Just a Fling (3 page)

“We look hot, baby girl,” Nicole said,
moving forward to slap Eva’s ass.

Eva yelped at the impact and made a face.
She had to admit that they did look good together. If she was
interested in getting a man, she was more than confident she could
do so. Should she? It did seem like a waste to come all this way
and not enjoy
everything
the island had to offer...
I’ll
wait until after I’ve had a drink or two to decide,
she thought
to herself. “Alright, Nicole. Let’s make this a week to remember,”
she declared. She slung a beach towel around her shoulders and
headed for the door.

It was a hunting ground. Lust flowed freely
in the late hours on the beach. Music and liquor coursed through
the bodies of the young people. They gladly allowed the fall of
their inhibitions, completely forgetting the lives they had come
from. Andreas hated it out here.

“Man, is it just me or does the ass get
finer every year?” said an upbeat masculine voice.

Andreas shrugged his shoulders casually. “I
think it’s more likely that your standards get lower every year,”
he replied back coolly. He glared at his younger brother for a
moment before his face broke out into a grin.

“You cheeky bastard,” said Tyler, clapping
his brother on the back. “I forgot that you’re too good for this
crowd. You pride yourself on being high and mighty with your empty
bed.”

“No. I just don’t pride myself on quantity,”
Andreas said as his eyes scanned the crowd of gyrating tourists. He
could never understand the need to pump one’s body full of drugs or
alcohol to have a good time. If his brother had not begged him to
be his wingman, he surely would have found something better to
do.

“Alright, Sex Guru,” Tyler said with a
mocking bow. “Your sage wisdom has gotten you how many lasting
relationships?” He already knew the answer, but never missed an
opportunity to rub it in.

“Don’t go there, little bro,” Andreas said
with a narrowing of his eyes. At times, Andreas wondered whether
he’d avoid talking to Tyler altogether if he hadn’t been a blood
relative. The younger man’s views on sexual conquest bothered him
greatly, not to mention Tyler’s insistent use of his failed
relationship to justify screwing around.

“Maybe if you told women what you do, you’d
get more dates,” his brother said, lifting his eyebrows
suggestively.

“Have you no shame?” Andreas asked with a
small growl. The idea of using the money and business he inherited
from the death of their parents to score with women was repulsive,
not to mention stupid.

“None,” Tyler said with a sly grin. “So, I’m
going to go fuck some nubile college girl on spring break. You go
look for that special connection,” he said mockingly, “and meet
back here when no one lives up to your ridiculous standards.” He
walked off, beer in hand, eager to sate his hunger.

Andreas scowled at his brother’s words as he
stood alone in the crowd of people. He would never admit it, but he
did sometimes wonder if his younger brother was right. He did have
high standards that often resulted in loneliness and bitterness.
Sometimes he did remind himself that life was short, and he should
probably try talking to women. But the terrible experiences in his
past made him wary and guarded. He promised himself long ago that
he would never lower his standards. Not even if it meant being
alone forever. The unpleasant concept gave him a bit of a morbid
shiver.

It was in this moment of self-pity that he
heard a sweet voice among the partying crowd. His eyes scanned the
area until he found the source of the musical tones.

Two women were walking close to him to get
to the bar. One wore a blue bikini that only just barely covered
her large bust. Her hair was shoulder-length and dark, and her eyes
flashed a brilliant green in the fading light.

“Come on, girl! Have a shot!” the woman in
blue shouted at her friend.

Her voice was shrill and piercing, and he
concluded that it wasn’t her. His eyes drifted to her friend. His
brow arched as he studied the more demure-looking woman. Her modest
red bikini encased her well-formed breasts. She had long blonde
hair, the color inspiring images of a lioness. Her eyes were hidden
behind sunglasses and he longed to peer into those orbs.

“Don’t rush me,” the woman in red snapped
back. “You know how I hate shots.”

She was the source of the sweet voice that
had caught his attention. Even when angry, her voice was soft and
gentle. Andreas smiled to himself as he watched the pair banter
back and forth in a way not dissimilar to his own relationship with
his brother.

“Alright, alright. Just have some fun with
me already,” the woman in blue said softly. She smiled at her
friend broadly as the shots were poured and eagerly handed the
glass to her friend.

“I am having fun, see?” the woman in red
reached for the shot and threw the amber liquid down her throat.
Her face contorted in discomfort, obviously not used to liquor.
“This is me, having fun. Happy?” she said irritably, taking a seat
at one of the bar stools.

“Oh, Eva,” her friend said, smiling with
pride. “That’s what I’m talking about. Let all those hours of
studying drown away as you become inebriated with god’s greatest
gift. Rum.” Her friend started giggling madly as she drank her
liquor a little more eagerly.

“Nicole, did you just go to school just to
figure out fancy ways to say ‘shitfaced’?” Eva asked with a
smirk.

“No, I went to college for the abundance of
cock and alcohol. Learning how to speak fancy was just a happy
byproduct of my environment,” Nicole said shamelessly.

Eva removed her sunglasses and her bright
blue eyes scowled at her friend. “You know what? I’m not even going
to justify that with a response,” she said and shook her head
irritably. “Just don’t get pregnant.”

