Heller’s Decision (19 page)

She
wore a black halter-neck bra top, which made no obvious
attempt to corral her assets, and a pair of tight, black
mini-shorts. Over this less-than-modest ensemble, she wore an open,
sheer red jacket that hung to her butt, and a killer pair of
fuck-me-right-here-right-now red stilettos. Her brilliant red pout
completed the revealing outfit. Her hair spilled loose down her
back. She was sizzling hot, every centimetre the porn star. Each
man’s head swivelled after her as she wafted past, as if unable to
stop himself.

Although I genuinely thought Barb was a
lovely, grounded person, I didn’t want to stand anywhere near her,
only too aware of the unfavourable comparison everybody would make
between us. So I hung back from the admiring throng, my arms
crossed defensively over my own boobs. I couldn’t help be mindful
of my unglamorous and rather mismatched outfit, wishing I’d had
time to put on some makeup that morning. Or even brush my hair.
Standing next to Barb made me feel like a splotchy beige canvas
hanging on a wall next to a Van Gogh.

The first thing we all noticed at
Seductively
Sextravagant
on our
entry was the still-vacant ex-PRON Productions booth. I released a
burdensome amount of tension in my body on seeing that welcoming
sight. I didn’t know what Heller had done to those men, but I sure
didn’t want to suffer any payback from his nocturnal activities.
However, in comparison to the rest of our time at the expo, the
last day almost seemed anti-climactic. I probably should have
abandoned Barb and Roger and returned to the station, but I decided
to award myself a get-out-of-work-free card because of what had
happened to me the previous day.

Because it was the last day,
Seductively
Sextravagant
teemed with
visitors, Barb and Roger almost overwhelmed with people wanting to
meet them and jam into the already packed auditorium to hear them
speak. Trent’s interview had worked its magic.
Bick and the two thick-necks struggled at
times to ensure patience and good order in the various queues, but
nothing disastrous happened beyond an occasional harried spat or
shove.

At lunchtime, the thick-necks insisted
they could manage the dissipated queue, which had mostly drifted
away for the hour Barb and Roger would take to eat. Bick and I
split up, having different goals to pursue. I wasn’t particularly
interested in buying anything else after my disastrous attempt at
seduction last night, deciding that from now on I was a firm
believer that the body was the best sex toy of all. But I still
found the various stalls fascinating. I couldn’t believe some of
the products I saw, not even able to imagine their use.

I returned at the end of
the hour, having only purchased
a hot dog and a gargantuan cola for lunch, which I had to hurriedly
gobble and slurp on spotting Heller and Farrell approaching the
booth in the distance. They were kind of hard to miss in their
uniforms and with Heller standing a blond head taller than everyone
else. He had the healthiest diet of anyone I’d ever known and would
have been angry with me for eating junk food.

Bick turned up a few minutes later with
two bags stuffed full of
products.

“
What on earth did you buy?” I marvelled,
trying to rummage in his bags.

“
Get out!” he said, pulling them away from
my curious eyes. “It’s private! Because it’s the last day of the
expo, everything’s half-price. I found some real
bargains.”

“Have fun with them, whatever they are.”

“
I intend to. And I’m sure that there’s
something in here that Dixie will really enjoy too. I bought a lot
of different things.”

My heart twanged for him a little. He
sounded so eager and
so
. . .
innocent
. I
hoped Dixie would be respectful of that. “Sounds like it’s getting
serious between you two.”

He laughed, embarrassed.
“It’s only been a few dates,
but I like her a lot. I hope she likes me too. Do you think she’s
the settling down type?”

“
I’m not sure, Bick. But I bet she’s not
into
all
that stuff.”
That was a blatant lie, because Dixie was probably the kinkiest
person I’d ever met. But Bick didn’t need to know that at this
delicate point in their relationship. I didn’t want to scare him
off too soon. Dixie could manage that all by herself at a later
stage.

I took the time while Heller and Farrell
continued to fight through the crush
to reach us, to bin my discriminating rubbish and
text Dixie quickly to let her know what Bick had bought and
planned. Her reply didn’t fill me with great confidence:
Woo hoo! Am I ever
going to ride that stallion tonight!!!

Oh dear.

“
Everything quiet, Barnes?”
snapped Heller, clearly not in
a good mood. Well, that made two of us.

“Totally,” Bick said, standing taller.

“Good. I see that those other people haven’t
turned up today.”

“Not so far.”

“
That’s good. I’m pleased.”

“Heller?” I asked.

“
Yes, my sweet? I’m rather busy today,” he
warned, checking his watch even though he’d only just
arrived.

I tugged on his sleeve and nodded to a
more distant, quieter spot. “Over here.”

He followed me and looked down with a
quizzical expression. “What is it, Matilda?”

“I want to know what happened last
night.”

He stared down at me for what seemed like
hours, his face growing blanker and blanker. “What do you mean?
Surely you haven’t forgotten about your massage? I certainly
haven’t. I’m feeling a little bruised today.”

“
Heller!
I’m not talking about that, and you know it! I’ve
been told Clive and you sorted out those PRON guys last night. What
did you do to them?”

“Matilda . . .”

“
Don’t
Matilda
me! I want to know if those men are still
alive.”

Our eyes clashed. He ended the battle by
abruptly signalling to Farrell, both of them moving away from me.
“I have to go. I have a meeting.”

“
Heller! Get back here and answer my
questions for once!” I shrieked pointlessly to his retreating back,
making everyone turn to stare at me.

My consequent bad mood followed me like a
little dark cloud for the rest of the day. If Bick hadn’t already
dreaded spending time with me today, he sure was by the time
Seductively
Sextravagant
finally
wrapped up for another year.

