Page 1 of Viral Affair

Chapter One

Veronica

“Come on, let’s go in here. I’m not drunk enough yet to head back to our Airbnb, Clara,” I said, dragging my bestie into a swanky bar in the centre of Ornos, on the island of Mykonos, Greece. The weather was hot and humid, but I was having the time of my life with her.

This was the holiday of a lifetime. Good thing this was our last night on the island because we’d spent almost all of our money. It was the end of August and scorching hot. My white top clung to my body, but I didn’t mind. I loved the heat. This climate suited me.

“All right then, but I’m only having one. Remember our flight is early in the morning. I don’t fancy flying back home and hungover,” Clara stated seriously. She might not like to travel with a hangover, but I didn’t care. I was here to enjoy myself.

I waved her comment off flippantly and we walked into a busy bar in the centre of town.

I had been working as a stripper in London. By doing so, I’d saved quite a bit of money for this summer getaway, and Mykonos was our last stop. Tomorrow, I would be flying back home, back to the reality of the strip club, and back to my flat in Camden Market. Unfortunately, my life didn’t turn out how I’d imagined it as I was growing up, but I reminded myself that as long as I was having fun, nothing else mattered.

My other best friend and roommate, Laura, was currently away in America. She was a nanny for a wealthy English family, but that wasn’t her dream job, either. Laura had been in politics, but she’d gotten involved with a famous pop star who turned out to be a real arsehole in the end. He had cheated on her with two different women and had a notorious cocaine habit. After that incident, she had been too afraid to go back to the corporate world, so she’d settled on being a nanny. She was always telling me that her quiet, ordinary life suited her better than constantly being in the spotlight.

“What can I get you?” a cute, dark-haired Greek barman asked when we finally squeezed through the crowd of drunken people having a ball. Who could blame them? It was hard to not have fun on this island.

I really didn’t want to leave this paradise yet, but Clara and I had been travelling since July. It had been a very eventful summer, full of laughter, sun, and fun. We’d met a fair amount of guys during this vacation but so far, I had avoided sleeping with any of them.

We were both young and single. None of us were looking for a real relationship, but after going through so many frogs in male form, I had almost given up on the idea of no-strings-attached sex. Tonight would be my last attempt to finally hook up with a handsome stranger on this trip. I didn’t like sleeping around, but it had been so long since I let my hair down that I was up for some steamy action. Tomorrow, this fairytale would end, and life as usual would resume, boring and monotonous.

“Two mojitos, please, and keep the tab open,” I yelled over all the noise.

“Coming right up,” the barman said with a smile and a twinkle in his gorgeous brown eyes.

He was my type, but he was working. He probably wouldn’t have time to sneak out the back to satisfy a girl like me. And I wanted more than just five minutes with a stranger. Give me at least ten.

“I’m going to take some pictures. This is our last night, and we need to go back to London with good memories!” Clara pulled out her phone and started taking a zillion selfies of us both. We smiled, made funny faces, and stuck our tongue out at the camera. We couldn’t help but laugh between all the pictures.

Soon after, the drinks arrived and I sucked on my straw, feeling considerably hot and horny. Rum had that effect on me.

While I didn’t have the urge to sleep with random guys, Clara had indulged her libido in every new country and island we’d visited over the past two months, with someone new each time. I had no clue how she did it.

Every guy who showed an interest in me turned out to be a prick, so I always ended up in my room, alone and miserable. And horny. I wanted something more than just a guy who was extremely good-looking and funny. I wanted him to hold a meaningful conversation for at least a minute, and he needed to be smart, too. Yeah, it was just one night, an hour or so of wild sex and we would never have to see each other again after that. Still, I was craving a little extra, so that was the main reason I had been holding back. It was a lot to ask for from a one night stand, sure, but I just needed to have a little connection.

“All right, I’m going to dance. You coming?” I asked Clara, who scrolled through her phone, not noticing the two guys eyeing us from their corner seats.

“Nah … my legs are aching and I need to email my brother. He’s worried about me,” she replied, scrunching her eyebrows.

I shrugged and hit the dance floor, leaving Clara alone to fend for herself. The music was loud and I let my body sway to the rhythm while holding my drink, surrounded by strangers. I closed my eyes for a moment, immersing myself in this atmosphere. When I opened them again, I glanced back at Clara. It seemed like she was taking a video because she was smiling, signalling to me to keep dancing.

I sipped on my drink and continued to dance for a while, enjoying the feeling of surrendering to the beat and the taste of refreshing mint. There was something in the air, an electrifying energy that made me feel alive. Full of desire for something…

“Hey, beautiful, do you mind if I join you?” a sexy and sultry British-sounding voice whispered in my ear.

I turned, finding a tall, handsome guy standing behind me. He had slightly long dark-black hair, pale-blue eyes, and a beard that hadn’t been trimmed in a while. But the beard wasn’t unkempt. The heat from his gaze sent shivers down my spine.

“You want to dance with me?” I eyed him with reservation.

He was standing so close that the air between us crackled with electricity, stealing my breath. Normally at this point, any other guy would just glance down at my cleavage then let his gaze trail brazenly down my body—but not this one. The man in front of me looked directly into my eyes, as though he was suddenly captivated by me. He continued to hold my gaze.

“How about we go outside to get some fresh air? We can talk?” he asked.

I nodded without thinking because I definitely wanted to get to know him. He took my hand in his and walked me through the crowd of people until we stepped outside into the heavy, humid air. His hand was so much larger than mine.

“My name is Rupert. What’s yours?”

“I’m Valerie,” I introduced myself, smiling shyly. I didn't want to give him my real name and this sounded like it fitted me perfectly this evening.

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