Free Just a Flirt by Olivia Noble Page A

in the face. “Oh,” she said
to herself glumly. “Great.” Nicole moved to a mirror and recoiled
in horror when she saw the sorry state of her black hair.
    “Jesus, girl. You look like shit,” she
whispered to herself with disappointment. “No wonder you can’t get
laid. You need to get this mess sorted.” She began trying to wipe
off her smeared eye makeup, but it was futile. She was in desperate
need of a shower.
    Reaching up behind her back to untie the
strings that held up her bikini top, she pulled off the small piece
of fabric and let her breasts bounce free. She reached down to undo
the ties on the sides of her bikini bottom as well, and tossed both
garments onto the bed.
    “Thanks for not helping me get
lucky,” she told her discarded swimsuit disdainfully. “I spent good
money on you! The sales lady said you were guaranteed to be a
powerful man-magnet. Couldn’t you have tried to attract a
man who wasn’t old enough to be my dad?” Nicole scowled and
stretched her arms. “More like hot-guy-repellant,” she murmured as
she moved toward the luxurious bathroom of the suite. In addition
to an elegant glass shower, there was a very lovely, large bathtub.
She wasted no time in climbing into the bathtub and turning on the
water.
    “That’s nice,” she said with a sigh as she
ran the warm water over her feet. They were sore and aching from
dancing in high heels. She cupped the water in her hands, and
splashed it over her face, making sure to carefully knead the
mascara out of her eyelashes. As the water began to fill up in the
tub, she sighed and leaned back into its depths, allowing her
frizzy hair to become soaked. She reached up to comb her fingers
through it and gently massage her scalp in anticipation of the
hangover that was sure to come eventually.
    But worse than the physical symptoms of
alcohol withdrawal was the loneliness that was sure to set in now
that Eva was gone.
    “Everything’s going to be fine, Nicole,” she
assured herself as she wrapped her arms around her middle. “You’re
awesome. You’re smart and sexy. Super sexy. You’re going to be
fine.”
    Nicole had great trouble being alone. Ever
since her father walked out on her, she could never seem to handle
even a few minutes of silence or absence of physical contact. The
paralyzing fear and depression would set in. It was a little easier
at home, because she had so many eager college boys on speed dial.
She could fill the void with meaningless sex, and sometimes, if she
got lucky, they would get tired enough to end up accidentally
staying the night. Those were always the best nights, when she
would fall asleep in the arms of some random stranger.
    It didn’t matter who it was, as long as
there was someone there.
    Drawing in a shuddering breath, Nicole let
her head sink below the water. The truth was that she never would
have gone on this Caribbean vacation if Eva hadn’t agreed to come
along. She was counting on the comfort of having her friend nearby.
While she had made a great pretense of pretending that the trip was
about helping Eva let loose, she also had her own selfish
motivations. She was tired of being alone in her small loft in New
York City. She wanted to experience what it felt like to have a
sister; to have a family member that actually cared.
    The sex wasn’t part of the plan; but it was
a nice little added bonus.
    Nicole was accustomed to using sex to thank
people for showing her any bit of kindness. She had learned that it
was the only way to guarantee that their affection would continue.
The only way to try to make sure that they would remember her
existence, or think of her sometimes. It was simply how she got
by.
    Of course, it also helped that it erased all
her pain for a few moments.
    Lifting her head above the water, Nicole
studied the shower head of the bathtub. Seeing the little metallic
hose which led to a detachable faucet, her eyes lit up. She leaned
forward to tug it off the wall and eagerly