Dolphin-san: Again I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but I was away for new years, and then school started back practically right after that so I haven't managed to get on the laptop as often as I would have liked. I sort of rushed this chapter because I wanted it finished for yesterday, but my mum wanted on so I had to stop, like, half way through . . .

Ray: Will you just shut up and get on with it already?

Kai: Yeah, some of us actually want to see what's going on.

Dolphin-san: Gomen, mina. ; Anyway on with the story.

Chapter 12

'Yap yap,' said Ray when Takao arrived at the salon an hour later.

'I knew it.' Takao raised his eyebrow at Bev. 'He's finally gone barking.'

'God, you're slow,' Ray protested. 'It's Friday, isn't it? Tabitha day. You said I could be your guard dog.'

Tabitha Lester, known in the salon as Try-it-on Tabitha, had been a hugely successful actress back in the seventies. Now past er sell-by date but steadfastly refusing to admit it, she spent her days having face lifts and fat hovered out of her thighs, and her nights tottering along to film premieres on the arms of embarrassingly young men.

She also had a massive crush on Takao, who had once gone to her house alone and had barely escaped with his leather trousers intact. Since then, his regular trips to Tabitha's home in St John's Wood were strictly chaperoned, much to her disgust and his relief.

Ray loved going too. If Tabitha Lester was willing to pay silly money for a house call, he didn't mind at all. The house was vast and decorated in wonderfully over-the-top Hollywood style. They were always piled high with Hollywood-type food, and Tabitha – in an attempt to weaken Takao's defences – was forever opening bottles of pink champagne.

'I don't know why you don't sleep with her,' said Ray, feeling quite Hollywoody himself in the passenger seat of Takao's gleaming black Lotus. 'Just make a hash of it, be completely useless. Then she won't pester you any more.'

'Is that your bright idea for the day?'

'It's a brilliant suggestion!'

'Right.' Takao nodded. 'We're talking about the queen of the tabloids here. That'll do my reputation a world of good, won't it? I can just see the headline: "My quickie with Crimper Takao – a Wizard with Scissors, Crap in the Sack."'

'Yes, but no one would believe it,' Ray protested. Takao's partners tended to be seriously gorgeous models and he was generally regarded as one of London's most eligible bachelors.

When you were a gorgeous hairdresser – and a very successful one at that – well, you could do no wrong. You were officially a great catch.

'I'd rather not take that chance,' Takao remarked, 'if it's all the same to you.'

'Takao, you're looking wonderful as usual,' Tabitha exclaimed, greeting him on the doorstep. Drawing him inside, she confided, 'Do you know, I had the most amazing dream about you last night. Quite, quite naughty.' As she spoke, she winked at Ray and jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen. 'Darling, it's Cook's day off. There's a Charentais melon in the fridge, and a mountain of Parma ham. Why don't you help yourself while Takao and I head on upstairs?'

'Later,' Takao said firmly, meaning in half an hour when Tabitha's hair was shrouded in foil and she couldn't pounce on him. 'I need Ray to help me get started.'

'Yap yap,' Ray murmured as the three of them trailed up the staircase, Tabitha clutching an unopened bottle of champagne in one hand and the hem of her sea-green negligee in the other.

For someone with five walk-in wardrobes stuffed with clothes, Tabitha appeared to spend an awful lot of her time wafting about in see-through nighties.

The master bedroom had been redecorated since Ray's last visit, the ankle-deep turquoise shag pile having been replaced by ankle-deep ivory shag pile. The wallpaper, ivory and gold, matched the damask hangings artfully draped around the four-poster bed.

'This is nice.' Glancing inadvertently upwards, Ray saw that the mirror was still there on the ceiling.

'I know.' Tabitha smiled meaningfully across at Takao. 'I've got great taste. Oh, sorry, darling,' she went on as Ray pulled out a chair and something metallic half buried in the carpet went clunk. 'Just pop them in that drawer, will you? Good boy.'

As he dropped the slim but efficient-looking gold handcuffs into the drawer, Ray didn't dare look at Takao. If he did, he knew he would burst out laughing. Biting his lip and gazing out of the window instead, he watched a bronzed figure in black shorts dive into the swimming pool below.

Although he was some distance away, Ray couldn't help thinking he looked familiar.

'Ray, put some towels down around the chair,' Takao instructed. 'We don't want bleach on the carpet.'

A second splash heralded the arrival of another figure, paler than the first, and wearing multicoloured trunks. By the look of things, Tabitha had found herself a couple of toyboys.

'Ray. Towels.'

'For heaven's sake, Takao, give the boy a break,' Tabitha chided good-naturedly. 'He's just admiring my young friends.'

'Sorry, Takao.' Ray tore himself away. He was sure he'd seen the one in black shorts somewhere before.

'Relax. Don't let him bully you.' Tabitha settled herself comfortably on the chair.

Takao, laying out the contents of his case, raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

'You're kidding. Ray bullies me.'

'Oh, I love a man who knows his place,' Tabitha said with a smirk. The kind of smirk that signified, especially when he's handcuffed to a four-poster.

'Foil, please, Ray.' Takao was beginning to sound slightly desperate.

'Come on, let's open this first.' Patting his arm in a soothing manner, Tabitha handed him the bottle, managing to brush her wrist against his thigh en route. 'You do the honours. Popping the cork is a man's job.' She winked again, saucily, at Ray. 'Poor Takao, all on edge this morning. He looks as if he could do with a drink.'

