Page 71 of Tempt Me

We both chuckled.

She reached for my arm. “Now, don’t let this little incident put you off your challenge. Oh, hey, you didn’t tell me what his cock was like.”

“Mmmm, well, he wasn’t huge, and he wasn’t small, but he did this scissor action with my legs that was incredible.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

I explained what Dylan had done, and Lolita’s eyes bulged. “Holy fuck, that sounds awesome. I’m getting Calvin onto that one.”

I plugged my ears with my fingers. “La, la, la.”

“Oh, stop it. Calvin and I fuck. All the time.”

“I know. I just don’t need to know about it.”

“You’re so mean.” She pouted her lips, but the twinkle in her eyes showed that she didn’t mean it.

I peeled my wig off and plucked at the pins to undo my hair. “Can I borrow some sandals, too? I can’t wear my boots with this.”

“Sure.”

By the time I left her bedroom, I was a new woman. I’d removed my makeup, fixed my hair, and changed into something much more appropriate for the Gold Coast.

Calvin was fussing about in the kitchen when we returned downstairs. “I liked the trenchie better.”

“Ha. Thanks.”

“I’m serious.” His grin perfectly matched his stunning looks.

“Thanks for your help. I need to go home and sleep.”

“I bet you do.” He wriggled his eyebrows, and I shook my head.

I said goodbye to Calvin, and when Lolita offered to drive me home, I accepted.

“I meant what I said in the bedroom, babe,” Lolita said as we pulled out of her driveway. “Don’t go letting this little blip ruin your challenge.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it. Twenty-two men in twenty-two weeks. You’re invested now. No deviating from the plan.”

“Okay,” I repeated.

Ten minutes later, she pulled into the drop-off zone at the Hot Horizon Hotel, and I climbed out of the car. My legs trembled as I walked up the steps to the lobby.

By the time I reached my room, I was exhausted. By the time I had a long, hot shower, I was completely shattered.

After shutting the blinds, I sat on my bed, reached for my diary, and turned to the 26th of May. At the top, I wroteMr. Dylan Ashley, room 30—and as I thought of my James Bond meets Bear Grylls analogy and then the disaster that happened after, I wroteShaken and Stirred.

Giggling, I began writing my description of today’s lover, who was a mix of suave sophistication and hunky brawn. Dylan had shown me another sexual position that would never have crossed my mind. But I’ll certainly never forget it.

I put my pen and diary next to my alarm clock and curled onto my side on the bed. My mind bounced over everything that had happened in the last four hours; it was a crazy concoction of elation and dread. But as the swirling emotions spun like a roulette wheel, I realized that the thrill of nearly being caught was just as exciting as the thrill of pursuing my next random stranger.

I yawned loudly, and as crazy pictures of me running naked up the beach invaded my subconscious, I closed my eyes, and sheer exhaustion dragged me to sleep.

Friday morning arrived, and with it came a brilliant spectacle of orange and yellow sky reflecting off an almost flat, black ocean. Giant cruise ships appeared as tiny shapes on the horizon, while close to shore, surfers bobbed like little black corks in the stillness, waiting for the next wave. The lack of breeze meant the only rustling in the Pandanus palms was caused by the Rainbow lorikeets flitting from one branch to the next.

The morning was the epitome of peace and beauty. I inhaled the cool salty air in through my nose and out through my mouth in my own form of meditation. Even my green tea seemed a little sweeter today. I sat on the sun lounge out the front of the hotel swinging my legs back and forth as I watched the sun peek over the horizon. Today was the first day of winter and at this time of year, sunrise almost coincided with the end of my shift.