“Jenny trusts me. And she and Adrian need some time off,” replied Erin. “And Barbados is lovely this time of the year. Not so many mosquitoes.”
“I love the look, very… unique,” said Ardhan, gazing at Billi from head to boot. “You don’t play by the rules, do you?”
“You’d be surprised. Rules are my life. Always say my prayers before bedtime. Right after brushing my teeth."
“Leave Billi alone.” Erin slipped her hand around Billi’s waist as she joined her, to face off against the other three. Billi stiffened, just for a moment, but then forced herself to relax. Erin was just a ‘touchy-feely’ type. “She’s my friend and that’s all that matters. Treat her nicely. That goes double for you, Ardhan. Don’t be jealous because she looks better in a dress than you do.” She turned her face to Billi’s. Her breath fell upon her lips, softly scented with the sweetness of strawberries. “I think Billi would make a perfect addition to our stale little gang.”
“I didn’t realise I was auditioning to join your girl band,” said Billi. “I’m best solo.”
Ardhan chuckled. “Sometimes solo is best.”
Everyone groaned at that, including Billi. Erin gave Billi a squeeze. “You get used to them. Best ignore half of what they say and the other half… best ignore that too. Let’s go inside and grab—”
An upstairs window shattered and a shoe flew in a high arc, and landed in a fir tree. Faustus appeared at the now open window, blood pouring from his nose.
Faustus? What the hell was he doing here?
He searched the garden frantically, and saw Billi. “Get up here! I need —”
Then he was dragged back inside, yelling.
CHAPTER 13
Bloody Faustus!
Billi launched herself up the stairs, shoving people aside, knocking over plates and spilling drinks. She took three steps at a time, swung around on the first landing, heard Faustus cry from further up, and charged up the next flight.
She reached the landing on the third floor just as Faustus took a hit. Two guys held him against the wall and a third delivered a tight fist into his face. Faustus’s head snapped back as fresh blood spurted from his nostrils. He shook his head then, bleary-eyed, saw Billi, and sighed. “Feel free to join in any time you want. Perhaps sooner.”
A young woman stood at a doorway, screaming. Her unzipped dress sagged from her shoulders.
“Let him go, lads,” said Billi, approaching with her hands up in a display of peace. “He’s learnt his lesson.”
The guy doing the punching lifted Faustus’s head up by the hair, turning it to the side to expose his cheek. “He’s just getting a revision session.”
“Let him go.” Billi took a step closer. “Please.”
The guy glared at her, his fist clenched tight and arm trembling with the urge to rearrange Faustus’s face. But then he licked his lips and the frown went from anger to caution. He was bigger than her, he had two mates but there was a small part of his animal brain that was flickering between the primordial urge to fight, or flee. He couldn’t quite make sense of it, but he knew he was afraid. That had to be new to him, he didn’t know what to do with it.
Then, as much as a surprise to him as the crowd gathered watching, he uncurled his fists. “Come on, lads. We don’t want to kill him.”
His two companions stared at each other and then, reluctantly, dropped Faustus.
Faustus dabbed his bleeding nose. “You really need to teach me how to do that. Is it with the eyes?”
Billi looked back at the girl, trembling at the doorway. “Let me zip up your dress.”
“Please don’t,” said Faustus as he tilted his head back. “I’ve just spent the last ten minutes trying to get it off.”
The girl glanced down at Faustus. “Call me later?” Then she disappeared through the crowd as Erin and her priestesses arrived.
Billi handed Faustus a napkin off the side table. “Y’know, maybe I shouldn’t have stopped them.”
“How was I to know she’d brought her boyfriend?” said Faustus. “Frankly, I think I’ve just saved their relationship. Turns out Charlie does care for her after all. She was complaining he’d stopped paying attention to her.”
“Oh?” Billi replied. “This is your couple’s therapy service?”
“Exactly.” He wiped his nose clean, then faced Erin and the others. “Hello. What a lovely party.”
“Let’s clean that face properly,” said Erin, taking Faustus by the hand. Faustus glanced back at Billi, and winked.
She didn’t trust him and the way he looked at Erin set off a whole orchestra of alarm bells. “I’d better come too. He could have concussion.”
Faustus didn’t look too pleased but the glare from Billi warned him not to go there, or he would definitely end up with concussion once Billi had finished with him.
Erin took them into her bedroom, with its adjacent en-suite bathroom. She handed Faustus a towel and left him inside to clean up and then joined Billi in the bedroom. “So there was a fight? I wish I’d been quicker.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” said Billi, looking around. “The guy’s an idiot —”
“I heard that!” yelled Faustus from the other side of the door.
“— but I promised I’d bring him home more or less in one piece.”
Billi tip-toed across the Persian carpet and the scattered cast-off dresses, skirts, underwear, and perched herself on the one clear spot, the corner of the big oak-framed bed. Apart from the bed the room was dominated by a mammoth oak desk with the latest, top of the range Apple computer. Informal snaps had been sprinkled over the walls around a series of antique museum posters. Tae-kwon-do trophies lined the mantelpiece and medals dangled off the curtain rail. The other shelves were clustered with Vinyl Pop-Ups, trinkets, books and small artefacts.
Billi inspected one of the trophies. “Regional champion?”
“Got my black belt when I was ten. It was that or ballet lessons. I still do my morning workouts down the park. Just enough to keep everything nice and loose.” Erin