He’d
only been paid for up until he delivered Barb and Roger
safely back to their hotel room for the night, virtually chomping
at the bit to knock off work and head over to Dixie’s place with
his bags of goodies. Barb and Roger told me that they planned on
staying in the city a few days longer for a well-deserved holiday
before flying back to the UK, but this time they’d be on their own.
I wondered if they’d considered hiring their own security for their
remaining time here. In their shoes I would have worried about
retribution from PRON.

Closing
time arrived and centre security started shooing
out the straggling customers, while the booth holders packed up for
another year. Roger and Barb had proved to be a very successful
drawcard, both for the organisers and for themselves. They didn’t
have a single DVD left to pack up, so they handed over their cash
to the armed security guards who came especially to collect the
banking money. Though I imagined Barb and Roger had made a small
fortune during their four days, they confessed to looking forward
to just being tourists and fitting in some sightseeing. Barb also
confided her keen desire to change out of her outfit into something
more comfortable.

“
You don’t like wearing those kind of
clothes?” I asked in some surprise, after watching her spend the
last four days strutting her stuff in them.

“
God, no!” she laughed. “I’ve had a
king-sized wedgie all day in these tight shorts. They’re killing
me.”

“
And you would not believe how much my nuts
ache after being squeezed for hours in these tight pants,” chuckled
Roger.

Bick and I
glanced at each other, trying not to look so
startled by their honesty.

“You’re not really making it sound all that
glamorous,” I smiled for the first time since I’d spoken to
Heller.

“
It’s
not
glamorous, Tilly,” said Barb. “Like we said before, it’s
just a job. And it’s hard work sometimes. Like millions of other
jobs in the world.”

Garrett scurried up to them, almost
tripping over his profuse thanks for their appearance at
Seductively
Sextravagant
. He tried
for five valiant, yet futile, minutes to talk them into attending
the wrap party for the expo, but they declined, clearly wanting
nothing more than to get out of their uncomfortable clothes, and
more importantly, spend some quality time together. Thinking of
Heller again, I felt a pang witnessing their mutual happiness,
closeness and love.

“
Hey,” Bick nudged me, whispering. “Your
sad face is back again.”

“
They look so happy together,” I said
forlornly in a low voice. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get
married. I mean, I’m twenty-six. I’m going to end up single
forever.”

“Who cares these days? I hit the big three-oh
this year and I’m not married. Don’t worry about it.”

“
Thirty? Really? For some reason I always
thought you were younger than that.”

“
It must be my boyish good
looks.”

“
No, more like your immaturity.”

“
Hey, I’m the responsible adult here,
remember.”

“Then God help us all.”

Benjy, still in his costume,
waltzed past us and I called
him over, wishing him the best for his dancing career.

“Thanks!” he said. “I already have an
audition next week.”

“More genitalia?” asked Bick with a grin.

“
Not for a long time, trust me! No, this
will be a dream job – a two-week gig in schools for the Department
of Health to promote eating fruit and vegies in kids under twelve.
The ad said I’ll get to sing
and
dance.”

“Oh,” I said, bereft of words. “Make sure you
watch out for the costumes.”

“
Costumes?
The ad didn’t say anything about costumes.” He
looked at me, puzzled, for a moment until Mr Hairpiece snapped at
him for not being quicker to get out of his current lurid
costume.
The
poor guy didn’t know what he had coming
, I thought, wondering if Barnaby was still in
charge of those concerts.

As Bick had agreed to give me a lift back
to the Warehouse after dropping off Barb and Roger
for the last time, we headed to
the carpark in a group. I began to think longingly of the bathroom,
remembering with regret my giant-sized cola from lunch. And once I
started thinking about it, I couldn’t think of anything else, my
bladder pressing painfully on me. I wouldn’t be able to make it to
their hotel and home again.

“Hey, Bick, is it okay if I make a pit stop?
I had a huge drink for lunch.”

“
Girls!” he remarked disparagingly, rolling
his eyes. “Okay, we’ll meet you at the car, but don’t take too
long.”

“
Thanks, and I won’t,” I agreed gratefully.
I almost sprinted to the nearest bathroom, which was a bit of a
distance away, verging on desperate by the time a stall became
available. Afterwards, greatly relieved, I hastened past all the
booths being disassembled, cutting through the noisy crowd to the
VIP carpark to rejoin the other three.

Except . . .
they weren’t there.

I glanced around, confused. I’d agreed
with Bick to meet them at the car, and I was here, but where was
everyone else? I couldn’t spot the trio anywhere and it wasn’t as
though they were inconspicuous or anything. I didn’t quite know
what to do. I looked around me helplessly for a while again before
trying the doors of the 4WD. They were unlocked.
What the . .
.?
I thought.
Heller wouldn’t be
happy about that.
It was
then that I noticed the key in the ignition and Bick’s bags thrown
carelessly in the back, fallen over and spilling their lewd
contents. My stomach cramped with sudden fear.

I spun around, checking for them
anxiously. Where the hell were they? None of this looked good. I
reached in to my handbag to pull out my phone to call Heller when I
spotted something lying near the rear wheel of the vehicle. A
wallet. I leaned down to retrieve it and flipped it open. Bick’s
friendly face on his
Heller’s
staff
card smiled back at me. My heart froze in dread. Whatever had
happened to them, it hadn’t been voluntary. I had my phone out,
speed-dialling Heller, when a frightened young man approached me.
It took me a while to recognise him as Benjy, freed of the
encumbrance of the costume, but loaded down with apprehension
instead.

“
Benjy? Did you see something? What
happened to them? What happened to Bick?” I asked him, clasping his
upper arms and shaking him.