The decor was rough, and Tom might have thought twice about it under other circumstances. A young toff in black tie was too tempting a target. He could take care of himself, all right, but he was drunk, and there had been a few fights at Oxford, incidents enough to prove to him that without coordination he was liable to get his butt kicked.

But his companion had attitude, attitude that was proof against everything. Tom watched in admiration as she entered the dive, shrugged off her designer coat to reveal her cherry red column of sequins, and was subjected to a hail of wolf whistles; whereupon all she did was laugh and blow a few kisses, and the tradesmen and workers on their night shifts were eating out of her hands.

Tom thought her quite splendid.The fog of alcohol was slowly lifting, the chill night breeze and exercise having made the first dent, but she still looked stunning—sexy and self-possessed, lean like a tigress. How different, how very different from the vapid society girls at the party at his flat. He loved women like this, women that made a man come alive—interesting women.

She kissed the proprietor on both his rough cheeks and cracked a joke with him, and he showed them to a booth in the back, deep in shadow and away from prying eyes. The man also produced, with a flourish, a candle in a bottle, and lit it; he laughed, he thought it was amusing, but Tom was grateful. Candlelight made even the toughest atmosphere more romantic. The café had grimy white walls and a breeze-block ceiling, but it was warm, it was dark, and the pretty girl was smiling at him; Tom felt a pleasant glow of contentment.

“And what will you two lovebirds have?” the owner asked.

“Coffee,” Tom pronounced. He smiled at the characterization; this man at least didn’t think he was too young. He imagined Judy’s body, sinuous and writhing; he would like half an hour to prove to her that he wasn’t a boy. “Lots of coffee. And some aspirin.”

“I’ll have a cognac,” Judy said. “And Perrier, and apart from that, Gaston, bring us whatever you recommend.”

The man grinned. “Hungry?”

Tom shook his head; Judy nodded hers.

“Fine. Leave it to me,” he said.

The coffee arrived first, served in bowls, as it was closer to breakfast than supper, with fresh milk; Tom added two heaped spoons of brown sugar and gulped down three aspirins; he almost instantly began to feel better. Judy meanwhile sipped her drink, alternating with gulps of Perrier.

“You come here a lot?”Tom said.The comment was banal, but he had to say something. There were plenty more questions, but he would not start on the seduction till the caffeine and aspirin had kicked in.