‘And he loves his mum. That’s how you can always tell the makings of a good man.’ Karen speaks as if she has direct proof of this.
I’m not sure why I bristle. It’s probably because Jasper has the same effect on me as much as he does on every damn fool who looks his way. We all instantly like the guy because of his mad charisma, and his physical attributes don’t hurt either, and is that fair? He’s just been hit with the lucky stick of beauty, brains, brawn, and we all fall at his feet in supplication.
‘Jasper is one of the good guys,’ Karen says. ‘It’s obvious from the way he comports himself.’
‘I didn’t know you were a psychologist,’ I say stiffly to Karen.
‘I – oh.’ Her lips twist into a grin as if she knows something I don’t. ‘I’m clearly not the authority on love, but I do have a rather long list of red flags to look out for. And OK, maybe that list is a little too detailed, considering no man makes it past the first date. But if we don’t set standards for ourselves, who will?’
Damn, she’s got me there. I admire that in her.
‘And Jasper doesn’t seem to check any alarm bell box. Wouldn’t you agree?’
‘I’m right here, guys.’ Jasper frowns. ‘Why are we even discussing this?’
CJ points to me. ‘Ask Aubrey.’
‘Jeez, thanks.’ Talk about throw me under the bus. ‘I’m just as confused as you are, Jasper. Now, are we doing this performance or what?’
‘We’re just waiting on Barry,’ Princess says, craning her neck past gathered groups of passengers to search for the missing Australian. ‘Ah, here he comes. Oh, I think his t-shirt might be a little snug. I can see most of his belly. Isn’t it cute!’
Barry apologises politely as he pushes through clusters of people and joins us. ‘Well jingle bells!’ he declares. ‘I’m not sure they make these in my size, but heck, it’s all part of the performance, so I figured who cares if I flash a little skin, it’s only natural, right?’
We all agree that he’s rocking the look, even if he’s being strangled by the fabric. It’s all in good fun and he doesn’t seem to mind the fact the t-shirt only comes up to his midriff. It actually suits the silliness of the challenge. The look is completed by a fabric headband he wears around his forehead like he’s about to get physical, like Olivia Newton-John did back in the eighties. I love the way he commits to having fun – Princess is similar and up for anything.
‘Should our group dance first?’ I ask. ‘Get it over and done with?’
Jasper nods. ‘Yes please. Do you want… a hand untangling your tassels?’
‘Leave it with me.’ Princess darts away to ask the entertainment coordinator if we can start the dance battle.
‘Thanks.’
Jasper steps forward and I make the mistake of looking up into his eyes. Our gazes lock while he holds my tangled tassels, and it all feels too intimate somehow. I gulp. He gulps. Time stops as I wrangle with desire that floods through my turncoat body. Didn’t I just despise him a moment ago for being hit with the lucky stick? And now I want to launch myself at him?
‘Actually’ – I swallow hard – ‘I like my tassels tangled. Kind of a metaphor for my life.’
He drops the coloured ribbons. ‘Sure, sure.’
Princess returns, thank God, and claps for our attention. ‘Right, team! Everyone know their choreography? We’re up first!’
‘No!’ Why did I agree to this?
Jasper swings a supportive arm over my shoulders. ‘If all else fails, just look at me, not them.’
Doesn’t he know that will make it a hundred times worse? But he’s doing his best to put me at ease. I really don’t like being the centre of attention but I remind myself, Jasper’s one sharp dance move away from his muscles splitting out of the fabric of the thin shirt, so I’m sure all eyes will be trained that way. All I have to focus on is not falling over.
Karen and CJ grin. ‘This is so fun!’
Igor approaches me. ‘Do you want to give me your phone?’
‘I want no such thing.’
He frowns. ‘To film your performance.’
‘That won’t be necessary.’ Nerves roil as we make our way to the battle arena. We face off against a group of much younger lovebirds.
‘Great,’ I hiss. ‘They probably know all the moves from TikTok or something.’
