Diplomacy

Jack’s voice? “Will it be just the four of us or will there be other guests? Just so I know what the dress code is.”
    He could hear the American smile, “No… just the four of us and please, wear something casual. On occasions like this, I refuse to wear a tie, jacket, dress pants or anything remotely close to what I have to wear at work. It’s taken me a number of years, but I’ve finally persuaded Maria that it’s okay to wear jeans around your friends.” Why was this eloquent, thoughtful man rambling? Yes, this was a social call, but what was the problem in asking someone to come over for dinner? No problem at all, unless his first impression was right. There was a reason why Jack seemed uncomfortable around him, and Lucas was determined to find out if that reason was mutual attraction.
    “I’m sure I can persuade Lucy to come, but I’ll call you tomorrow to confirm. What time do you want us there?”
    “Why don’t we start unfashionably early, say around five? We have a fabulous garden and Belgian weather permitting, we can enjoy it a little before we start dinner. Oh, and you’ll need the address?” Lucas jotted down the Ambassador’s home address on a piece of official Foreign Service notepaper. “So we’ll talk tomorrow, yeah?”
    “Yeah, tomorrow,” he heard from the other side, just before the click signaling the end of the conversation.
    Lucas sat there for a while holding the telephone and smiling.
    The man was definitely an enigma, and the way he was feeling about him was a complication he could do without in his life right now.
    Finally his career was on track, and Lucy was a large part of the reason D i p l o m a c y | 19

    why. She made him… normal. Not the secretive guy with no discernible private life, but an ordinary guy with a beautiful blonde on his arm.
    It wasn’t like he was totally faking it. He loved Lucy; she was nice, full of life, with a naïve outlook and not too many ambitions of her own.
    They knew each other from the six months he had spent at college in America, and even though he had a boyfriend at the time, they had become friends. The first time they slept together was about two months before he was supposed to leave for the posting in Brussels, and when push came to shove, she came with him, just to be away from her overbearing family.
    They were doing remarkably well in their one bedroom apartment in the European district, from which Lucas could walk to work and Lucy could take the metro to the Vesalius College where she was taking Communications and International Affairs classes. Lucas found Lucy easygoing and undemanding, and even the sex was okay.
    Despite all that, Lucas never stopped longing for the touch of another man.
    He had kept his urges in check for almost a year now, and up until a week ago, he’d found the desires easy to live with. The benefits greatly outweighed the occasional wet dream and the use of a little imagination went a long way while he was making love to Lucy, especially as her wiry frame lacked the usual curves of a woman.
    That evening, after she had come on to him while watching TV, they made love in the darkness of their bedroom. The only reason Lucas lasted long enough to make her come was that he had tried hard not to think of Jack. Once he heard her cry out his name and felt her spasm beneath him, he could no longer control his thoughts and, imagining how he would touch and kiss the older man and thrust inside him until Jack too would shout his name, he came just moments later.
    As he rolled over onto his back, panting heavily and trying to catch his breath, he could feel Lucy wrap herself around him.
    She looked up at him with glazy eyes. “God, Lucas, I don’t know what got into you tonight, but it was just amazing.” Lucas kissed her hair and closed his eyes, feeling guilty about the deception.

    20 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    “They want us to come over for dinner on Saturday,” he spoke softly.
    “Who?” Lucy asked, now more awake.
    “The Christensens. The U.S. Ambassador and his wife, remember?”
    “Oh, I hope you said yes!” Lucy exclaimed, now sitting upright next to Lucas.
    “Oh, my God, Lucas, what will I wear?”

    D i p l o m a c y | 21

Chapter Four
    IT may have been uncharacteristically cold all that week, but Saturday turned out to be a wonderful day. Most Embassy personnel lived in the European quarter around the European Parliament and the Embassies, so hardly anyone had a company car, but