Retouching Tabitha's bombshell-blonde highlights took three-quarters of an hour. By the time the last few greying roots had been painstakingly painted and wrapped in foil, the furious growls emanating from Ray's stomach had reached bear-like proportions.

'Go on, run downstairs and get some food inside you.' Waving her empty glass at Takao, Tabitha indicated that she was in need of a refill.

Ray glanced at Takao, who nodded. For the next twenty minutes he was safe; even Try-it-on Tabitha wouldn't risk dislodging the dozens of little foil packets and wrecking her hair.

Besides, if Ray didn't eat soon they were going to need earplugs.

The kitchen door, leading onto the sun terrace, was open. As Ray crouched in front of the fridge, drooling at the sight of Parma ham, marinated mushrooms and punnets of strawberries, he could hear the sounds of shouts and splashing outside in the pool.

He was carrying a ciabatta loaf and the Charentais melon over to the table when a wolf-whistle behind him made him jump. Twisting around, he lost his grip on the melon, which slid out of his hands and went bowling across the floor.

'Hey, great idea!' It was the paler of the two men Ray had seen from the window earlier. Scooping it up, he grinned at Ray. 'Water polo!'

'You can't take that melon,' Ray protested. 'Tabitha just asked me to cut it up –'

'I am a representative of the Melon Liberation Front,' the intruder declaimed, spinning it basketball-style on the tip of his index finger. 'This melon' – dripping water all over the tiled floor, he began to back away – 'shall Be Free!'

He was out of the door in a flash. Ray, who had spent the last hour dreaming of melon, skidded across the wet floor after him.

Racing on to the terrace, he was just in time to see the melon go flying through the air. It landed with a splash in the pool and was promptly leapt on by the other man. Shaking his purple hair out of his eyes, he held the melon triumphantly aloft.

'Don't let her have it,' yelled his friend. 'She's a murderer.'

'Look,' Ray tried to sound reasonable, 'you can't play water polo with a melon.'

'We aren't playing water polo,' said the purple haired one, 'we're playing watermelon.'

Grinning broadly, he lobbed it over Ray's head, where it was neatly caught by his friend. Ray, beginning to feel stupid, moved towards him.

The melon flew over his head once more.

'Look, you can play too if you like,' the purple haired one offered. 'You can be on my team.'

He was by far the better-looking of Tabitha's two toyboys. What was more, he was still tantalisingly familiar. If his hair wasn't plastered to his head and he had clothes on, Ray thought, he was sure he'd recognise him.

'Do I know you?'

'Of course you do. I'm the other half of your watermelon team. Come on,' he said persuasively, 'jump in. The water's fantastic.'

'Look, I'd love to play watermelon with you' – Ray was still trying to humour him – 'but I just can't.'

Big mistake.

'No such thing as can't!' The one in the multicoloured trunks, having loomed up behind him, lobbed the melon back into the water. Grabbing Ray around the waist, he lifted him into his arms and raced to the edge of the pool.

Right up to the last second, Ray was convinced he'd stop.

He didn't.

With a monumental splash, they landed together in the deep end. Ray shuddered as the icy water caused every cell in his body to contract with shock.

By the time he had swam back to the surface, the better-looking toyboy was treading water next to him.

'Well, that's a relief. For a minute there I thought you couldn't swim.' His grey eyes were alight with laughter, his tone conversational. 'Thought I was going to have to rescue you.'

He was still clutching the melon. Ray made a grab for it.

'Oh dear, I can see I need to explain the rules of watermelon to you.' Effortlessly, he whisked it out of Ray's reach. 'You see, we're on the same side. You're meant to tackle the opposition, not me.'

Ray's teeth began to chatter. Keeping afloat fully clothed was no picnic either.

'This p-pool isn't heated. You l-lied to me.'

'I didn't.' He grinned, his teeth Persil-white against his tanned face. 'I told you the water was fantastic, I didn't say anything about it being warm.'

'I am going to get in so much trouble for this.' Ray glanced fearfully up at Tabitha's bedroom window. No sign of Takao's outraged face, thank goodness.

'Oh, come on, you're in now.' Ray's team-mate held the melon towards him in an enticing fashion. 'Just one game.'

'I've got my shoes on.'

'Take them off.'

'I'm still wearing all my clothes!'

He didn't say anything, just grinned at Ray. His eyes were extraordinary, Ray realised now that he was close enough to tell, an intense grey-white with silver flecks.

'Hey, you two! Are we playing watermelon or not?'

The one in the multicoloured shorts had by this time clambered out of the pool. 'Over here!' he bellowed, pointing to his forehead.

'Don't!' Ray clapped both hands over his eyes as his team-mate took aim. 'You'll knock him unconscious.'

'Nothing knocks Tala unconscious.'

He was right. The melon came off worse. The force of the impact split it in half, and seeds and juice exploded in all directions like shrapnel.

'Ouch,' said Tala, scooping a lump of orange melon flesh off his shoulder and popping it in his mouth.

'You killed it,' Ray said sorrowfully. 'I'm reporting you to the MLF.'

'Too late,' murmured his playing partner as Takao appeared on the terrace. 'Looks like they're already here.'

Dolphin-san: Lols. Watermelon is a fun game to play you know. You should all try it some time. Trying to catch a melon when you can't move very fast is not only funny to try, but hilarious to watch! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the story so far. Please review if you do! Your reviews are what keep me happy!