“What?” Maureen peered over Meredith’s shoulder with curiosity at her sudden silence, then said, “Oh,” as she took in what appeared to be Jill caught feeling up the superstar.
“Sorry,” Jill said, retracting her hand as Claire flushed with embarrassment. “I was…er…talking to Brad. What is it Magda was saying?”
Meredith hesitated, exchanging a glance with Maureen, then she grabbed Jill’s arm and pulled her several feet away. The three women went into a huddle and began to whisper in earnest.
Claire shook her head, wondering if this night would ever end. As abruptly as it had started, the huddle broke apart. Meredith and Maureen threw Claire/Brad almost leering smiles as they rushed off back toward the gymnasium.
“Well?” Claire asked as Jill returned to her side. “What did they say?”
“That Magda kissed you in the women’s washroom and felt you up and you had no package.”
“Shoot. I was afraid of that.” Claire sighed. “What did you say?”
“That Magda was just jealous. That she dragged you into the bathroom, threw herself at you, kissed you and you said she was a lousy kisser and gave her the brush off and she’s jealous so she’s spreading false stories.”
“Smart,” Claire said with a smile.
“Yeah. It helps that Brad Cruise did that full frontal nudity scene in the British movie he did last year. There was a definite package there.”
Claire blinked. “That was like a split second on the screen, too fast to see anything.”
“You’ve never heard of pause?” Jill asked, arching one eyebrow.
“You paused it to see him nude?” she asked with disbelief.
“Me and twenty million other women. Why do you think the DVD sold so well?”
“Dear God,” Claire muttered. “I am so seeing a side of you I didn’t know about.”
“Sure you knew about it,” Jill countered. “You know me better than anyone. Maybe it’s just different because you’re a guy now. Kind of.”
“Could be.” Claire sighed and promised herself she would never again slag men for being pigs. Women could be just as bad. “Now that the crisis is handled, can I change back into me?”
“Yeah, go on.”
Claire turned back to the men’s room with relief, only to stiffen as she noted the door was cracked open. As she stared, it opened the rest of the way, revealing the man who had been listening to everything.
“Kyle!” Claire squawked and then covered her mouth with horror at having given the gig away.
Kyle arched his eyebrows sternly, but merely said, “I find it hard to believe that neither of you thought to check to see if you were alone in the bathroom before talking so freely. Anyone might have heard you.”
“But how did you get here?” Jill asked with dismay. “We left you at the table.”
“I followed.”
“When? I didn’t see you,” Jill said with bewilderment.
“You were busy talking to Ted when I slipped by. Telling him you weren’t interested in his offer to start dating again,” he added dryly.
“He had the balls to ask you out again?” Claire asked with amazement, then smiled. “So you got to be the dumper after all.”
“It wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be,” Jill told her morosely. “Really, he turned out to be a major greaseball.”
Claire started to pat her back in sympathy, then gave a startled bleat as Kyle suddenly tugged her into the men’s room.
“Hey!” Jill followed them, but Kyle just dragged Claire into a booth and slammed the door in his sister’s face.
“Would you care to explain?” he asked as he bolted the door.
Claire opened her mouth, but he forestalled her by saying, “On second thought, don’t bother. I heard enough to understand. I gather the destabilizer had an effect after all?”
“Did it!” Jill snorted from outside the booth even as Claire nodded.
Kyle tossed a glare toward the door, but merely asked, “More than the chameleon effect?”
“Yes,” Claire said reluctantly. “I can shape-shift.”
“I take it you discovered this while I was at the grocery store?”
Claire nodded again.
“And you didn’t tell me when I came back.”
Claire eyed him warily. Kyle’s expression was blank; no emotion showing at all, but there was something in his voice that suggested he wasn’t at all happy.
“Why?” he finally asked, allowing his anger to now show.
“Because she didn’t want you to see her as a lab rat,” Jill answered from outside the booth when Claire hesitated.