"Details!" Andy demanded, the moment he opened the door.

"A well-bred person does not kiss and tell." Bonnie informed him, entering the apartment her ex-boyfriend had rented for their stay in London.

"I do."

"I think that is the point Bonnie is making." Eric remarked, glancing up from where he was sprawled on the couch with a book.

"Oh! Stabbed in the back by my own strudel!" Andy pretended to swoon.

"You'll live." The brunette shook her head at his antics.

Andy shrugged, and took her hands. "Seriously, my love ... did you have a good night?"

"Wonderful." Bonnie fought unsuccessfully to stop herself from turning red. "We ... uh ... didn't have any big plans for tonight, did we? Say anytime after nine?"

"An encore performance has been arranged?" Andy raised his eyebrows. "Clearly it really was wonderful!"

"It was ... almost everything I could have wanted."

"Almost?"

"Yeah." Bonnie sighed. "I ... the only way it would have been better was if it was with someone I loved. Don't get me wrong; I like Chahna a lot. She's smart, and funny, and gorgeous ... but we're probably never going to see each other after tonight."

"You'll find someone else." Andy assured her. "There are thousands of women who would love to be yours."

Bonnie gave a rueful sigh. "I think we both know that my problem with meeting someone is more about me than them."

"Perhaps." Her ex-beard allowed. "But you may not find your closet so comfortable now you've actually dipped your toe outside."

That's what I'm afraid of.

Andy's plan for the day turned out to be historical and cultural sites. He, Bonnie and Eric started with Apsley House, the one-time home of the Duke of Wellington.

"My god." Bonnie breathed, walking into a room that seemed filled from floor to ceiling with gold.

"These are the trophies old Welly was sent for defeating Napoleon." Andy explained. "Apparently the nobility of Europe weren't too fond of the little Corsican fellow. Of course, this was also pretty much the last time my lot and Eric's lot -" he nodded at his lover "- were on the same side."

Their next stop were the war rooms of Churchill's cabinet; definitely a place from a time where the British and Germans were not friends. Eric had mixed feelings about the bulldog-like Prime Minister, though not for the reasons Bonnie had expected.

"I have nothing but admiration for what he did in the war." The young man explained. "If Germany had won, I would be in a concentration camp now, assuming I was still alive. But he certainly had his flaws. His attitude toward India, for instance ... but I am sure your friend Chahna would know more of that than me, if you asked her."

Andy snorted. "Yes, I'm sure discussing seventy year-old politics is an integral plan for Bonnie's eve- ow!" He rubbed his arm where Bonnie had smacked it. "Brute."

There final stop of the day was the Tower of London, which had been both a palace and a prison, and could probably have occupied Bonnie for the whole day.

"Which is exactly why we came here last. So we'd be able to see other things today." Andy informed her, when she mentioned that fact. "Well, that and some people just don't appreciate it. Philistines."

As fascinating as all three locations had been, however, none quite made Bonnie's heart race like standing at an ordinary apartment door, just after nine o'clock that night.

Chahna answered the door mere seconds after her knock, greeting her with a warm smile. Still bundled up from the cold outside air, Bonnie took a moment to savor the older woman's trim figure, which was encased in an expertly tailored skirt-suit.

"Come in, come in. Let me take your coat." Chahna closed the door behind Bonnie and helped her shuck out of her warm covering. When the Indian woman turned away to hang the coat on a hook, Bonnie stepped in behind her and slid her arms around the Chahna's waist.

"You look ... and smell ... wonderful." The brunette let her voice drop to a husky register, as she nipped gently at Chahna's neck with her lips.

"Mmmmm." The older woman settled back into the embrace, tilting her head so that her neck was exposed to Bonnie's mouth. The former cheerleader needed no further invitation, and nuzzled into the smooth skin with pleasure. "You made it very hard to concentrate today."

"I did?" Bonnie probably wasn't doing anything for the Indian woman's concentration in the current moment, either, but she had no intention of stopping.

Chahna gave a throaty chuckle. "Absolutely. Do you have any idea how hard it is to concentrate on a presentation about improving our shipping methods when your naked body keeps intruding in my thoughts?"

"Oh, you have had a hard day. That must have been very distracting." The younger woman increased Chahna's distraction by sliding her hands up to the Indian woman's breasts, and gently kneading the soft flesh through the fabric of her jacket. "It sounds like I had a lot more other things to occupy my mind than you did."

"So you didn't -" Chahna's breath hitched as Bonnie's teeth scraped lightly across the juncture of her shoulder and neck, "- didn't think of me at all?"

"Oh, I didn't say that." Bonnie moved her lips to the older woman's ear and whispered. "I kept thinking about bending you over the end of that couch and having you."

The older woman groaned, and her hips twitched, pressing her ass back against Bonnie's groin. "So why are we still standing here?"

