Free Beautiful Disaster (The Bet) by Francette Phal Page B

money and a whole lot of power. That was about as much as she knew and it didn't seem like Nicholas was too amped to share anything with anyone anytime soon.
    The only person she could say he was even remotely close to was Matt Bates. They had a relationship that some would consider to be the very best. And Evey kne w Matt had a thing for Nicholas. T oo bad for him, Nicholas didn't crunch dick. He ate pussy though, real well too. Tonight, it didn't seem like he would return the favor, but Evey wasn't too worried. With a small smile, she stood, searched and found her designer handbag and made her way out the door. "I'll see you at school, Nicky. Give a kiss to Ellie for me."
    He'd call again. Nicholas always called her when he needed to unload.
     

 
    "Fucking bitch." Nicholas muttered minutes after the front door closed shut. He stepped out of the bathroom with his face dripping wet as he headed to the bedroom and found a towel to dab his face. He should've known better than to invite her over. Another stupid decision brought on by the unexpected call from his mother earlier today. He threw the towel on the bed, stripped off his t-shirt and tossed it in the same vicinity as the towel.
    He hadn't spoken to his mother in nearly a year. She'd randomly called today , to ask him to dinner tomorrow night, with her new pet in tow. He had yet to call her with an answer, which should have naturally been no, but like a fool, he'd told her he'd think about it. Thinking about it only managed to raise his blood pressure.
    He grabbed the half-emptied bottle of water from where he'd left it on the dresser, took a swig, recapped it and put it back where it'd been. He then picked up the pack of Marlboros, drew one out, his third tonight and sparked it to life. With smoke filling his lungs, he settled back against the black headboard, the bevy of down pillows providing ample support for his back. Seated with one leg slightly raised and the other stretched out on the bed, Nicholas sighed and mindlessly wondered how many sleeping pills he needed to take to get some sleep.
    Insomnia was a bitch. Especially when you were jonesing for a de cent night's sleep and got nothing but white noise and a n urge to drink yourself stupid.
    He was beginning to regret kicking Eves out. With her kind of entertainment, he would've been busy until the break of dawn with nothing in mind, but good ol' mindless fun. Perverse curiosity had him wondering how good of a fuck Ellie would be. She was a prude, no doubting that, but fro m his personal experience prude s tended to be more fun in bed, more adventurous as it were. Imagining her in bed and all the things that he could do to her brightened his mood considerably. That Desmo was as good as his, but first there was still the matter of getting her in his bed.
    Ellie. Nicholas smiled. Ellie was something else.
    "...I don't let too many people get close to me. Don't hurt me, OK?"
    Those words echoed in his mind. To think that he'd actually cared enough to apologize and to genuinely mean it , still managed to baffle him. He didn't know he could even still do sincerity. But, he'd done it and quite well , too. He leaned over, grabbed the ashtray from the bedside table and set it between his legs. After a few flicks of the cigarette, he brought it back to his mouth and raked his hand through his inky mane, his thoughts lingering on the diminutive girl who spoke her mind and cared absolutely nothing of what he thought of her.
    She fascinated him. In her he found a kindred spirit of sorts. Even more so now that'd he'd read the countless entries on her online journal. There'd bee n a myriad of poetry, some hers, for example, some others, and still some others collection of her favorite writers, but ea ch just as poignant as the last; l ike the one she'd written on Charmant's " Void " and the sheer emotions that had taken over her once she'd seen it, had been so beautifully written that the words resonated in Nicholas even