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  Copyright© 2020 Erin Havoc

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All characters depicted are 18 years old or older. For adults only.

  FLING

  His Irresistible Obsession Series

  ERIN HAVOC

  01

  * * *

  CHRISTINE

  "H

  old up these glasses, girls!” Lisette squeals as she tilts her wineglass to her phone camera. Hazel, next to me, dips her head, smiling as she pretends to be coy.

  “Another selfie?” I stick my tongue out, pretending to throw up inside my glass at the same moment the flash pops. Lis puts her glass down, flipping the phone so she can face the screen. When her face drops in a grimace, I’m sure I nailed my pose.

  “Good God, Christine, can’t you at least pretend you’re nice and feminine? Look at Hazel.” She shakes the phone in front of me. I’ve had too much wine to focus on the image. “She’s cute and innocent! Doesn’t even look like she’s slept with half the town!”

  “Why, thank you!” Hazel flips her short hair, grinning.

  “FYI,” I clear my throat when my voice rasps, “I’m super feminine since I identify myself as a woman, and I am always super nice.”

  “Yeah, yeah, but you’re a champion when it comes down to posing. And to think you’re a photographer. You should understand the importance of the right facial expressions at the right time.” Lis rolls her eyes, turning the phone again. “I have to keep my Instagram stories up and running. That’s what paid for this wine. Now smile, you ungrateful little thing.”

  This time, I smile for the sake of respecting her paycheck. Once she puts the phone down, I clear my throat. “Would you at least send me the other one?”

  Lis rolls her eyes again but her lip stretches a little, enough for me to know she’s going to send it. The three of us lean back against the giant cushions covering my floor, organized in a small circle. Between our legs, an empty wine bottle, a second one half-full, and one big bowl of nachos. By Hazel’s side, my rescued dog, Oreo, sits straight and rigid, his blue eyes trained on the food. I have to keep a constant eye on him since I’m sure he’s going to snatch the food away the moment I blink.

  “Look at him, Chris!” Hazel hugs Oreo’s beefy neck. “He’s starving!”

  “First, don’t Chris me.” I pull the nachos closer, farther from the two. “Second, he’s not starving. His bowl is full. He’s fooling you into giving him our food.”

  “What breed is he again?” Lis snaps a lovely picture of drunk-Hazel folding her arms around beggar-Oreo.

  “Pitsky.” I shrug upon meeting her confused look. “It’s a mix between a Husky and a Pit Bull.”

  “Oreo is the best dog. Aren’t you? Who’s the best dog?” Hazel chants, now kissing his nose. He answers the caress with a lick across her face, but his eyes never leave the nachos.

  “No making out with the dog!” Lis laughs, dropping her phone face-down on the rug. “I thought that hottie of yours was managing to keep up with you!”

  “Ooh, he is.” Hazel fans a hand over her face, pillaring her spine. “I’m having sex as it should be - hot and constant. The man knows how to use his tools.” She wiggles her brows so many times I’m afraid she’ll never stop.

  “You can stop doing that with your face. We all know what you mean.” I laugh, taking a long sip of my wine while listing possible new subjects before this turns against me. “How many millions of subscribers do you have by now, Lis? Did it reach five already?”

  “It did.” Lis’s lips turn into a smile, her well-groomed eyebrows rising. “And I do love to brag about that, but the previous subject isn’t over yet.”

  “I don’t want to hear about Hazel’s fuckboy,” I groan to the inside of my glass as I take another long sip. I’m going to have to refill soon if the conversation keeps at this. “I mean, I never even have the time to learn their names. So what’s the point?”

  Even though I’d normally be all ears to my friends’ love lives — or sexual lives in Hazel’s case — sometimes I’m so not in the mood.

  Lis has been dating the same guy for years now. He has already mentioned marriage, but she says she’s not ready. Anyway, they’re a pair.

  Hazel has a new date every week. They never last — she doesn’t want them to last.

