Beautiful Beast (Gypsy Heroes)

‘Absolutely.’

I looked at her gratefully. ‘Thank you so much, Kim. I was a bit scared of how I was going to cope, but now you’ve made it all so easy and such fun.’

She grinned good-naturedly. ‘Don’t thank me. I’m using you as bait. In order to get to you they’re going to have to buy me some free drinks too.’

‘You don’t need me to attract a man, Kim,’ I said sincerely. ‘You’re really attractive.’

‘Yeah, I’m not ugly, but I’m no beauty. I know that.’

‘You are beautiful in my eyes. You have a beautiful soul,’ I said, and she smiled back at me.

That night we got ready. I didn’t have anything sexy enough so Kim lent me her pink mini-dress. It was made of Lycra and clung to every curve. I stood in front of the mirror uncertainly.

‘You look amazing,’ she said.

‘You don’t think I look too slutty?’

‘You couldn’t look slutty if you tried, babe,’ she said. ‘You have more class in your little finger than Kim Kardashian has in her whole body.’

She got into a backless orange dress, which set off her dark hair. I helped her put a fake tattoo on her back. Then we were both ready. She looked me up and down.

‘You look great. Really great.’

‘So do you.’

‘Thanks, Snow.’

And so we went out. First we went to a pub. We had many offers, but Kim was very protective of me. Whenever it seemed someone was getting too familiar, she pulled me away. I had two glasses of white wine and I was already feeling a bit tipsy.

‘I hate to be a killjoy, but I really have to get back,’ I said.

‘No, no, you’ll sober up after we eat some food. The real fun hasn’t even started yet. You have to come to this club. It’s so awesome. Even celebrities go there.’

‘Can’t we go tomorrow?’

‘No, we’re out now. Remember, ladies’ night. Come on. It’ll be fun. I promise. Please, please?’

‘All right,’ I relented.

She started jumping on the spot. ‘Thank you.’

So we left the pub and went down the road to a kebab shop. Kim had a burger and I got myself a chicken kebab. Kim insisted on paying for everything.

‘My treat, remember?’ she said.

W sat on high chairs facing the glass windows and ate our meals. And as men passed on the street, they looked in and gawked at us. We laughed back at them and I swear that at that moment I never had the slightest inkling of what awaited just a few hours away. Not a clue. All I felt was a sense of freedom. I was in England and I was doing what I wanted to do. I knew I had made the right decision to leave India. My new life in England stretched out full of excitement and promise.

After we ate, we took a taxi. From the outside, the club did not look glamorous at all. It was tucked away on one of the small streets off Earl’s Court road, but I couldn’t find my way back there when I tried many months later.

There were two bouncers standing outside. As Kim had said, it was free for women that night so we sailed through. By then it was half past eleven. It was in the basement so we went down some stone steps into a small cramped area that was lit by red lights. A bored woman taking money off some guys barely glanced at us as we went through a black door into the club.

There was a dancing area and a few people were rubbing up each other, but mostly people were in dark corners making out.

‘Come on,’ Kim said, pulling me by the hand to the bar. As my eyes got used to the dark, I realized that the place was mostly full of men. There was no one our age. Both the men and women seemed to be decades older. And there were definitely no celebrities. The place could be described in one word. Seedy.

I looked at Kim, surprised. ‘This is it?’

She tapped her nose. ‘They come incognito. Wait until a bit later. For the meantime look at that guy checking you out.’ A man with grey in his hair was staring at me. When he saw me looking back at him he smiled and nodded. And I don’t know why I felt the hairs at the back of my neck rise in fear. I turned back quickly to Kim.