I roll my eyes and unlock the door. Five vampires and one bathroom is not ideal. Luckily, wedon’tneed to poop, or there would be some serious tension. Sadie’s blonde head appears, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement.
‘Very funny. I was just doing some thinking.’
She smirks. ‘About snake boy?’
‘Don’t call him that! If you keep referring to Will as “snake boy”, it will stick. And he’s more than a reptile.’
‘OK, point taken. Can Floss and I come in? We want to put on some make-up before we go out.’
‘Sure.’ I open the door for her, and Floss sidles in too a few seconds later, as if Sadie has given her the mental go-ahead that I’m open to chatting.
‘Hey, you all right? Sorry to barge in. I could tell you wanted some me-time,’ she says.
‘Yeah, it’s fine. I need to get out of my head anyway.’
I perch on the edge of the bath, watching as they take over the mirror. Sadie brushes on mascara, and Floss swipes glittery purple eyeshadow on her eyelids. They’re both dressed up. Sadie is in a black leather miniskirt, heels and a clingy silver top. Floss is wearing a short-sleeved black lace shirt and a flowy purple skirt.
Sadie eyes me in the mirror. ‘Are you going like that?’
I look down at my jumper and jeans. ‘It’s the pub, not a fashion parade.’
Floss’s violet eyes join Sadie’s in the mirror. ‘We could curl your hair? And I’ve got a red lipstick that would look great on you.’
I narrow my eyes at them. ‘What is this, an intervention?’
Floss giggles. ‘Just call us your fairy godmothers.’
Sadie swipes another coat of mascara on her long lashes. ‘Yeah. Don’t you want twoo wuv’s kiss? I saw the way Willwas looking at you.’
I swallow. ‘I may have already had that.’
Floss swivels around from the mirror with one purple eyelid, giving the impression she’s been punched.
‘Ooh, he kissed you? Is that why he changed into a snake?’
I nod. ‘Yes, and started squeezing my throat.’
Sadie chuckles as she plugs in her curling tongs. ‘Once you get used to that, you might quite like it. Puts a whole new spin on BDSM.’
I stare at her, and suddenly, the whole thing seems ridiculous. I choke out a laugh. Then I sober, thinking about the practicalities of going out with Will, as Sadie winds a lock of my hair around the heated tong. ‘The snake thing is a huge issue. It means we couldn’t ever hold hands in public. What if we were walking along the road, and he changed and had to slither off into the nearest bush to recover?’
Sadie snorts. ‘I would love to see that!’
Floss dabs bright scarlet lipstick on my mouth. ‘Can’t he use your spell to change back?’
‘No, that’s specific to me, like a personal mantra. He has to find his own, and that can take many years of research.’
‘Is there anything in that book of spells that you lent me that might help?’
‘I don’t think so. The shapeshifting section was quitesparse.’
Sadie finishes my hair, and a red-headed princess stares back at me in the mirror. I pull out a ringlet, and it springs back into place. ‘Wow, it’s great. Thank you!’
‘You’re welcome,’ she says, putting her hands on her hips. ‘And if you want my expert opinion, I think you should go for it with Will. He’s been stalking you for years, and no vampire does that unless they’ve got a huge crush.’
I want to believe that she’s right. That Will feels something; and that it’s the same way I feel about him. But does he want to kiss me or kill me? That is the question.
***
