Skinny Dipping Read Online Free Page A

figurine on the keychain. “Makes sense,” he replied.
    Without thinking she took the keys from his grip, kissed the figurine for good luck and threw the keychain into her bag.
    He passed her a colourful cardboard box. A tampon packet. Sophie threw the box into her bag, her neck felt hot, wishing the company spent more time making the box discrete than focusing on bold packaging. But the way he frowned, he was thinking of something else completely, not even noticing the box, or what it contained.
    “I have a proposition,” he said.
    “Oh?” She was ready for it, bracing herself. He was going to ask her out. A thrilling sensation soared through her, she’d just been kicked to the curb and she was getting asked out on a date. She would have to refuse, she was after all, still in love with Derek, wasn’t she? And there was no doubt in her mind that they would get over this hiccup. It was a mere bump in the road.
    A million reasons of how to reject him, all in the nicest possible way, came to mind.
    “I want to buy your wallet.”
    She froze. Guess she wouldn’t need to reject him. “What?” Her mind whirled with questions. Was it the tie? Had she gone too far with the tie?
    His eyes were blank, serious. “I want to buy your wallet,” he said a second time.
    Her cheeks reddened. How could she have ever thought he’d asked her out on a date? Derek dumped her after all their time together, and Derek really knew her. Like really knew her. Her flaws. Everything.
    The man was watching her intently. She could barely meet his gaze. “I wouldn’t have anywhere to put my things?” She realized she was contemplating the crazy offer.
    “Okay,” he said, his brow furrowing. “What about a trade, I’ll trade you my leather wallet for your surf wallet. I’ll also give you one hundred pounds. What do you think?”
    She wasn’t thinking straight because quite frankly, she didn’t understand, didn’t how to respond. “Gosh, what an interesting offer.” Then clarity slapped her in the face. “Too strange for me, I’m afraid.” She stood up, holding her bag.
    “On hundred quid and a wallet swap. It’s an excellent offer. Come on, live on the edge. Stranger things have happened.” He proceeded to empty the contents of his black leather wallet, stuffing his personal things in his trouser pockets. He held the wallet up, fanning out the compartments, showing them to be empty. He held a one hundred quid note out towards her. She’d never seen a one hundred quid note before. Didn’t know they even existed. “Surely your niece wouldn’t mind? Even a twelve year-old knows the value of one hundred quid.” He handed her the wallet, and the money.
    She turned the leather over in her hands, focusing her attention at the quality. It was expensive, she could tell. Her mind was working in overdrive, thinking about his strange proposition. What if he called the police, and said she had stolen his wallet? He was well dressed, in a tuxedo, and arrived in a Porsche. She didn’t really need a men’s wallet, or a surf wallet either, for that matter. With one hundred quid, she’d be on her way to buying something designer. A niggling thought crept into her mind. If he really wanted a surf wallet, surely he could buy one? He had the one hundred quid.
    “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” he insisted, shifting on his feet. “Take a chance on me. I took a chance on you.” He touched the tie around his neck.
    Her head darted around the hotel driveway. There were probably security cameras monitoring their every move. There would be camera footage if anything went wrong. “We’re strangers.”
    “We’re not really strangers,” he said, standing up, his gaze upon her. “After all, I know everything you’ve got in your bag.”
    “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She thrust his leather wallet and the money back into his hands. She turned away, rushing from him, up the stairs, getting far away.
    “You could