Read Online Lovers & Players by Jackie Collins - Free Book Online Page B

kind of important you don’t rush into marriage with absolutely no experience. So…my advice is that you should put yourself out there and have a quick fling. As long as you’re careful, you’ve got nothing to lose.’
    ‘You can’t be serious,’ Amy said, frowning. ‘It would be—’
    ‘It’s not as if I’m suggesting a relationship,’ Tina said, interrupting again. ‘More like, y’ know, a sexy one-nighter.’
    ‘Tina! You’re out of control!’
    ‘C’mon, sweetie,’ Tina cajoled. ‘If you don’t do something wild now, you’ll never know, and that would be sad.’
    ‘What if I don’t want to know?’ Amy said, trying to convince herself how wrong Tina was. ‘What if I’m perfectly happy with the way things are?’
    ‘The least you can do is think about it,’ Tina said, teasingly adding, ‘Who knows? You might even enjoy it.’
    On her way back to the office Amy couldn’t help thinking over Tina’s outlandish suggestions. A quick fling. A sexy one-nighter. It so wasn’t her. And yet…
    The next day her friends at work were all over her about the bachelorette party. Finally she’d agreed, just to shut them up.
    Tonight was the night.
    In a way she was dreading it.
    On the other hand–why not have some fun? Like Tina said, she might even enjoy it.

Chapter Eight
     
    ‘L ookin’ good , my man,’ Beverly exclaimed, hands on hips. ‘ Real good.’
    Jett grinned at his old friend. ‘And you–what can I say? You’re still the hottest babe in New York.’
    ‘Yeah, not bad for an old bag,’ she said wryly. ‘I’m gonna be thirty any minute. Freakin’ thirty ! How is that possible?’
    ‘I heard tell thirty is the new thirteen,’ he said, winking at her.
    ‘Stoned or sober, you always did know the right thing to say,’ she replied, indicating her companion, a thin white dude with a scraggly beard and long hair pulled back in a ponytail, very nineteen-seventies. ‘Meet my man, Chet, he’s a musician.’
    ‘Hey!’ Jett said, holding out his hand.
    Chet responded with a hostile nod.
    Beverly gave an amused laugh. ‘He thinks we fucked,’ she said, quite unperturbed. ‘Keep on telling him we didn’t.’
    ‘Hey, man, I can promise you we didn’t,’ Jett assured Chet, whose sour expression remained the same.
    Dinner was all about catching up. Beverly wanted to hear everything about his stay in Italy, so over a good old American steak and a side of fries, he filled her in.
    Chet did not appear to be the talkative type. He sat at the table totally silent, until Jett got him discussing his music. Then, finally, he warmed up. It turned out he was a session musician who’d jammed with Springsteen and the Stones. He was also in AA, so they bonded over that, and by the time Beverly suggested they drop by Gatsby’s– the hot new club–they were not exactly close but at least they were having a conversation.
    In the cab on the way to Gatsby’s, Jett changed his mind. ‘Y’ know, I’m feeling kinda jet-lagged,’ he said, stretching his arms and yawning. ‘You two go have a blast. I’m gonna bail.’
    ‘No way!’ Beverly insisted, giving him a playful punch in the chest. ‘You’re comin’, I insist.’
    ‘Gimme a break,’ he said weakly. ‘It’s five a.m. Milan time. And my girlfriend gave me some sweet send-off.’
    ‘Too bad,’ Beverly responded, refusing to take no for an answer. ‘Consider this your welcome-back party. You are not bailing!’
    ‘I’m not, huh?’
    ‘Like I said–no way.’
    He grinned and reached for a cigarette. ‘Guess I’m coming.’
    She grinned back. ‘Guess you are.’
    Beverly knew the doorman at Gatsby’s. She sashayed over to the menacing-looking man, gave him a big hug, a kiss on the cheek, and he ushered them into the club past a milling crowd of wannabes. The scene reminded Jett of the old days when he’d been on familiar terms with every doorman and bouncer in town. They’d all known him. They hadn’t all welcomed