Free Spin Devil by Red Garnier Page B

revealing
clothes, and because they were so uncomfortable and impractical, she
religiously stayed away from high heels. She preferred flat, pretty sandals.
Rather than wear heavy makeup, she used gloss on her lips and a natural blush
to add color to her cheeks. Her face was too doll-like to accept much makeup anyway.
Her lips were heart shaped, small and pouty, while her eyes were big, dark
brown in color, framed by rows of eyelashes Luella and Haley had repeatedly
sworn they’d kill for. Her hair was long, though she rarely wore it loose, and
it was so dark it made her skin look even fairer, a porcelain white that was
unfortunately much too sensitive to see the sun for long.
    None of her friends had ever been bothered by her plain
appearance except him . His face had turned into a dark, unyielding mask
of disapproval the moment she stepped on the beach. And if she thought she’d be
able to see him again without being the least bit affected, she’d been sorely
mistaken.
    She’d had two beers up until now, only because the occasion
warranted she drink something, while the rest of her friends had had dozens,
and it was hard to keep from smiling at their antics and their dares. The
retirement home where she worked seemed worlds away from here, her drunken
friends proving a stark contrast to the solemn, somber old people she looked
after. When they misbehaved, the old people smuggled chocolates into the home
and played harmless pranks on some of the nurses, while her friends…were
another story.
    “Okay, spin it!” Luella called.
    Needing no more prodding, Jason took the devil between his
thumb and forefinger and with a flick of his wrist sent it spinning over a
large Frisbee they’d set on the sand in the center of the circle. It suddenly
stopped, the pitchfork pointing straight at Sebastian, the tail at Cleo. Cheers
erupted, yet Cleo couldn’t help but feel rather nervous.
    “Sebastian, it’s time to pay the rent, old boy,” Luella said
with a wicked smile twitching her lips.
    “Come on, Cleo, give him a good one,” someone encouraged.
    Smiling shakily, Cleo looked into Sebastian’s deep black eyes.
He sat with one leg folded and an arm resting on top of his knee, a cigarette
clasped tightly between his thumb and forefinger. His blue jeans were old,
faded white over his thighs, and his dark brown leather jacket was slightly
torn at the elbows.
    Cleo was grateful that she was able to keep her voice
steady, since she’d always seemed to have trouble speaking directly to him.
“Truth or dare, Sebastian?”
    His smile was slow and lazy. “Dare. Of course.”
    Everyone laughed and Cleo glanced around the circle, her
brain racing with thoughts. How did one dare a man who feared nothing? How did
one dare a reckless, crazed man who acted like he had a death wish?
    The cigarette blazed bright red as Sebastian took a drag,
his eyes narrowed above the billow of smoke. It was impossible to dare the
devil himself, so she just said the first thing that came to mind. “I dare you
to…kiss Luella. On the mouth.”
    His chest heaved when he grunted. “Is that the worst you can
do, Cleo?” He flicked his cigarette into the air. He looked like the devil
incarnate, and though they’d all been friends, Cleo had always been secretly
afraid of him—because he had the power to hurt her. And he always did.
    David laughed beside her. “That really sucked, Cleo.”
    “Not for me it doesn’t suck! Thank you ,
sweetie!” Luella said excitedly, sinking the bottom of her beer into the sand
before she turned to Sebastian next to her.
    Sebastian faced Luella with a wan, lazy smile, so sure of
himself and his disgustingly potent sex appeal. He looked casual and confident,
as if he did this sort of thing every day, which was probably a correct
assumption.
    Cleo watched as his big tanned hands cupped Luella’s cheeks
and he bent forward to kiss her. No matter how many times Cleo had watched
Sebastian kiss someone—which at college had