Read Online Confessions of a Wild Child by Jackie Collins - Free Book Online Page B

and her bed hasn’t been slept in. I take a shower under a rusty faucet, dress quickly and head downstairs. A couple of French families are sitting out by the pool complete with ratty little kids running riot around the edge. Food and drink is available from a vending machine. I get a packet of crisps and an Orangina. Then I go check on Olympia’s Mercedes, which is exactly where she left it. Doesn’t take much street smarts to realize she must’ve spent the night with French boy.
    When they finally appear around noon, I see that French boy is hardly a boy. He looks to be about thirty-something with a scraggly ginger beard and scrawny arms. Whatever happened to hot?
    ‘Sorry,’ Olympia giggles, obviously not sorry at all. ‘We kinda slept in, if you know what I mean.’
    French Pierre squeezes her arm, and plants a wet kiss on her cheek.
    I get the feeling that maybe Olympia has stopped practising Almost, and is possibly going All The Way. This is not good news, for I have no intention of going All The Way with anyone, and if Olympia’s doing it, will she expect me to follow?
    ‘Shouldn’t we get going?’ I say, giving Olympia a meaningful look.
    ‘What’s your hurry?’ she responds, clinging onto Pierre as if he’s some kind of sex god.
    ‘I thought we could get there by tonight,’ I argue. ‘Isn’t that what we planned?’
    ‘Yes,’ Olympia answers vaguely. ‘But that was before I met Pierre.’
    Oh crap. Olympia’s in love again. She goes through crushes like Kleenex.
    I am stuck for words. I am in Olympia’s car on my way to Olympia’s aunt’s house. I have no money and no power. I am not only stuck for words, I am well and truly stuck.
    I vow that I will never allow myself to be caught in this position again. Olympia is calling all the shots, and I am tagging along like a stupid little puppy dog.
    What to do?
    Nothing. There is nothing I can do.
    I am pissed. I feel a dark rage boiling up inside me. I think I have Gino’s temper. I have seen him explode and it’s not a pretty sight.
    On the other hand, staying calm will probably get me further. Fighting with Olympia is a bad option. Like I said – she has the power.
    So I swallow my frustration and play along. Which means watching Olympia and French Pierre making out on a sunbed, until one of the rugrat kids running around the pool trips over Pierre’s feet which are limply hanging off the end of the sunbed.
    Pierre leaps up, roars with fury, and begins screaming at the kid in French.
    The kid, no more than five or six, freezes, allowing Pierre to grab him by the scruff of his neck and begin shaking him.
    The kid starts crying, and since it looks as if no one’s going to do anything, I launch into action. I am on my feet Santangelo-style.
    ‘Leave the boy alone!’ I yell at Pierre. ‘Can’t you see it was an accident?’
    Pierre is not listening. He seems to be taking some kind of sadistic pleasure in shaking the little boy as hard as he can. I am stunned.
    Without thinking it through, I run at Pierre and grab his long stringy hair until he is forced to let go of the boy. However, Pierre is not finished – as the kid runs off, he turns on me and slaps me hard across the face, shouting some kind of insult.
    ‘For God’s sake!’ Olympia shouts, finally jumping up. ‘Stop it!’
    Pierre ignores her and goes to hit me again, at which point I grab his wrist, twist it, and issue a sharp kick to his saggy balls.
    He lets out a yelp of pain and turns to Olympia for comfort.
    She gives him a scornful look, tosses back her long blonde hair and says a very succinct – ‘S’long, asshole.’
    Ten minutes later we are in the car and on our merry way.
    *  *  *
     
    Now here we are, back on the road. Olympia can’t wait to reveal all the gruesome details of her one-nighter with French Pierre. I’m not sure I want to hear.
    To change the subject I fan myself with a magazine and say – ‘It’s so hot! I bet we both stink. Two stinky