[Arthur]

she answered the phone

"Hi darling, I thought you had decided not to come so I got changed, I'm sitting here in a velvet tracksuit"

Now you have to remember just how nervous I am at this point. This is far from what I am usually like and I am looking for a way out. The flat was above a shop for starters and the thought of having to go through the shop was enough to put an end to my adventures. The windows above the shop looked dirty and unkept and all the curtains were drawn in the very worst approximation of a seedy Soho brothel complete with pimps.....not encouraging to someone who was feeling as freaked out as I was right at that moment.

so I replied "Ok, if you are busy then we can leave it to another time"

"Its Ok" she said " you will just have to give me a few minutes to put on something sexy".

My mind was turning summersaults, it just sounded so corny. I was thinking she was maybe a heavy drugs user, or a prostitute slave with an eight foot tall black pimp with attitude and a gun.

I started muttering something about the area looking a bit rough and was her flat above the shop, and how did you get to it. I thought maybe she would tell me to forget it.

She replied "this is one of the nicest areas to live and my flat is reached around the back of the shop. Give me 5 minutes and I will ring you back when I am ready. Go around the back and walk in the first black door on the left, it will be open and then my flat is straight through"

My heart was beating like a drum. I know how the soldiers must have felt going over the top for the first time. It was paranoid terror.

I waited and my mobile rang. I answered and got the curt response "ring me back". Whoaaa, I thought, this was getting very strange, but I was hooked and re-dialled.

She re-stated the directions and hung up.

I crossed the busy road into the steep cobbled back lane and followed her directions. I missed the door and ended up further down the lane, so I retraced my steps. Turning round I spotted a girl hanging around at the top of the lane and I hesitated for a moment, but she disappeared into the back entrance of a nearby restaurant leaving the lane empty.

Locating the number of the flat and the black door I quickly made my way inside.

It was a short gloomy corridor with a dimly lit glass panelled door directly in front. As I approached the door there was movement. I knocked and the door opened and I was ushered inside.

[you know that at this point I could start waxing lyrical about how she looked and what she said, but in reality I hardly cast a glance. I was worried she was going to be an absolute dog so I averted my gaze. Its funny that I should mention a dog because in my highly charged state I nearly trod on one of her pets, a tiny breed of Dog and I have no idea what it was.]

I looked over to her then, she was just under 6 feet tall.........