‘They kind ofneedhelping,’ Rosie replied in a stage whisper. ‘Jamie hit his fingie with the hammer, and the other one made the sheep-mole too high.’ Kira looked over at the peephole set at the perfect height for a man of six-foot-two, then across to her five-foot-five friend, and burst out laughing again. ‘It’s okay ’cause Mummy’s going to stand on my step to see out of the sheep-mole, aren’t you, Mummy?’
Jamie glanced over at Libby to see that her lips were pressed together and her eyes were dancing. He sighed; maybe masculine pride hadn’t been altogether salvaged.
‘Thanks for coming, Kir,’ Libby said, her voice shaking with suppressed laughter as she hugged her friend. ‘You’re a lifesaver.’
‘Of course I’d come.Youon an actual realdate? It’s some kind of miracle. I was only going to mooch about the hospital accommodation anyway.’
Jamie caught Libby’s headshake as she mouthed ‘Shut up’to Kira, and he cocked his head to the side with curiosity.
‘What was that?’ he asked, abandoning his attempts to replace all Pav’s drill bits into the case and straightening up to look over at the girls.
‘Libby here is renowned for her skills in the art of rejection. I swear she’s so accomplished at it now she could probably reject a bloke in her sleep and let him down gently in the process. I’ve never known her even accept a cheeky glass of cheap Pinot from a man before; so you, my friend, are off into unchartered territory … Ow!’ Kira broke off to rub her ribs, which had been on the receiving end of a vicious poke from Libby. ‘She’s violent too,’ she added before Libby managed to close a hand over her mouth and back her towards Rosie’s bedroom. Jamie glanced at his watch.
‘Libby, it’s nearly seven-thirty,’ he said at the now closed bedroom door. ‘Er … if it’s okay with you, we’d better go soon.’
The door swung open and a determined-looking Kira strutted in, grabbed her bag off the floor, then turned to Jamie.
‘Give me five minutes, Big Syringe, okay? I swear you won’t regret it.’ She went to go back to the bedroom but paused and turned to Jamie again instead. ‘I’m giving you a pass for tonight,’ she told him as she got closer, her voice now lowered and a determined expression on her face. ‘The only reason I’m letting you off the hook for the shit you’ve said to Libby is because of the way you’ve been looking after them over the last few weeks. But Iswearyou say one more thing to make her feel like crap and I will cut your dick off and feed it to the badgers. Get me?’
Jamie rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I’m trying – ’
‘Try harder,’ she snapped, cutting him off. ‘I haven’t seen Libby interested in a man since she was seventeen and that did not end well. The last thing I want now is my best friend asking me if I think she’s a slut over a dodgy lunch in the canteen.’
Jamie felt the blood drain out of his face and a tight band around his chest. ‘I … I never meant to …’ He clenched his jaw and shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘I promise I’ll make it up to her. I swear I will.’
Kira watched him for a moment through narrowed eyes then gave a short nod. ‘Okay,’ she told him as she stalked back to the bedroom. ‘But, if you feel the urge to be a dick again, just remember the badgers and think again.’
*****
‘What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?’ Libby asked. Kira flashed her an irate look as she dug through her huge bag. She then dumped her make-up case on the bed, before spinning to face Libby with her hands on her hips.
‘Tell me you werenotgoing out like this,’ Kira asked, exasperation lacing her tone. Libby threw up her hands.
‘I’m not going to meet the Queen, Kira, you nutter. I’m just going to eat somewhere with an ordinary bloke.’
‘He’s not going to be taking you to Pizza bloody Express, Libby. Trust me, you should wear something nice.’
‘What I’m wearing is nice.’ Libby looked down at her T-shirt; yes, it was a little faded and there may be a small rip in the seam, but still …
‘Is that … ?’ Kira leaned in further and then snorted as she pulled away. ‘You have a Thundercat above you right breast.’
Libby shrugged, feeling defensive all of a sudden. ‘Thundercats are cool, okay?’
‘No Libby. Thundercats were cool in the nineteen eighties. If you were seven. Now, and at your age: not so much. All I’m suggesting is that for a date with a man like the one currently buggering up your front door – who in my opinion, and I suspect yours, is not an ordinary bloke by any stretch – you might want to make a bit more of an effort.’ She stepped forward and grabbed Libby’s hand. ‘The ripped jeans and faded Thundercats T-shirt – it looks rude, sweetheart.’
Libby yanked her hand away and stepped back. ‘Well, I’m sorry but I don’thaveanything else. You can check if you like. Ugh! Why am I even bothering? Why did I even agree to this?’ She sat down heavily on Rosie’s bed and put her head in her hands. ‘I’m just going to embarrass him,’ she whispered at the floor.
‘Hey,’ Kira said, sitting down beside her and pulling her in for a tight hug. ‘You could go out with that man wearing a bin liner and still be the hottest piece of arse in the room and he would be damn lucky to be with you.’ Libby snorted into her hands and Kira hugged her even tighter. ‘Look, I know you haven’t got anything to wear. That’s why I brought all this crap over for you.’
‘I can’t borrow your stuff, Ki-Ki. My boobs won’t fit into any of it.’
‘Well, Miss Negativity, I assure you they will fit into this.’ With a flourish Kira pulled out a suit bag and then from within it a beautiful pale-cream floaty dress with a high neck and short capped sleeves adorned with a row of nude-coloured beading, which ran into the low back. Libby’s mouth dropped open as a pair of nude high heels followed.
‘Did youbuythese for me?’ she asked, smoothing a hand over the gauzy material of the dress. Kira nodded and hastily removed the price part of the tags before Libby could make a grab for it. Libby pulled her hand away.
‘I can’t accept th – ’
‘Stop right there,’ Kira snapped, shocking her with the amount of anger in her tone. ‘Who helped me get through every exam, including my bloody A-levels when you were the size of a small planet? Who pushed Robbie Gates over when he was bullying me in Year 2? Who told me I wasn’t thick like the teachers always assured me I was? Who encouraged me to apply for medicine? Who made me do my Duke of Edinburgh award so my CV wasn’t complete rubbish when I applied?’
