An American Braviour's Fantasy

Part 9 : Melkweg ~ Sara

They made their way out of her room and each in turn received scowls from Pim, the deskman which only made everyone laugh after leaving the hotel. 

They led her down the road a ways to a little restaurant called the, 'Tap and Dine' that seemed to cater predominantly to young adult crowds. The ambiance was casual and the room was very loud with all the talking and laughing of the patrons. Pop music played loudly from the speakers in the ceiling, most of it American, and they all squeezed into an oversized round booth. Almost immediately after they were seated, a very pretty young woman about their age joined them. Kaj jumped up and kissed her on the cheek and she sat down with them, all smiles and looking very hip in her distressed jeans and graphic t-shirt that said 'LOVE' on it in big, half-faded letters, a brown leather jacket and an overly fluffy scarf. Must be a thing, Rashelle pondered and then the girl caught her eye.

"Hoi. Ik ben, Sara." she said and held out her hand. Her nails were very short but manicured neatly and painted a light pink with glitter. Rashelle shook her hand politely, appreciative to have another female in the group.

"Rashelle." she said half-shouting back with a smile. Sara smiled back and began speaking in Dutch so fast, Rashelle couldn't make out a single phrase. The others spoke back to her in Dutch as well but then Kaj put his arm around Sara and spoke near her ear but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Rashelle is Sam's date tonight. She's American." he explained and she must have understood because her face lit up and she grinned over at Rashelle and began speaking in English which in turn triggered everyone at the table to begin speaking in English as well. Rashelle was amused but was appreciative of their thoughtfulness. They were going out of their way, she noticed, making sure she feel like she didn't belong. They teased her, yes, and laughed at her, but they were always careful to make sure she was in on the joke. It was nice. It felt nice and it felt like she could relax a little around them. By the end of the their meal, she had settled into their conversational tone and felt like one of the gang. They really were easy to be around, not to mention hilarious!

She sat between Samuel and Dioni and had both of their thighs pressed up against hers. She could feel their warmth radiating into her and it made her heart flutter again. Sure, her preference was hands down Samuel, but Dioni was nothing to sneeze at! He had a charm of his very own and like all the others, was sexy as all hell! Damn, she thought to herself. I'm sitting here in Amsterdam surrounded by beautiful, intelligent, insanely talented, completely friendly, and hilarious people! 

Rashelle thought she had died and gone to heaven. Maybe she really was an Angel and had finally found her true calling! Well, Amen to that! Rashelle laughed at herself inside her own head and then focused on the conversation. Everyone was discussing what to order to eat, but mostly what to order to drink, as in alcoholic beverages and it was all so confusing. Rashelle could barely make out what they were actually talking about. When it came time for her to read the menu, she was at a loss.

"What do you want to eat?" Sam asked her, menu in hand.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Why don't you just order something for me. But no fish. I'm used to eating fish skinned, filleted, dipped in batter and deep fried, so something more ordinary like chicken or pork or steak, whatever ordinary is here." She said and forced herself to shut up before she made a fool of herself. Sam just smiled kindly.

"So you don't like things fried?" He asked, misunderstanding.

"No, I love fried food! I do. I'm just picky about fish is all." she explained and Sam nodded and seemed to understand. Dioni, once again, piped in with his two cents...

"Patat, Bitterballen, Kroketten, Kaassouffle, Bamischijf, Frikandel..." he pointed as he read off good choices for her on her menu, leaning against her, his face not far from hers. The little flirt, she thought. Testing the waters to make sure she really liked Samuel best. He was a good friend, she thought. And then she thought, maybe he liked her too? What if the reason Sam and Dioni were so argumentative earlier was because they were fighting over her?