"I can't believe you're single." Bonnie said, much later, as the two women lay naked in bed. As the slightly taller member of the pair, the brunette was spooning Chahna, her mouth close to the older woman's ear. "You're beautiful, successful ... a great lover ..."

"I would say the same of you." Chahna rolled over so that they were facing each other. As nice as spooning had been, Bonnie quickly decided she liked this better; the feel of Chahna's arms around her, the tangle of their legs, and the press of breast against breast. The Indian woman ran her fingers from Bonnie's shoulder to her elbow, then back again. "India is still a very conservative place in many ways ... homosexuality was only decriminalized four years ago. I ... I'm not open about being a lesbian."

"Oh." Bonnie felt ignorant for knowing so little of the other woman's country. "Back home a lot of intolerance comes from religion. Is it the same there?"

Chahna shrugged. "It's complicated. Different groups treat it differently. I have a friend who says that no two Hindus can agree what Hinduism even is. And of course we have Buddhists and Sikhs and Muslims too."

"I'm not out, either." Bonnie admitted. "That's why I'm single."

"Really?" Chahna's surprise was clearly genuine. "I would never have guessed. You seem so ... confident in who you are."

"I told you I was a good actress." Bonnie brushed her lips over the older woman's forehead. "It ... it's something I hate about myself. That I hide, I mean -" She hastily clarified, not wanting Chahna to get the wrong impression. "- not that I'm gay." She sighed. "I have a friend who's out ... I admire her courage for that so much."

"Does she know about you?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Only Andy - my ex - and his boyfriend know. Other than you, obviously."

Chahna smiled. "Yes, I have had a quite thorough demonstration of your preferences." She paused. "My sister knows. I haven't told anyone else from my life at home."

"Are you close?" Bonnie couldn't imagine sharing any kind of confidence with her own sisters. Certainly not that; they'd tell our parents in a heartbeat.

"We are." The other woman nodded. "She doesn't understand it, but she loves me and accepts me." Must be nice.

"I really need to get up." Chahna murmured, for the third time since they'd awoken. Despite her words, she didn't actually move. Neither did Bonnie.

"It's not time yet." The former cheerleader insisted.

"It will be soon. Check out is in an hour. And you can't ignore your friends all day."

"Are you kidding?" Bonnie chuckled, and kissed the tip of the older woman's nose. "Andy's almost as excited about our ..." she foundered for a word that accurately described her relationship with Chahna. Fling is too dismissive. Romance too overwrought. "He's almost as excited about my time with you as I am. He'll pout at me if I don't eke out every last second."

"Ah." Chahna nodded. "So you are refusing to leave the bed to keep your friend happy."

Bonnie nodded. "Oh yes. I'm very thoughtful that way."

"I guess than means we're stuck here for another half hour, then." Chahna mused. "However shall we occupy the time?"

Somehow, they managed.

"Do you want to stay in touch?" Bonnie blurted, as Chahna's taxi pulled up at the kerb. She offered a small slip of paper. "By email, I mean? I've written down my address."

Chahna was silent for a moment, and the younger woman's heart sank. She probably thinks I'm a clingy little girl, who can't let go of a holiday fling. Still, she couldn't let the older woman leave for the airport without making the offer.

"I would like that." The Indian woman said at last, to Bonnie's surprise and pleasure. She took the slip of paper and tucked it into her bag. "It will take me a few days to get settled back into things at home, but once I have, I will contact you."

"Thank you." Bonnie leaned forward and brushed her lips across the older woman's. Pride and anxiety warred within her over this public expression of affection. Resolutely, she focused on the pride. "For ... everything. Have a good flight home."

"Enjoy the rest of your stay in London." Chahna started to get into the taxi, then paused. "And thank you for everything, as well. I am very glad we met."

"So did the second night live up to the first?" Andy asked as soon as she arrived at the apartment, his eyes were aglow with curiosity.

"I'm not going to give you all the sordid details." Bonnie said primly.

"Oh, so the details are sordid, are they?" The young man rubbed his hands together. "Excellent."

"You're incorrigible."

"So my strudel keeps telling me."

"Where is Eric?" Bonnie was surprised that the German man was not around.

"He's gone out for a while. Wanted to give you and I some time to talk in private."

The brunette sighed. "I'm really not going to go into details about my night, Andy."

"Not about that." The young man waved off the idea.

"Oh." Now I'm confused. "What about, then?"

Andy actually looked abashed. Bonnie couldn't remember ever seeing that expression on his face before. "Well, my love, as much of a pleasure as it has been to see you, I must confess I had an ulterior motive for inviting you to come visit."

Author's Note: I decided to leave it here because ... well, because I am curious to hear what people think Andy's ulterior motive might be :)

This London diversion is nearly over, by the by. Bonnie will be back home by the end of next chapter. She'll have a lot to think about!