They laughed at that and Zack gave me an encouraging smile. Then his face changed and showed mock horror.
"Ned! Did you just let rip!" he groaned. Ned just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. I giggled but then a god-awful stench hit me like a brick wall. I gagged and looked around mortified. I saw a slow realisation appear on everyone's faces.
"Oh fuck." Zack muttered.
"I think Eliza didn't shield quickly enough." he chuckled, but then noticed I was actually struggling to breathe, and pushed me to the window and opened it for me. Air. Thank God. I gulped deep breaths of lovely fresh air in and recovered.
"What the hell was that!" I exclaimed, but realised instantly when I spotted Ned's sheepish grin.
"Sorry." he spluttered under Zack's warning, but twinkling stare.
"Got to learn to be quick to shield around Ned!" Zaphire laughed out loud.
Soon everyone was having a chat amongst themselves, but not ignoring me. They tried to involve me as much as they could and I was surprised to find myself really enjoying the banter. I was so relieved to find it quite easy to tune out the overwhelming sensations and be able to interact quite normally. Only a few times I needed to take a deep breath and focus on the waves to block out any unwanted stimuli. Zack was relaxed and was visibly energised by the interactions with his friends.
Moments later, I picked up a change of vibe. Zack stiffened and his eyes went dark, eyebrows furrowed. It didn't take long before I located the source of his dismay. A tall red headed girl approached our table. Zaphire worked hard to keep the conversation flowing but it was obvious that everyone was on tenterhooks. Immeasurably small glances kept flying across the table. A normal human being wouldn't have picked up any tension, but to me it was glaringly obvious, and I was only new to this. Everyone in the room must have picked it up.
“Hello Jessica, how are you?" Zack said politely.
His body language was telling. It screamed. What do you want and why are you here?
Jessica ignored Zack and went straight to me. All of my senses were on edge. As she approached, I could smell a rather sharp and acrid scent that I would hazard a guess was associated with jealousy. She bent over to me and viciously whispered in my ear.
“Has that arsehole tried it on with you yet? Don't be flattered, you won't be the first, nor the last.”
She threw a pointed stare at Zack. Everyone went silent around the table, like the quiet before the storm. A muscle was twitching in Zack's jaw as he slowly got up from his chair.
“Zaphire, watch Eliza for me for a moment. Jessica, outside. Now." he hissed, barely keeping control over his voice.
When she didn't show any inclination to follow his order, as that's what it was, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the restaurant, out the door, with a grim look on his face.
“I wouldn't like to be in her shoes." Sam mumbled as she looked at Zaphire, who grunted.
“Disgruntled ex. Don't worry, he'll deal with it in a way she wished she never even set foot in here." Ned said shrugging his shoulders.
I must have looked alarmed wondering what on earth he would do to the girl. Zaphire jumped in to reassure me.
“Don't worry, nothing physical. He'll give her a verbal dressing down like you wouldn't believe, though. She'll feel about this small when he's finished with her." showing a tiny gap between her fingers.
By the looks on their faces I vowed to myself to try my hardest never to be on the receiving end of one of those. All this was so far removed from how I interacted with my friends at home. It made me feel so out of my depth and made me wonder if I ever would fit into this weird community.
When Zack returned he wasn't in the mood to stay any longer so we said our goodbyes and went back to our room. Zaphire would join us later to do some more work which I was secretly looking forward to. I still wasn't sure at all that she would ever reciprocate my feelings for her, but I was happy to spend time with her whenever I could.
CHAPTER 22
Fucking typical of Jessica to spoil our lunch. I had really enjoyed seeing my friends; I missed them and their light hearted banter. We knew each other so well and we'd always be there for each other. Even Sam, who'd only been a recent addition to our group, would do anything for us, and we would for her. Initially I wasn't sure if it would work, having trained and coached her, but she just got on so well with Zaphire, it felt natural to embrace her into our friendship group. I would've felt totally recharged after meeting up with them, but for Jessica's interruption. Eliza had done so well as well and seemed to fit in quite easily with our group. It would have been a total success, if it hadn't been for that spiteful bitch.
“Are you okay?" Eliza asked after a while.
I hadn't really explained what had happened earlier, but I was sure the others would have filled her in. She was my most recent ex and hadn't taken it well when I finished our relationship. We had only been together for a few months, but it hadn't felt right from the start. I'd fancied her and we did have fun times, but I didn't really like her personality, and that soon became a problem. She couldn't see it though, and she felt I had used her. She was right in a way. I should never have let it go on for that long, but my selfish needs were met as she was amazing in bed (and everywhere
