Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love by Ariana Hawkes Read Free Book Online Page A

hidden underneath her comforter, and she thought of Timo and the incredible sex they’d had, and her fingers started to wander between her thighs. No-one could compare to him and his smoking hot body. And he was the only man who’d ever given her an orgasm. Up until that night, orgasms were something that happened furtively when she was alone, not things to be shared with someone else. Every time she came, it gave her a kind of satisfaction to know that he was the only other person capable of making her feel like that.
    She hadn’t forgotten Hope Valley either. The essence of it hung in her memory, as a vision of a perfect existence. As she trudged to work, she daydreamed about all those pretty streets, and imagined herself walking along them, eager to start work at a job that she enjoyed.
    Having Amber’s wedding to look forward to made things a little easier. It was held two weeks after the party, in her home town four hours away. Amber’s parents paid for the whole thing, and it was an elaborate, tasteful affair. Raven and Caitlyn had a great time being her bridesmaids, helping her to get ready and joining in all the excitement. When they followed her down the aisle, Raven wondered if it would ever be her turn to be the one in white. When Amber threw her bouquet, both she and Caitlyn lurched for it, but Amber’s little twelve-year old niece caught it instead.
    “That about says it all,” Raven said with a wry laugh over the little girl’s head.
     
    When Raven got back to Russellville that night, she felt queasy from the car journey and in a bad temper. She didn’t begrudge Amber a shred of her happiness, but it seemed so unfair that some people could have so much, and others so little. She wondered what her parents would contribute to her wedding if she ever got married. Probably some off-color jokes on the part of her father, and mean-minded comments from her mom, she thought.
    The next day, she woke up feeling queasy. She hardly ate all day, the smell of the chemicals in the salon only making things worse. Probably something I ate at the wedding, she thought. But it didn’t let up the next day, or the one after that. And for the following three weeks the pattern was the same – waking up feeling nauseous and headachy all morning, then being able to eat a little in the afternoon. She lost a little weight, but she wasn’t exactly grateful for it.
    One Monday, the queasiness was worse than ever. She thought about calling in sick, but she knew Marlene would most likely fire her. Jobs were pretty scarce in Russellville, and there was always somebody waiting to fill your position.
    She made it to work, and the fresh air made her feel better. By the time she walked into the salon, she was back to normal. But, half an hour later, she was putting a silver tint solution on a crabby old lady’s hair, when her stomach lurched hard. She dropped her utensils, ran out of the door and threw up in the street.
    She stood up slowly, leaned against the wall, and wiped perspiration from her brow. What the fuck was that? she thought, and her stomach gave a vengeful gurgle. She looked across at the city. Far in the distance, some pylons from the local industrial plant were just visible, pumping gray smog into the atmosphere. It’s this town. It’s making me sick .
    “Where the hell have you been?” her boss demanded when she walked back into the salon.
    “I’m sorry. I got sick,” she said. Marlene grunted.
    “Well get back to it.”
    “Marlene, would you mind if I went home? I still feel sick, and I think the smells in the salon are making it worse.” Marlene whirled around, glaring at her in disgust.
    “Raven, you get back to work right now, or you won’t have to worry about any bad smells in here!” she hissed. Raven stared at her, and something snapped. She hated Marlene and her mean, bullying ways. She hated the salon, and the cheap customers she had to deal with. And she hated her dull, repetitive