Cupid's Contract

Like Riding A Bike

Barbara cleared her throat with a clunking cough.

"I was supposed to be reading people's fortunes today, using my deck of magic cards, but someone has persuaded me to try something a little bit more exciting." Her eyes darted nervously about until they found Eve's, and then Barbara took a deep calming breath. "My daughter will be very unhappy about this, but today I am going to breathe fire. Sorry, love."

Eve could have been toppled with a feather.

She was going to bloody breathe bloody fire? Not on her watch!

Eve started to push through the crowd, shoving a matronly looking woman as she forced her way towards the front. She was almost at the stage, Roxy not far behind her, when someone grabbed her hand, tugging her back.

"Eve!" Veronica was whispering shockingly loud, her face stern. "What are you doing? You just tackled an old woman!"

Wincing at Ronnie's tight grip, Eve retorted, "My idiot mother won't even get to be an old woman at this rate! She couldn't even shuffle a deck of cards! So she's naturally going to play with fire on a ridiculously flammable stage."

"Oh calm down, you worry warts! She's a completely capable adult!"

"She burns toast regularly. We had to throw away all the hairdryers because she singed a curtain trying to get a curly blow-dry."

It was Ron's turn to wince. "Ok, but that's the hardest of all the blow-drys. Everyone knows that."

Eve resisted to urge to shake her friend. Partially because Veronica was sporting a particularly lovely curly blow-dry of her own, and it'd be a shame to waste it via manslaughter.

"Look, leave it a few minutes. Look, that doctor chap is with her! Give her a chance!"

Eve glared up at the stage, and sure enough, in a silly little outfit of his own, was Edwin.

Such a shame, really, because she'd just been starting to like the chap. Now he was dead to her, spiritually, and more than likely he would actually be dead by the time this stunt was finished.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Carroll, for those of you who don't know me. I was thoroughly against this act last year, but it's recently come to my attention that I should be more trusting and, perhaps, less of a turd. Just in case that's a genetic condition." His eyes also found Eve's, and she felt her face move into a reluctant smile.

"Now, don't worry, this is all perfectly safe. We have fire extinguishers on hand, but that is just a safety precaution." He nodded with such certainty that Eve felt her shoulders relax out of their hunch.

For a second.

Then there was another hand on her remaining free hand. She whipped down to look at the big warm hand clasping hers, and then reluctantly followed it up the long tanned forearms to the broad shoulder. By the time she reached Drew's face she was terrified all over again.

God was he going to swoop again? Now? In front of everyone?

He leaned in, his face close to hers, and she involuntarily leaned in too...

"Do we have fire extinguishers?" He muttered as unobtrusively as possible, the words hidden behind a smile and anxious eyes.

Eve's lips unpuckered and she grimaced. "Er... yes?"

"Eve. Do we have fire extinguishers in case your mother lights the whole stage on fire?"

Wrenching her hand from his, she scowled. "She knows what she's doing, Andrew. She's not a moron! She's a perfectly capable adult human."

The statement would've gone down a bit better if Barbara hadn't chosen that moment to speak up.

"Ok, everyone take a step back, because I'm a little rusty. But I'm sure this is like riding a bike!" She giggled maniacally at his moment, and the crowd leaned away in a synchronised movement worthy of the Olympics. "Cavemen have been making fire for centuries, what could go wrong?"

Eve gulped audibly and Andrew's soothing hand wrapped around her's again.

Barbara's voice echoed across the utterly silent crowd. "Anybody got a light?"