The California Club Read Online Free Page A

I'd be more in the swing of things,' she notes. 'Of course it's irrelevant, really …'
    'Why's that?'
    'Well, seeing as I'm about to get discovered by Hollywood!' She does a little twirl and I giggle back at her.
    Zoë stops short of the line at Passport Control and turns to face me.
    'It could happen, couldn't it?' There's genuine hankering in her voice.
    I look into her maxi-lashed eyes and smile. 'Why not?'
     
     
    Why is it so hot in airports? I can't believe Elise stayed wrapped up the whole time we were in line – I guess it's not just her eyes that are made of flint. I juggle my bags and coat and bottle of water as we approach the security check.
    'You go first, Zo,' I nod ahead, still in a tangle.
    Zoë steps forward through the archway, instantly setting off the bleeper.
    'Bugger!’
    Retreating, she clunks her charm bracelet and fake Gucci watch into the plastic tray then tries again.
    It bleeps again.
    'Do you think it's my belt buckle?' She rattles her midriff.
    'Worth a try,' I shrug.
    She tugs her belt through the loops of her Earl jeans and coils it into the tray.
    Still she bleeps.
    The security man beckons her over and, starting at her heels, strokes her aura with his bleeper-wand, mentally eliminating possible causes as he goes – no steel toecaps, ankle chains, pins holding her knees in place following a serious netball injury, no bellybutton ornamentation and definitely no nipple rings – he lingers a while to make absolutely sure and moves on with visible disappointment. As soon as the wand reaches ear level it bleats frantically.
    Zoë raises her hand to her scalp in confusion, then blanches and looks back to me with an, 'Oh god!' expression.
    I frown back a 'What?'
    She's already removed her earrings and unless she's had a ton of rapper-style gold caps since I saw her last I can't imagine what it could be.
    She leans forward and whispers to the security man. Behind me the line gets impatient. The security man shakes his head and sends her back through to my side of the arch.
    'I can't believe it!' Zoë hisses. 'Is he looking?'
    'Who?'
    'The stud.'
    I turn back to check on the one good-looking guy in the line. Everyone's looking.
    'No,' I lie. 'What's wrong?'
    'I got these new hair extensions, you just clip them in place at your roots …' Discreetly she lifts a flap of hair and reveals one of the troublesome metal grips.
    'He's not making you take them out?' I gasp.
    She nods again.
    'No!' I cry, giving the security man a stern look but he remains resolute.
    As the next person in line is summoned, I help Zoë molt.
    'Just bend the clips back on themselves and they'll pop open,' she instructs me.
    Poor Zoë. She's no stranger to striptease but this is humiliating in the extreme.
    I sneak a peek at the stud. He's making no attempt to disguise his disgust. I give him a withering look and wish him halitosis and a lifetime of uncomfortable shoes. As he reaches for a dish to offload his pocketful of coins, one of the grips catches on his sleeve. I go to grab it back but he's too quick for me and strides on through the arch.
    Beep-beep-beep!
    The security man points to the cause and the stud freaks, batting it off like a hairy caterpillar and stamping it into the carpet. Then, instead of doing the decent thing and picking it up and returning it to Zoë, he simply grabs his rucksack off the conveyor belt and heads straight for Costa Coffee.
    Zoë looks crushed.
    'I thought you were saving yourself for Will Smith,' I remind her.
    Zoë brightens. 'He'd laugh at this, wouldn't he?'
    I nod. 'He'd just give you a big grin and say, "You'd make bald look good!",
    'Yeah!' she high-fives me.
    ‘That's the last one.' I hand Zoë a scarlet streak last seen on the Little Mermaid.
    She fluffs her remaining hair, now shrunk up to her jaw, and sighs. 'I feel like one of those dolls with hair that grows, only in reverse.'
    I take her arm and whisper, 'You still look discoverable!'
    'Thanks!' she smiles, bravely.
    For