‘OK, yeah. I mean, it’s only Travis. I got this,’ Katy agreed, looking a bit more confident. ‘I’d better go get ready!’ She scurried out of the kitchen in a flash towards her room.
I turned to Zola, who seemed worried. Noticing her anxious glance, I tried to reassure her. ‘She’ll be fine!’ I said.
Zola tutted. ‘She better be.’ Then she called out to Ethan, who seemed oblivious to our conversation. ‘Please, dude. We need you and your laptop in Ella’s room, now.’
Ethan cautiously glanced up. ‘Excuse me?’ he said.
I laughed and said, ‘Katy’s doing some intel on a guest, so we have to be hidden for a wee while.’
Ethan nodded, stood up and lifted the laptop. I actually had no idea how someone could have the patience or intelligence to do what he was doing, but I was so grateful that he was. After all, this was a guy who was good enough to say no to the FBI.
I turned the side light on in my room and let Zola and Ethan get settled. Ethan pulled out the desk chair and sat down, while Zola stood just behind him, leaning forward slightly as she watched him work on the coded messages in fascination.
‘I’ll check on Katy,’ I told Zola and Ethan. I walked to Katy’s bedroom, planning to see if she was ready, but she wasn’t in her room. So I pushed the bathroom door open and there she was, standing bollock naked in the bath, one foot up on the edge, beef curtains and clit staring straight at me like a fucking Demogorgon.
‘Aggghhh!’ I screamed.
‘Jesus! Fuck!’ she called out, jumping up to protect her modesty. She shoved one hand behind her back and one over her tits, completely startled, then breathed a sigh of relief, pointing for me to close the door.
‘What the actual fuck are you doing?’ I asked, trying not to stare, but completely baffled by the scene in front of me.
‘Well,’ she puffed, out of breath from the total jump scare, ‘I was trying to shave when you walked in. But I got a fright, thinking it might have been Travis, and I’ve .?.?. I’ve .?.?.’
‘What? What are you talking about?’ There was so much information to process, so much on display, I didn’t have a clue where to look.
Katy turned her body slowly, revealing her naked back. My eyes skimmed down a little further.
‘You shoved the razor up your arse?’ I gasped, noticing a pink tail dangling out of the centre of her crack. She skimmed her hand over her bum cheeks, feeling for the thing. ‘I thought you were Travis,’ she said as if that justified any of this commotion. ‘And obviously it would be a pure riddie if he saw me shaving for him, so I hid it!’ With a slight tug, she pulled the handle out. ‘I panicked, Ella, OK?’
I could feel my face squirm in pain for her. ‘It’s a good job you didn’t go in with the blade side, there would be a fucking blood bath.’ My jaw was still gaping open, knowing I’d never get this vision out of my head. ‘Why are you shaving anyway?’ I asked, realising the possibility of sex must have been on her mind.
‘Because my fanny is like Grizzly Adams’ fuckin’ beard, why do you think?’ she snapped, turning to me and, after a cursory rinse of her Gillette Venus, continued to shave frantically. I looked at the patchy pussy. She was right; it was far too long and she was getting nowhere. That bad boy needed a short back and sides at the Turkish barber’s before even attempting to get a cheap razor through it. She threw her hands up, still hacking away at random sections of the foliage of pubes.
‘It looks like cow print now,’ I said, biting my lip, desperate not to laugh.
Katy bent over and burst into giggles. ‘It’s too long to shave with one razor, it’s clogged up like an old hoover! Ella, what am I going to do?’
I shook my head, handing her the towel, noticing the bathtub was now clogging up, too. ‘You’re not going to have sex with him, so you don’t need to worry, Katy,’ I said, smiling. ‘C’mon, he’ll be here soon, you don’t have time for this pube sesh!’
She huffed, reaching up to switch the shower off and grabbing hold of the towel.
‘What’s up with you shoving things up your arse since we got to New York, by the way?’ I said, remembering the butt plug from the month before.
‘Literally!’ Katy laughed. ‘Well, look, at least if I have to pump him for info, I’m clean!’
I screwed my face up, hating the idea of Travis ever touching my friend again. ‘I’d have built up all the fanny plaque I could manage for that cunt!’
She giggled, stepping out. ‘Oh, and by the way, don’t tell Zola about her razor.’ She pulled a face, as if to sayWhoops, then skipped through to her bedroom and quickly pulled on her jogging suit.
Chapter Forty-Five
Katy
Katy heard the lift door ping open. She braced herself for another encounter with Travis Mason, the guy who fucked her then chucked her, returning to his wife, who she’d never even known about. She tried to remind herself of how easily he unsettled her, how much of a hold he had over her, even though she was wary of it now; there was always something about him that reeled her in. Katy wasn’t sure what he wanted from her this time – maybe comfort or distraction, or simply answers, given the recent scandal.
Travis walked into the living area towards her. It was a large space, and it seemed to take forever for him to reach her. Katy could feel her heart rate pick up as he came closer. He wore casual jeans and a hooded black jumper, with Nike trainers.
Katy stepped nearer to him. ‘Hey.’
