“Good evening, do you have a reservation?” a voice behind me startles me. A waiter hovers, a polite smile plastered to his face.
“A reservation?” I stutter. ”No, well, I’m afraid, but I’m certain my friend has got one…” My answer ebbs away when I realise I don’t even know Natalie’s last name. I blush furiously. How stupid can you get?
“Of course we booked! Hey Livia!” I’m so relieved when Natalie rushes in, followed by two young men. She hands her coat to the dumbfounded waiter and kisses my cheek. “Sorry to be late but you can’t be on time with two guys!” Huh, she’s not alone after all. I take in her fabulous dark red velvet dress and feel very out of place. I bet her cut-out black shoes are Alaya. But they don’t give me a chance to be shy. One of the guys, the tall one, sticks out his hand to me.
“It’s not our fault, believe me, Natalie hasn’t been punctual once in her life. I’m Rupert, by the way. Shall I take your coat?” I place my hand in his and look up into his eyes, he’s so incredibly tall. Wow, those eyes! They are a light, silvery grey, contrasting with his short dark brown hair. How can this tall, slim guy with the sharp features and a rather large nose be the brother of petite, small-nosed Natalie? When he releases my hand from his warm grip I awkwardly shrug out of my coat which he hands to the waiter. No further questions about reservations now!
“And I’m William, but please call me Will,” the second guy, who seems rather short beside Rupert, comes forward. He has laughing blue eyes, half-hidden by a thick blonde fringe, and I instantly like him.
“Come on, we‘re blocking the entrance!” Natalie exclaims, winding her way through the tables. We follow her and – oh, please no! – she walks straight to the table at the window where the disconcerting young man is sitting. Just my luck! Please, let him just be an acquaintance who she wants to say hello to. Then she’ll move on and we’ll have a wonderful evening. But she stops at his table, kisses him on the cheek and sits down. My heart rate accelerates and my hands clench around my bag. Will and Rupert are so nice but this kind of guy will ruin my evening. He reminds me of some boys in school who were so good-looking that every girl wanted to be with them and they exploited this knowledge shamelessly. They did as they pleased, just picked the most beautiful girls, ignoring or humiliating the others. Those like me. Now we’ve reached the table and he gazes at me again with his piercing eyes. I notice that they’re the colour of fresh moss.
“Livia, this is Cassius,” Natalie beams. Oh, I should have guessed, the famous Cassius who has it all. I extend my hand and the moment he touches it a strange current runs through me. I try to snatch my hand away but he holds on. His grip is hard and cool.
“Hello Livia,” he smiles, I think rather mockingly, and my eyes are drawn to his mouth. Then my gaze trails up to his Roman nose, the green eyes and the black hair that falls onto his forehead and then back to his mouth. What am I doing?
“Good evening,” I mumble rather formally and quickly take my hand out of his. Get a grip, I tell myself for the second time this evening. What will the others think of my strange behaviour? But they’re laughing about something and not looking at Cassius and me at all. Hurriedly I slide into a seat beside Natalie, as far away from Cassius as I can. Good, Rupert sits down on my other side. Maybe the evening won’t be too bad after all if I only ignore the man opposite me. With three nice people at the table it shouldn’t be too difficult.
“So, have you been here before?” Cassius instantly asks me and I frown. Ha, ha, do I look like this is my kind of restaurant? I could really do without his sarcasm. But now everyone is looking at me, waiting for my answer.
“No, but it’s very nice here.” I’m aware that I sound like my great aunt Wilma. Nice! Even the view onto Hyde Park alone is breathtaking.
“Oh, just wait till you’ve tasted the food, it’s divine!” Natalie chirps, handing me one of the menus. Oh my! I don’t even know half of the dishes.
“We always start with Masuhisa Martinis here. Would you like one?” Cassius now asks. Why can’t he leave me in peace and talk to someone else?
“That’s a martini with either vodka or Tanqueray gin, cucumber and ginger,” Will explains kindly.
“Yes, please,” I mutter. “With gin though.”
“Good girl, I can’t stand vodka either,” Rupert approves and the evening starts to look up as he smiles at me. He really is handsome in a rather untidy way. He’s the only one of the men not wearing a suit but black jeans and a jacket. Cassius orders the drinks and two bottles of Meursault Limozin, whatever that might be, for afterwards, without asking anyone. When the drinks arrive I silently scrutinise the three guys. I’m very aware of Rupert’s presence beside me but I can’t stare at him directly. So I look at Cassius from under my lashes. He’s talking to Will right now. God, he’s amazing! Now he laughs, showing a row of perfect white teeth. He’s sexy as hell, but definitely dangerous, though I can’t put my finger on it, too cool for words, and I’m secretly relieved that a guy like him is just not for me.
“The Watanabe suit looks terrific on you, Will!” Natalie’s voice breaks into my thoughts. Watanabe? I gawp. I just thought the suit looked a bit sloppy but hey, it’s supposed to be. Natalie’s clearly rich and these people have only rich friends, don't they? Well, what am I doing here then? Unconsciously I fish the cucumber slice out of my empty glass and suck on it. When I look up I find Cassius watching me. His eyes are slightly narrowed and there’s a wicked gleam in his eyes. I can’t help blushing. Shit, maybe sitting beside him instead of opposite would have been the better choice. Embarrassed, I drop the cucumber back into my glass.
“Has everybody chosen their food? I’m starving!” Will asks, smacking his lips. Heavens, no! I scrutinise the menu for something I know. Here is a list of different sushi, you can order by piece and I inhale sharply as I read the prices. That’s why rich people always have rich friends, the others like me have to do the washing up afterwards. Everyone’s discussing their choice aloud now, only I keep quiet as words like Inanwa salad and Kushiyaki fly around the table.
“What will you have, Livia?” Rupert asks me now and I squirm in my seat.
“The squid pasta salad,” I blurt out because it sounds rather normal and the price is not too bad.
“No starter? You can’t do that,” Natalie admonishes. ”We always have lots of different things here because they’re such fun to eat.” Suddenly I wish I was at home with my cornflakes. As I meet Cassius’ eyes I have the odd feeling that he knows exactly what I’m thinking and that I don’t have a clue about Japanese food.