Free Summer Fling by Serenity Woods

and he’d decided
to lick it all off. Eyes wide with alarm, she backed up to the window and met
it with a bump as he advanced and leaned one hand beside her on the glass,
studying her with hot eyes.
    “What?” She tried to press herself into the
window.
    He frowned, clearly puzzled. “What it is
about you that gets me all...” His voice trailed off as he studied her
thoughtfully.
    “All...” She couldn’t help asking.
    His gaze skimmed down her body, then back
up, lingering on her breasts before reaching her eyes again. “Riled up.”
    “I’m not doing anything,” she squeaked.
Being this close to him was a mistake.
    “Hmm.” He didn’t sound convinced. His gaze
settled once again on her lips.
    “Don’t,” she said faintly.
    “I’m not doing anything,” he murmured. But
he was obviously thinking about kissing her again.
    “Hey.”
    They both turned. Stella stood there, eyebrows
raised. Chloe sighed with relief, even though the little devil yelled, Damn,
damn, damn!
    “Hi,” Garth said, moving back.
    “Did I interrupt something?” Stella’s
cheerful grin told Chloe that her best friend knew exactly what she’d
interrupted.
    “Not at all.” Garth smiled. “I’m going to
get a drink. Can I get you two ladies anything?”
    They declined, and he walked outside,
shooting Chloe one last hot glance.
    “Oh my God.” Chloe closed her eyes. “I need
to lie down.”
    “Ooh,” Stella said, “what’s going on?
Sparks were practically flying between the two of you.”
    “He kissed me on the beach.”
    “He what?” Stella’s eyebrows nearly shot
off the top of her head. “Again? Jeez. Looks like tonight might be your lucky
night.”
    Chloe nearly hyperventilated. “Oh, don’t
say that. I might need oxygen.”
    Stella laughed. “What’s wrong?” Her eyes
gleamed. “Aren’t you excited about the thought of some beach nookie with your
Shakespearean hero?”
    The thought both terrified and excited
Chloe at the same time. “I couldn’t. Could I? No, I couldn’t. Stel, I was with
Ethan a long time. In the end, he proved to be an idiot, but he’s the only man
I’ve ever been with.  I can’t just fall into bed with the first person I meet.
I’m not made that way.”
    “I know.” Stella kissed her on the cheek.
“Just remember that having a boyfriend or two doesn’t mean you’re turning into
your mother. All normal people spend time working their way through the box of
chocolates before they find their favorite.”
    “Are you quoting Forrest Gump at me
now?”
    “I just mean that it puts a huge amount of
pressure on a couple if you start off thinking it has to work or else it means
you’re a huge failure. You’ve come out of an intense relationship that didn’t
end well. You’re defensive and cautious—rightly, too, I hasten to add—but maybe
you need to spend a bit of time getting to know a few men. Go on a few dates.
Have sex. Experiment before you dedicate the rest of your life to them.”
    Chloe stared at her in horror. “I
couldn’t.” The very idea filled her with panic.
    “Try it,” Stella said mildly. “There’s,
like, a hundred men here today, most of them single. Talk to some of them,
flirt with them. Nobody’s going to think badly of you, and it doesn’t mean
you’re turning into a tart. You need to loosen up a bit though, or else you’ll
be so tense when you do find Mr. Right, you’ll scare him off with your
clipboard full of questions and rules.”
    Chloe’s throat tightened. “Can’t I just
grab a kebab and a glass of wine and hide under one of the palms?”
    Stella took her arm and steered her toward
the door. “No, you can’t. Come on, get a couple of drinks down you, and then
maybe you’ll start to feel relaxed enough to take off your girdle and throw
caution to the wind.”
    A few hours passed. More guests arrived,
and alcohol and music flowed. People spilled onto the sand, alternating between
taking a swim and coming up to the house for food