Chapter 2

AFTER SENSEI'S DEBRIEF, CLASS WAS dismissed and the four of us walked to my jeep in the parking lot. Sian, Kass and I still wore our gi, not bothering to shower at the club when the shower in the house we rented together was so much nicer. Loi, however, lived in student accommodation, so she made the most of the free hot water at the gym and we were the last to leave the building before sensei. It always amazed me how she could fit her mass of locks into one of those hair turbans. Beeping the car alarm, I hopped in while Kassie released the front seat and climbed into the back, followed by Sian. Being just five-foot-tall meant both girls usually ended up in the back seat.

'I don't look twenty-eight?'

The indignant question from Kassie made the three of us pause, exchanging confused glances.

'Who said you did?' Sian asked with an eyebrow arched.

Kassie scowled, her lower lip jutting out. 'Andrew. He keeps calling me old lady.'

I bit back a giggle. 'Kass, he's a twenty-one-year-old kid and you keep beating him. He's got to save face somehow.'

'Twenty-one is technically an adult,' Loi informed me in a pious tone.

I rolled my eyes at her. 'Males are three years behind in maturity levels, Loi. That makes him eighteen. You are very mature.'

Her brown eyes narrowed at me and in the rearview mirror I saw Kassie shake her head, laughing silently. One way to distract her, I thought in amusement. I guided the car down the car park ramp and onto the silent street, winding our way through the back streets so to avoid the usual Friday night traffic.

'IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU'RE SUCH a sweetie too, Kass,' Sian turned to wink at her.

Kassie blinked in surprise, forgetting her original complaint. 'What?'

'Andrew. He wouldn't dream of trying it on Cat, Loi would squish him in a second and he still lives in hope that I'll accept his dinner invite one day.' Sian pulled a baby doll expression, blue eyes large and guileless while she fluttered her lashes at Kassie.

In the front Loi snorted then twisted to look their way. 'Will you ever accept?'

'No! Yuck, no! I don't date children.'

Cat laughed and Kassie had to smile at the sound of distaste in Sian's voice. 'But you'll let him buy you drinks when we bump into him at the clubs?'

'A girl's got to drink,' Sian replied smugly.

'So, he picks on me because I'm nice.' Kassie wrinkled her nose at the thought. 'That's almost as bad as being called old.'

'Twenty-eight isn't old,' Cat said before pausing, watching an intersection. She continued as they turned up the long road toward Loi's apartment block. 'And we know just how tough you are. At least you get to shock the hell out of them when they try to pick on you.'

Kassie nodded in approval at that. 'Yes, let them pick on me. I'll show them just how nice I am.'

LOI TUCKED A STRAY LENGTH of damp hair into her turban, smiling at Kassie's comment. Personally, she wondered if Andrew had the hots for Kassie too. Both girls were short but while Sian had a tiny petite figure, Kassie was endowed with a chest as big as Cat's which looked a little out of place on her small frame. The two girls looked like day and night when they stood beside each other. Sian with her long blonde hair, blue eyes and girlish figure and then Kassie; a head full of bronze curls that when stretched reached mid back, gorgeous hazel eyes and obvious cheekbones thanks to her Malaysian heritageplus a nice rack. Sometimes Loi felt like an uncouth giantess when she walked with her friends. At least Cat's only a couple of inches shorter, she thought, glancing at her red-headed friend who frowned at a couple of jaywalking pedestrians.

'If you're going to do that then hurry UP,' Cat growled impatiently.

I SAW LOI'S SIDEWAYS GLANCE at my grumble but chose to ignore it. Loi loved to tease me about my road-rage as she called it. A total exaggeration, I rarely felt the need to toot but that didn't mean I couldn't voice my opinion if people acted like idiots.

About to pull into the parking spaces in front of Loi's building, I jumped when she exclaimed loudly. 'Oh!'

A quick check showed I wasn't about to kill anyone or hit anything and I gave her a look as I pulled into a park.

'Sorry! I just realized I forgot to tell you guys, we've been invited to a costume party at Brad's next weekend. He's just graduated!'

Sian nodded while Kassie and I stared at one another via the mirror, both our expressions doubtful for a moment.

'Workmate?' I questioned tentatively.

'No, classmate,' Kassie said.

Loi gave us a look of exasperation. 'You met him last month, him and his girlfriend. He tutored me in bio.'

Oh, right. It clicked in my mind and I nodded along with Kassie.

'What's the theme?' Sian butted in, eyes eager.

'Fantasy. Shall I pop over tomorrow morn? We can check out the store.'

Loi meant the second hand shop we loved to frequent. I agreed along with the others and Loi climbed out, hand on turban, calling, 'Tomorrow then, I'll be over at nine!'

Sian thumped on the inside of the window, hollering. 'Ten! Make it ten!'

Beside her, Kassie waved her arms frantically, also shouting. 'Ten!'

Loi winked at me as I held my thumb on the window lock and mouthed to her, 'Nine is perfect.'

CAT LAUGHED AS SHE PULLED away from Loi's building and Kassie settled back into her seat with a huff. 'Nine o'clock, on a Saturday? What is Loi thinking?'

'I don't know. Suits me fine.'

Kassie glared at Cat via the rear-view mirror. 'Just because you have to get up to run your brat of a dog. Some of us like a sleep-in until a reasonable hour.'

'Like lunchtime,' Sian interjected, Kassie agreeing. Their Friday night jujitsu class finished at ten and after a long week of work, a sleep-in on Saturday was the thing Kassie looked forward to most. The downside with being a black belt, she thought dourly; all the lower belts had their classes earlier, the latest finishing at nine.

They pulled into the driveway of the one level house they rented. Sian made a grab for the automatic garage door remote and hit the button. The look of focus she wore while watching it rise made Kassie roll her eyes. Cat drove into the garage and Sian hit the button again, a tiny sound of satisfaction escaping her lips. What it takes to entertain some people, Kassie thought. Cat climbed out and opened their door, hitting the seat release before disappearing through the internal access door. Kassie followed.

She heard Cat reach the kitchen and open the back door, then the tap dancing sound of Audrey, Cat's dog, charging around the kitchen in excitement. Kassie turned into her bedroom and flicked on the light. Curled up on her bed, Lucky, her beautiful tortoiseshell cat stretched out her forepaws and opened her mouth wide in a yawn, before leaping off the bed to purr around her ankles.

'Hello Lucky girl,' she cooed, bending to scoop the cat up, cuddling her. 'Keeping the bed warm for me?'

'Kass! Shower's free,' Sian called from her room across the hallway. Setting the cat on the floor, Kassie grabbed her pyjamas and headed for the bathroom.