It was intimate. She was moved to respond intimately. "I've never met anyone like you either. She felt as if their spirits rose up to meet one another. The moment was intense. The chink of the coffee cups arriving on the table drew them away from each other.
Zac watched her as they drank the coffee. "When do you have to leave?" he asked and she looked up, startled at his question.
"My flight's late on Sunday morning. I have to be ready for work on Monday morning."
He nodded and looked down at his coffee cup, avoiding her eyes. She hadn't wanted to break the spell by thinking beyond this moment, but he seemed to want to know how long they had.
"And you, are you going back to London soon?" She was wondering when she would see him again.
"Yes, Sunday, but later in the day, there are a few things I want to finalize before I leave." He smiled. "Are you ready to see the club, Pharamonds?"
"Yes, I'd love to."
He straightened in his seat, eyes twinkling. "In the course of my research I had to look at other venues in the area, see who we could work with, who might be the competition."
She nodded, eager to her all about it.
"I found an interesting venue that holds exclusive party events, and I procured us an invitation from the owner." He watched her as he spoke. "For tomorrow night."
Her curiosity stirred, his eyes held so much mystery.
"Exclusive party events?"
"Fetish events, anything-goes type events."
"How marvelous."
He gave a pleasured smile. "There's a strict dress code, so we'll go shopping tomorrow."
"You've really thought it all through."
"Oh yes, I thought it would give us both a chance to explore your secret desires a little bit more."
"To be watched?"
He nodded.
Her heart was beating fast, anticipation and the prospect of adventure and discovery tempering its pacing. "As long as I'm with you, I'm all for it."
"I'll be right there, you can bet on it."
"I can hardly wait."
He pushed his coffee cup to one side. "Come, let's go to Pharamonds, I'm eager to see what you think of it."
The entrance to the club was marked by its dramatic art-nouveaux arched doorway nestled between shop fronts and cafes. A shaft of light from a lantern revealed the stone steps that led down into the place. Abby was eager to take it all in.
It was smaller than The Hub, more intimate. The main space had a bar with a small stage, and a tiny dance floor. The walls were rough-hewn stones that jutted out and seemed to guard the place like an ancient regiment. The bar was long and simple, the wooden tables dotted with candles oozing down old wine bottles. Piped jazz music fed the place with a relaxed atmosphere. The place was almost full but there were a couple of tables still free. Zac led her to one of them.
"It used to be a popular venue but the present owner couldn't be bothered with the music
side of it, let it slide. It's really only been used as a bar for the past few years, but there's a lot of talent looking for somewhere to try out the scene. I did some investigation. There's a feeling of heritage about the place for the locale. They want Pharamonds to be a live venue again."
"Yes, I can see that the atmosphere is here. You can almost feel Piaf in the walls." She put her hand against the cool stone.
He nodded, then caught the waiter's eye and ordered their drinks.
"There are two unused rooms," he continued. "I think I could have them knocked into one, to function as a gallery, I have this ambition to show more art where live performances are going on, to put it into that context."