Read Online A French Whipping by Nicole Camden - Free Book Online Page A

area. It’s looking like I’ll have to start with a JC since I never took the SAT.”
    Rosa shrugged and took a long sip from her glass. “I never finished high school, so you’ve got one on me.”
    “Trust me. I don’t have anything on anybody. I barely made it through high school, and that was only because Keenan or my friend Roland did my math homework.”
    “Ah, and this Roland is still in your life, right? You’ve talked about him and two other men.”
    “Nick and Milton.”
    Rosa eyed her knowingly. “You have the hots for one of them, don’t you?”
    “No,” Blake denied, looking away. “Why would you say that?”
    “It’s not a crime to be attracted to someone, you know. Not everyone you like is going to turn out to be a complete dickhead, especially if they’re your friends. You know them.”
    “Yeah.” I’d like to know Nick naked and beneath me, Blake thought, and crossed her legs. “But sex ruins friendships, right?” That had been one of her fears when she’d realized that she was attracted to him. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost Nick as her friend. And now that Keenan was around, she was glad he’d refused her, glad that his life wouldn’t get any more fucked up because of her.
    “Usually.”
    Blake winced. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not getting involved with anyone right now.”
    “That’s probably a good idea, but you shouldn’t be alone, either. Knowing a few self-defense moves isn’t going to save your ass if someone is really determined to hurt you.”
    Blake swallowed. She hated this. Hated feeling like she was helpless. She’d just begun to think she could have a normal life. Can’t I do anything without turning to Nick or Roland or Milton for help?
    “My friends have helped me enough.”
    “They’re your friends, right? Haven’t you learned anything in the support group? You have to let people help you .” Rosa punctuated her point by thumping Blake on the forehead.
    “Ouch. Damn.”
    Rosa nodded in satisfaction. “Call your buddies. Fuck one of them. Don’t fuck one of them. Fuck all of them, who cares? Just don’t get your ass beat because you want to do everything by yourself.”
    Blake pouted, but after a moment she nodded. “All right. I’ll call Roland and ask him for help.” She wasn’t going to call Nick, and not just because of Keenan. She didn’t want to seem weak in front of him. She didn’t want to be that stupid girl who needed help yet again. She wanted to be the teasing and confident and daring Blake—the one who made him go Christmas shopping with her every year and take road trips to the beach in the summer, not the Blake who gave her heart to psychopaths.
    Rosa gave her a half smile with just a hint of flirtation. “You could always stay with me. Men aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, you know.”
    Blake snorted. “Women are worse. Besides, I like men. I like dick.”
    Rosa choked on her wine. “See, that’s what I like about you,” she said with a chuckle, when she’d managed to catch her breath. “You don’t act like a victim.”
    “I wasn’t a victim,” Blake muttered. She refused to be a victim. “I was a fucking idiot. I made the same mistake over and over again.”
    Rosa’s face softened. “It wasn’t our fault.”
    Blake’s throat tightened, but she nodded. “But I can learn from it. I can change.”
    “Damn right,” Rosa replied.
    Blake wished she felt quite as confident as she sounded.

6

    BY THE TIME Nick arrived at the Hairy Lemon, the after-work crowd had thinned out to a small crowd of locals who lived in the neighborhood. It took him a few seconds to scan the small collection of hipsters gathered at a table near the bar to realize that Blake wasn’t working.
    “Kevin.” Nick lifted his chin when the man looked up from behind the bar. “Where’s Blake?”
    Kevin gestured him closer. Nick approached the bar impatiently, gripping the polished wood with both hands. On the other side,