  And I’m… a virgin. At twenty-two, I’ve never understood the appeal of sex. Yes, I’ve dated, but I’ve never felt like it. My lack of arousal and the prospect of a painful first time dampened my mood.

  Then I met Kyle. He had been so nice at first, but soon enough it all came shattering down. He’s the kind of guy that believes curvy girls should be thankful for the attention they get. He thought I owed him for that.

  I would like to say I broke up and threw his shit out of the window, set fire to his clothes. But I didn’t. I had started to believe the things he said. Accepted the insults. Felt bad about it.

  He’s the one who’s left. It broke my heart — my mom’s voice flashed in the back of my mind, telling me I was so useless I couldn’t even keep a man.

  It’s been months now. I’m over Kyle, aware of how shitty that relationship was, and ready to guard my heart. And I’m a hundred percent done with dating.

  My desire to have knee-weakening orgasms never diminished, though.

  When I touch myself, I find a kind of tepid pleasure that’s barely a whisper. A promise. And I’d like to see this fulfilled.

  I want to know how passionate sex feels like. Ideally feelings not involved.

  “You know, you could have him. After we’re finished, of course.” Hazel gives me a light punch to the shoulder, making me look at her in time to catch a slow motion wink.

  “Hazel, you’re wasted.” I haul the wine bottle away from her, sitting it next to the nachos. “And I’m not having leftovers. Thanks, but no, thanks.”

  “Not that desperate yet?” Lis eyes me and I shake my head. Stretching my arm, I grab the TV remote and zap channels. “I can’t believe how long you’ve lasted, Chris. Being a virgin in your twenties is a miracle. Aren’t you kind of curious?” Lis re-fills both her glass and mine. Hazel holds hers up, waiting, but gives it up once Lis doesn’t offer her more. "About the act itself? Having a hunk of a man between your legs, licking you into oblivion?”

  Heat blooms in my face.

  “Oh, yes,” Hazel quickly adds in a slurred voice. “A big piece of male meat forcing you open. And by that,” her voice lowers to a whisper, her face approaching ours, “I mean a dick.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I imagined.” I chortle, trying to keep it down as I stop my zapping in Princess Bride.

  “A penis,” she continues.

  “Mhmm.”

  “A big cock.”

  “Yes, we got that, Hazel.” Lis widens her eyes in a silent plead, turning her face back to me. “You haven’t got any kind of action since… you-know-who. Or have you?”

  I love Lis a little more for avoiding the douche’s name. I sigh. “No, I haven’t. I’ve had loads of shit to worry about too, you know. With all the debt he left me.”

  “Are we talking about Kyle?” Hazel squints at us while pouring herself more wine. When did she get that?

  “Yes, but we’re not using his name, remember?” Lis’s brows hit her forehead. She plucks the bottle back and hides it behind her. “That’s enough wine for you. You’ve stopped making sense a while ago.” Hazel mumbles something to
the inside of her glass, but Lis ignores it, her eyes becoming gentle once she turns to me again. “How’s that going, by the way? Did you get any closure?”

  My stomach in knots, I look away. That’s a subject I don’t like to discuss with them. Hazel has her own business, Lis makes a lot of money with her Instagram. They’re both being happily fucked while I’m… not.

  The thing about best friends is that either you tell them the truth, or they’ll force it out of you.

  “Yeah... You remember I discovered the debt a few months back when the bank contacted me. I thought it was a mistake, so I needed to be sure and all. The bank just got in touch with me after it was months due. So this has been running for a while now.”

  “I can’t believe he pulled all of your money out of the account. What a dick move.” Hazel scowls. “We should find him and kick his teeth in.”

  “I’d love that.” I smile dreamingly. That’s the scene I picture to lull myself to sleep. “But he’s nowhere to be found. The few times he picked up his phone, he sneered at me and hung up.” I lift my shoulders in a shrug and bring the glass back to my lips. “It’s my fault, you know? I shouldn’t have trusted him with a joint account. Not so early, anyway.”

  “No, you shouldn’t, and we warned you,” Lis points, grabbing her phone and unlocking it.