The sight of Eva’s eyes stunned Andreas and
he was glad he hadn’t gone to introduce himself yet. He’d be a
nervous wreck. He chuckled to himself as they went on; the
unabashed sexuality of Nicole amused him greatly, but Eva’s words
captivated him. The level of confidence that she used to handle her
friend’s behavior was to be admired. But there was something in the
way that she carried herself that drew his eyes to her body. He
found himself imagining what it would be like to sink his fingers
into her flesh.

He cleared his throat at the sudden image
and walked around to the other side of the bar to order himself a
shot. He needed something to steady his nerves. Even though he knew
that he was fairly attractive, he still felt shy when approaching a
girl. Like Tyler said, he had ridiculous standards, and he knew
that any women that interested him was a woman not to be taken
lightly.

“On the prowl, Andreas?” the bartender asked
him with a sly smile.

Andreas shook his head and returned the
smile out of politeness. “You know me, James. I don’t prowl. Tyler
asked me to be his wingman,” he said with irritation.

“Oh yeah, where is that boy anyway?” the
bartender asked as he poured the shot into a small glass and slid
it to Andreas.

“Off… prowling. I guess he didn’t need me to
be his wingman after all,” Andreas said as he accepted the shot.
After a brief moment of hesitation he downed the liquid all in one
go. Just like the girl he was admiring, he also wasn’t used to
drinking heavily. But he figured that it was a good time to be
bolder than usual.

James laughed and picked up a glass to idly
clean in an attempt to appear busy. “Don’t be too hard on him. I
think he just wants you to get over Marissa. This was just another
lame excuse to get you out of that damn castle.”

Andreas canted his head to the side and
gripped his glass at the mention of her name. His nostrils flared
uncontrollably. “Does everyone know about that?”

“We’re on an island,” James said as if that
explained everything.

“Right.” Andreas sat down on a stool,
feeling defeated. Almost uncontrollably, his eyes wandered back
over to Eva and her friend.

James noticed this and nudged Andreas’ arm
gently. “Go talk to her man,” he said encouragingly, “you know what
they say. You can’t get over heartbreak until you’ve met someone
else.”

Andreas sighed and lifted his shoulders in a
shrug of surrender. He knew that James was right. If he wanted to
meet someone, he couldn’t stay locked up in his home and surround
himself with work. He needed to take charge of his life the same
way he took charge of the casinos and hotels in the area that his
father had left him. “Give me another shot,” he said, turning to
James with determination.

It took another three shots and Eva’s friend
walking away for him to finally gather the courage to approach her.
The girls had moved to the dance floor, and he was becoming more
and more mesmerized by watching the sway of Eva’s body. It was too
difficult to keep away anymore. He stood up from his stool and
strode the distance with confidence fueled by alcohol. He gazed at
her shapely thighs as she danced in the sand, her body flowing with
the music that filled the air. He actually stopped his walk to
watch her for just a little longer, before he interrupted her good
time with what he imagined might be an unwanted advance.

Eva downed her sixth shot. She was very much
a lightweight—under normal circumstances, anything stronger than
wine was out of the question. But these were not normal
circumstances. The cool air and damp sand squirmed under her toes.
The Caribbean sunset in the darkening sky, along with the energy
from the other people dancing around her, inspired a wild streak
she didn’t know she had. When Nicole approached her with two drinks
in her hands, Eva grabbed hers and pounded it back easily. The
burning of the alcohol was less now than when she started.

“God damn, girl!” Nicole shouted over the
music of the outdoor bar.

“What?” Eva slurred with a mad grin on her
face. She was enjoying the feeling of the soft sand in between her
toes as she danced without restraint. The pulsing music filled her
ears and she allowed her body to bend and twirl with the beat. Now
that she had consumed far more than her limit, she began to take
notice of the men on the beach. Even some of the women caught her
eye. “Isn’t this what you told me to do—have fun?” she said with a
laugh.

“I guess so. Be right back. I’ll get you
some water,” Nicole said with a soft smile. She was glad that Eva
was having a good time. In the six years that they had known one
another, she had never seen Eva drink so heavily. She couldn’t help
worrying a little.

Eva hardly noticed her friend’s departure as
she continued to move with the music. She placed her hands in her
hair, feeling the sensuality of the beat throbbing in her core. She
felt alive. She felt more at ease than she could remember feeling
in the longest time. She continued to let the music blissfully
carry her away, and she even closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation
more. She was startled when her foot sunk into a dip in the sand,
and her ankle twisted. She gasped as she lost her balance.

She immediately tensed up, expecting the
impending impact with the sand. Surely gravity would have its way
with her and she would feel the embarrassing impact of the earth
smacking her in the face. It never came. Her eyes opened slowly and
she found herself supported by strong, masculine arms. Her eyes
traveled up to look into the face of her savior. His features were
powerful, yet still young. A pair of deep hazel-green eyes reminded
her of soft algae, but his jaw line could have been chiseled from
stone. His nose curved slightly, giving him an almost hawk-like
appearance. His sandy blond hair was parted to one side. As he
looked upon her, his full lips formed a half smirk.