Escaping Eden Read Online Free Page B

‘laid’, Eden. This really isn’t my scene,” he said.
    I looked at him, “Then why the hell are we here?”
    Shrugging, he said, “Liora said you hadn’t been out in a while because you couldn’t afford it and I wanted you to have a fun evening.”
    I sighed and put my drink down.
    I hopped off the stool and made a beeline toward the door.
    I was pissed.
    I needed a cigarette STAT.
    If he wasn’t going to put any effort into changing and trying new things, then he was going to have to find a new “guide”.
    “Hey!” Simon said catching up to me as I made it to the door.
    I held up my cigarette and he nodded.
    I pushed my way through the smoking crowd and settled into a corner near the barricade. Simon wiggled his way through everyone and stood in front of me.
    “You’re angry,” he observed.
    I took a deep breath and began to tap my foot against the floor. I wanted to be careful of what came out of my mouth, because he really was a nice guy.
    “Listen, are you going to put any effort into anything? Or should I just give up?” I asked.
    “Eden, just because you throw a girl at me doesn’t mean I’m going to act on it. Maybe I didn’t find her attractive, maybe I did. That’s just not how I do things. When I see a woman that I want, I guess you could say, I have no problem acting on it. It’s just harder for me sometimes. Don’t give up on me yet?”
    I looked up into his now puppy dog eyes and smacked him in the chest.
    “That’s your freebie. Now that I know how you operate, you’ve got the full three strikes left. Got it buddy?”
    “Deal,” he grinned.
    He stood there patiently while I smoked in silence. I watched him with a smile on my face; Simon was a people watcher. I liked that, because that meant he watched more how people behaved rather than what they looked like.
    “I’ll be right back,” he said suddenly.
    I raised an eyebrow and watched him disappear back into the club, then as he shot out the front door and went down the street. I got up on my tip toes and craned my neck.
    Good boy , I thought to myself with a satisfied grin.
    Simon was talking to Eliza. Apparently she had still been in the area and he spotted her. I moved to the edge of the barricade and leaned over so I could watch them. I watched Eliza talking to him shyly, then suddenly burst into laughter and put a hand on his chest briefly.
    That deal was definitely sealed.
    I took one last drag from my cigarette, then dropped it on the floor and stomped it out happily. Now that I helped Simon, maybe I could help myself.
    I made my way back into TAO and back to the table we were sitting at. My drink was still there and so was Simon’s. I pulled myself back up onto the stool and glanced around. There had to be some guys here, I just needed to find them.
    “Anyone sitting here?”
    I glanced to my left and saw my ex-boyfriend standing there, looking sexy as ever with a big smile.
    “Nope,” I replied, with a smile.
    As he settled down into the stool opposite me I found myself reassessing him. Finley was gorgeous; tall, dark blonde hair, honey brown eyes, strong manly face, and a body to die for. He was dressed in a pair of black, fitted jeans, a white V-neck shirt, and a black button over shirt. I knew he was wearing his favorite pair of black chucks; that was always going to be a give in when he went out.
    He was also the first person I ever had sex with, and I maintained that after him, sex with anyone else went downhill. It was absolutely amazing and set my standards way too high for anyone else in the bedroom. Part of the reason was because he was the first and last person to ever give me an O and partly because he always would have that piece of me that no one else would have.
    “You look good, Eden,” he shouted over the music.
    “You too!” I replied, sipping my drink.
    “Who’s that guy I saw you with outside?” he asked, leaning closer to me.
    “Oh! That’s Simon! That’s one of Liora’s friends. She