‘You sure?’ He hesitantly raises both thumbs.
‘Yeah.’ I copy him and it does the trick.
‘Safe. See you tomorrow, fam. Get some sleep.’ He rests a hand on my arm and walks in the direction of his hotel.
‘Krunal!’ I call after him, and he turns. ‘Thank you.’
He makes a peace sign. ‘Don’t sweat it, mate.’
Chapter 18
MINNIE
MONACO
‘My cucumber’s slipping off,’ Kurt whines.
‘Itzall about the angle of your ’ead,’ says Étienne sagely, like he hasn’t spent the last thirty seconds trying to suction it to his face. ‘You’re not sitting straight.’
I roll my eyes as I approach them, stirring the clay mask in one of Étienne’s Le Creuset casserole dishes. I stop in front of Kurt. ‘This is going to be a little cold.’
‘I’m a high-performance athlete, Minnie, I’m not scared of a little—ee!’ he squeaks.
‘Told you.’
‘What are the benefits, again?’
I paint on more product than necessary across his cheeks. Serves him right. ‘It drags out toxins, prevents mild forms of acne, and absorbs oil. You don’t want to be shiny on camera tomorrow, do you?’
‘Since when izit bad to look shiny?’ asks Étienne from the other end of the couch.
‘You need to spend more time around women, bro.’ Kurt smiles and I nearly paint his teeth grey.
‘I am lost. What is ’appening in the movie now?’ Étienne asks as I move on to him.
I consult the screen. ‘There’s a mixer between the a cappella groups, and Fat Amy and Bumper are flirting. I still can’t believe neither of you have seenPitch Perfectbefore. It’s a modern classic.’
‘Is Fat Amy the fit one?’ Kurt says. Translation: Brittany Snow.
‘No, it’s Rebel Wilson.’
‘Damn. That shower scene was the best thing I’ve seen all year.’
Étienne chuckles while I paint his nose. ‘That’s because you ’aven’t got a podium, mate.’
‘Har har,’ Kurt retorts, leaning over to try and drink his juice through a straw.
Clay creases with the furrowing of Étienne’s forehead. ‘So Bella’s part of the Bellas now? This is very confusing.’
‘It’s Becca, not Bella. Stop talking or it won’t have set in time to watch the riff off.’
‘C’est quoi?’
‘On va voir,’I hiss in his ear.
‘My face is ’ard.’ Étienne tries to poke it until I reach over and slap his hand away.
‘Why don’t Bumper and Fat Amy just sleep together? They clearly have sexual tension,’ says Kurt.