  “Ouch. Thanks.” I cover my heart with a hand, faking pain for her words, and peek over my shoulder to watch Westley and Buttercup kissing.

  “I’m sorry for saying rude but accurate things, Christine,” Lis snaps, following my gaze to the TV. “And I can’t believe you’re watching this again.”

  “It’s a classic,” I mumble without looking at her. Her fingers circle my wrist, and she pulls me, forcing my gaze to meet hers. “It is, and I’d fight you over that.”

  Her gaze softens as her thumb massages my pulse. “I know you would. I just hope you’ve learned the lesson. You’re a good girl in a bad world. You can’t go trusting anyone that smiles your way.” I’m about to interrupt her when she smiles. “I know, I know. You want to give people a chance before judging them. And that’s exceptional. But avoid situations where you end up having to pay your creep of an ex’s debt.”

  I pout, leaning back and hugging my glass to my chest. Of course, she is right, and I know I have to swallow the bitter pill and accept that I have been a fool. It’s safer to believe that people aren’t always good or that life will throw you a curveball. Being prepared for disappointments is the key.

  That especially applies to dating. I’ve wasted years of my life waiting for Prince Charming when he doesn’t exist. High expectations only lead to disappointment.

  Lis likes some comments in her most recent post, then puts the phone down again. “So, how bad is it?” She flickers her dark orbs at me. And here I was, hoping they dropped the subject. Before I can pretend I don’t know what she’s talking about, she adds “I mean, the money problem.”

  I sigh in defeat. “The bank will have me pay the whole debt. That’s their policy for freezing the account.”

  “What?” Lis curls her nose. “They can’t take his name out of it?”

  “Nope. They would need his signature, and he, obviously, won’t show up.”

  Lis sighs. “Oh, Christine. What a mess. How much do you owe them?”

  I take a deep breath and balance if I should say the truth.

  Pro: it is the truth and telling the truth is always an essential part of a friendship.

  Con: she will be so pissed.

  I eye Hazel to assess if I’m getting any support, but her head is tilted over her shoulder, her mouth half-opened as she snores. The glass in her hand is magically empty, her short brown hair messed over her face as Oreo sniffs around her hands, looking for food.

  That one isn’t about to save me from the upcoming storm.

  I clear my throat as Lis’s eyes bore into me. “Debt is around twenty grand.” I try to mumble the number, hoping she’s going to understand ‘twelve’ instead of the real digit. As if that’s much better.

  Lis’s face melts into a scowl. “I’m sorry. I thought I heard twenty. Thousand. Dollars.”

  “Your hearing is perfect.” I plaster a smile on, gripping my glass to steady myself.

  A heartbeat passes. Then two.

  She puts her glass down. Breathes out, then in. Her hands tuck her blond straight strands behind her ears, then she takes a long moment before turning to me, almost in slow motion.

  I wince, waiting for the blow to come.

  To my surprise, she doesn’t scream. “You’re going to have to pay the bank twenty grand? How long will that take you?”

  “Some years. I’m still paying my student loans…”

  The sigh she releases is so exasperated I regret every single decision I’ve ever made. “Good God, Christine. If you don’t learn a lesson out of this, I don’t know if you ever will.” Her hands closing in fists, she breathes a couple of times before relaxing them. “Let me help you. I can lend you the money and you pay me like you’d pay the bank, minus interest.”

  I’ve already thought about that, but I don’t want my friends involved in this. I fucked up, so I have to deal with the mess. I shake my head, touching Lis’s arm. “Thanks. But I don’t want to compromise you and end up screwing you too. What I did to myself is enough.”

  “You did nothing. You were a noble person who believed in someone else,” she counters, her hand clutching mine. “It happened that the ‘someone else’ was an impressive bastard that doesn’t deserve the oxygen he consumes and betrayed you. Don’t blame yourself. Learn from it.”

  I nod, my lips twitching up into half a smile. I feel like I learned - the pain is real and I’m not letting anyone else in anytime soon. At least emotionally.

