‘No, she’s on tour in the States.’
‘I can’t believe I’m in the 1980s, and I don’t even get to meet Madonna!’ I say with a pout. ‘Can’t you magic her here for an hour or something?’
Sebastian laughs. ‘No!’ He takes my elbow and tugs me along the wall. ‘Let’s focus on finding Rach. I’ve spotted one of my devil friends already, so we should keep moving.’
‘Who?’
He leans in close. ‘Best if you don’t know,’ he says, his lips brushing my ear, and I get a whiff of his musky smoke aftershave. My stomach dips. Oh, why does he always smell so good? With an effort, I push aside my desire to hump Sebastian against the gold lamé, even if I get the feeling he’d be up for it.No, Jade, we’re here on a mission!
I can’t see either Rach or Tommy in the crowd, and I’m being diligent. But I do get a bit distracted when I spot Boy George and the girls from Bananarama, which is a bit thrilling.
Then when we’re halfway around the perimeter of the ballroom, I feel a strong presence at my side. I turn to find a guy in a billowy white satin shirt and leather drainpipe trousers skulking next to me. He looks like a vampire poet: deathly pale, scarlet lipstick bleeding into the edges of his mouth, straggly black hair teased like a halo around his head.
‘Wanna dance?’ he slurs. ‘It’s “Tainted Love”.’
‘No thanks!’ I step back quickly. He’s obviously drunk or high on drugs from the way he’s swaying.
The guy flinches like I’ve wounded him deeply, then shrugs. ‘Suit yourself.’ He melts away behind a mirrored column.
‘Jesus,’ I say, collecting my wits. ‘What a freak.’
I turn back to find Sebastian shaking against the wall.
‘What?’ I demand. ‘Why are you laughing?’
‘That was Robert Smith from The Cure!’ he chokes out. ‘He’s, like,reallyfamous.’
I shudder. ‘I don’t care who he is. He’s off his white-foundationed face. And did you see his hair?’
Sebastian gives a gasping snort, his eyes streaming.
‘I’m glad I amuse you,’ I say, half laughing myself. ‘But we’re here to find Rach, remember? And I don’t think she’s in the ballroom. I bet Tommy’s lured her into one of the bedrooms upstairs. It’s the sort of thing he’d do.’
Sebastian shakes his head. ‘You really don’t have a high opinion of your father, do you?’
‘He tried to seduce his own daughter. So no, I don’t. Let’s go.’
30
SEBASTIAN
I’mstillchucklingasI follow Jade, then my smile vanishes when I spot Annie Lennox, in a suit and tie, dancing with Diablo Fuego. Shit!
I wait until his back is turned and scuttle out of the ballroom. Hopefully, he hasn’t spotted me. But I should probably warn Annie not to get too cosy with him. Diablo is a wicked negotiator.
Jade is waiting for me impatiently. ‘Come on! I could be being conceived as we speak!’
She hurries to the stairs and waves her hands at Ash, who’s deep in conversation with a bespectacled guy. Ash shakes his head and says something, but she hauls him up the stairs by his shirt collar. He looks a bit shocked but seems to grasp there’s an urgency to her actions.
I lose sight of them briefly when a group of people surge down the stairs, but I overhear someone saying that there’s an altercation with a crazy girl upstairs and that the cops might come.
I groan inwardly. What’s Jade doing? She’s going to force me into transporting us out of here so she doesn’t get arrested. Pushing my way up the stairs, I see a small group hanging around one of the doors to the left. Jade is pounding on the door, which appears to be locked. Ash is hovering and looking embarrassed.
‘Is Tommy in there?’ I ask a girl in a multicoloured neon jumpsuit and so much Day-Glo blusher it makes my eyes hurt.
‘Apparently,’ she says, sucking on a cigarette and not seeming too concerned. ‘We heard a woman scream a while ago, but it’s been quiet since then, and Tommy hasn’t opened the door. Not sure I would either if that was waiting for me...’ She indicates Jade, red-faced and slamming the door with her fists and yelling, ‘Tommy! Get your ass out here!’
A few people snicker, and I know they think she’s a deranged groupie. I intervene quickly before she ends up in tomorrow’s papers.