that she keeps in Cape Town.
She had the space remodelled from what used to be an electrical component assembly workshop on the top floor of a building in the older section of the CBD but she kept much of the character intact. The industrial feel of exposed red brick walls, steel beams and the concrete floor was tempered by the clever use of wood, soft furnishings and shaggy rugs.
Moving through the mostly open-plan space, she threw her phone and keys onto the kitchen counter and headed for the shower to rinse off the sticky, dusty residue that the day of heat, dust and several flights in small planes had left on her skin. As she turned on the hot water and stripped off her clothes, she heard her phone beep. "Later" she thought to herself as she stepped in under the water, grateful for the soothing effect it had on her tired muscles.
Stressful as it often was to meet and negotiate with her associates in Africa, it was good to know that the legitimate import- and export business was running well and with some liberal palm greasing, the movement of her other products across borders would be smoother in future too. Recently, she was lucky that the layers of anonymity within the operation had shielded her and those higher up in the food chain when one of her mules was arrested leaving Nigeria – that couldn't be allowed to become a regular occurrence.
Alex threw on a pair of soft linen pants and a white V-neck t-shirt before heading for the kitchen. The cork slipped out of the bottle with a gentle pop and the wine swirled seductively in the glass. She stepped out onto the large patio that ran along two sides of her apartment, glass in hand to watch the sunlight fade and be replaced by the lights of the city. She loved seeing the energy of the city change when the sun set.
As the dark, spicy notes of the Shiraz played over her tongue and the last of the sun's rays faded from the side of Table Mountain, Alex remembered that a text came through earlier. She lazily lifted herself from her chair and walked inside to collect her phone. The coldness of the concrete floor was welcome under her bare feet on this hot February evening.
The message was from Nicky, her wild haired friend: "I know u just got back – come out for a drink, Vause. Café Manhattan 10." Alex hadn't planned on going out but she also hadn't seen Nicky in months. Besides, it would be a shame to pass up on the lovely girls that she often found here, especially on Friday nights. She sat back down outside to finish her glass of wine before changing. She did her makeup and minutes later, slid into the back of a cab.
The quirky bar was full but she was not surprised to see that Nicky had commandeered one of the three saddles mounted as chairs on the short side of the bar, a dark-haired girl laughing at her cowgirl impersonation. She stopped laughing when she noticed the exquisite stranger approaching from the opposite side of Nicky who turned to see what her companion was staring at. "Vause! Welcome back!" she said as she stood up in her stirrups to give the taller woman a hug. She introduced the girl by her side as Abby, who stuttered something incomprehensible, still staring unashamedly at Alex pulling a regular bar stool closer and ordering a bourbon and three shooters from the barman.
A quick scan of the crowd as she entered had told Alex that there were more guys than girls in the bar but that the girls who were there offered enough potential to make it worthwhile coming out tonight. There was a young girl with a modern, short haircut at the end of the bar with a group of friends who looked nothing like the girls that Alex would normally go for but she or almost any of her friends could be fun later on.
Nicky asked the usual set of questions and Alex answered that her trip was fine, that business was going well, that she still had no intention of marrying Nicky and moving to Africa permanently and that she would be in town for three nights before heading back to Europe.
"Join us tomorrow night at an all-girls party in town then, I already have tickets, it will be fun and I can have Jabu pick you up on the way there" said Nicky. The result of the dysfunctional marriage of two very wealthy people, Nicky had use of a mansion that overlooked the entire Camps bay; the house came with a housekeeper, a gardener and a driver who Nicky paid extra for late night driving. Alex always found the contrast between her upbringing and Nicky's blinding, yet, they had been friends for years and truly enjoyed each other's company.
Somewhere between Nicky's joking marriage proposal and her inclusion of Alex in the following night's party, Abby seemed to have got herself into a huff. She glared at Nicky as she got up from her saddle seat. Nicky started protesting when Abby flung her bag over her shoulder but realised almost instantly that it was futile. Abby stormed out and Nicky smiled apologetically at Alex's confused expression. "The young ones are so volatile…" Nicky's words were still hanging in the air as Alex glanced over at the opposite end of the bar where the athletically built girl with the funky hairstyle was sitting, she looked away from her friends as though she could feel Alex's green eyes gazing over the tanned skin of her toned shoulder.
Several bourbons later Alex got up from the bar. She enjoyed the conversation and found Nicky's views on life very entertaining but aside from a drug fuelled, weekend-long encounter about four years earlier in celebration of Nicky's first successful drug run, their relationship was not a physical one. Alex walked off in the direction of the toilets, the only way there was past the group of girls at the end of the bar. Alex turned sideways to make her way past the back of the girl that she had first noticed. As she did, her body momentarily pressed against her back. Nicky watched the scene from afar; she had read Alex's glances and would have won a bet on the outcome. The toilet door had barely closed behind her when Alex heard the thumping of the music become louder again. She was not surprised to see the lean frame of a girl with tanned shoulders appear through the doorway.
"Bold if a bit predictable" Alex thought to her. "Hi" said the girl, "I'm Nikita". "Alex" was the reply. "Your perfume is unusual; can I ask what it is?" "You followed me to the toilets in a gay bar to discuss perfume?" Nikita grinned and conceded "not really". Alex held the cubicle door open and Nikita followed her in, reaching behind her to latch the door shut with her one hand and reaching up slightly for Alex's neck pulling her into a kiss with the other. The taste of bourbon and margaritas collided as their mouths met and Nikita's tongue brushed over Alex's full lips, her hands reached under Alex's shirt but she was pushed up against the wall by the taller woman who undid her jeans with one hand before she could reach her back to unhook her bra. Nikita caught up with the pace quickly and reached down to undo the buttons of Alex's pants instead. As horribly impractical as getting busy in a cubicle is, with the back of slightly shorter woman pressed against her, Alex could reach around Nikita fairly comfortably while Nikita returned the favour by slipping her hand behind her back and in between their bodies. It was not long before Alex covered Nikita's mouth with her own in a kiss to contain her moaning. Nikita turned around and faced Alex to have a more comfortable position from which to push Alex over the edge as well.
Washing their hands before leaving the toilets, Nikita asked Alex if she could see her again. "This can't be more than what it is and if you are sure that you can deal with that, be at my place in an hour." Alex told her the address of her apartment and walked out leaving Nikita behind her with a silly grin on her face.
Returning to her seat next to Nicky who just smiled, shook her head and ordered another round, Alex thought it amusing that a large neon sign against the wall near the toilets displayed the word "COME".