  We relax with our backs pressed to the couch. I turn to the movie. Lis films Hazel snoring (for later use, she says).

  Westley is risking himself to save Buttercup, fighting in those black slacks of his. I take a moment to appreciate Cary Elwes’s form in his twenties and I can’t help the flicker of disappointment in my chest.

  I have spent my life doing things for other people. Giving them chances and believing in them. Accepting whatever came my way and feeling grateful for the crumbs of attention.

  For once, I let ambition fill me. I let it permeate every cell of my being, exhilaration making my fingers tingle.

  If I can’t have the true love I yearn, I’ll at least have lots of fun.

  And by “fun”, I mean male-given orgasms.

  “I wouldn’t mind some sexual comfort though”. The words slip out of my mouth before I can bite them back. My gaze snaps up. Did I really say it? Maybe it’s just my dazed mind. Maybe I haven’t —

  Judging from her wicked expression, I know Lis hasn’t only heard me, but she’s already planning some evil shit.

  “Hazel, wake up!” She hollers, booting Hazel so hard she jumps. Oreo sees his chance and plunges for the nachos. Unfortunately for him, I manage to save them from his slobbering maw. Hazel notices nothing, mumbling about the wine, then rubbing her eyes. Lis raises her voice to catch her attention. “We need to get Christine laid! You have any suggestions?”

  Hazel groans for a moment, before wiggling her brows again. “Are you missing les-sexy-times, my friend?” She enters another fit of trying-to-wink-and-failing-miserably next.

  Lis throws a pillow, and it lands squarely on Hazel’s face. “Quit that shit! It looks like you’re having a stroke! I should have left you sleeping.” She whips her head to give me a once over. “You’re beautiful, Christine. Are you telling me no guys are hitting on you? No neighbor, no co-worker?”

  “Thanks, Lis, but the fact that you, my friend, thinks I’m beautiful doesn’t mean other people do. You’re probably lying, anyway.”

  “Why would I?” She cocks a brow, her long blond hair sliding down her shoulder.

  “You’re my friend, you wouldn’t say I look like shit.”

  She scoffs. “Hazel loo
ks like shit right now. I make money judging products on YouTube, being honest is my job!” She elbows me with a grin. “I think you’re gorgeous and I’m a little envious of you looking so good without dyeing your hair or spending half your income on makeup.”

  “That’s a godsend gift, Lis.” Hazel chortles. “Christine’s an artist. She couldn’t spend half her income on makeup even if she wanted to.”

  “That’s true.” I laugh, though it’s mostly an overstatement. As a photographer, I’m not swimming naked on one-hundred-dollar bills, neither have enough money to pay off my loans, but I’m not starving either. I can afford my rent, I help a handful of NGOs. I even managed to travel once a year somewhere around the country. Well. Not anymore with this stupid debt Kyle left me, but I’ll have to deal with that.

  “You can’t say you’re not getting laid because of your size.” Lis sticks out a forefinger, poking my thick thigh. “The three of us wear similar sizes.”

  “Which is great,” Hazel hiccups. “Because we can loot your high-end clothes when you’re not looking.”

  Lis squints but ignores her. “I understand it’s hard to find someone to fall in love with. But what about a no strings attached fling? It can’t be all that hard if Hazel’s doing it.”

  “I really don’t know how she does it.” I shake my head to Lis. “Every man I’ve ever dated were douchebags about my weight.”

  “That’s the thing about being casual.” Lis closes her fingers around my knee and shakes me up. “It’s full honesty. The two of you only want sex. You’ll only go to bed if there’s a mutual agreement that you find each other hot.”

  “But it will be my first time.” I gnaw on my lower lip. Flings are supposed to be quick, no? Though I expected more romance for the first time, I would like at least some foreplay to ease me up.

  Lis lifts a shoulder. “Be picky with the first guy. Choose someone that makes you feel comfortable, that sounds like a fun person. I mean, not that I’m a professional in one-night stands. What do you think, Hazel?”