The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan Read Free Book Online Page B

make guys look cute.”
    “Adam already has a girlfriend, and Luke is so shy he basically doesn’t talk to girls at all. So good luck with that.”
    Allegra giggles. “I bet I can help him with his shyness.”
    I groan, then remind myself that Allegra’s reaction is a good thing. Her liking my hot/cute housemates means she’s less likely to drop me as a friend if I happen to do something embarrassingly uncool.
    With a heave and a groan, I slide the rusted, old gate closed across the driveway. The motor stopped working, but the landlord doesn’t seem interested in getting it fixed. Dusting my hands off, I ask, “Which beach are we going to?” I follow Allegra to her to her car. “I haven’t been to any beaches here yet.”
    “You haven’t ?” Allegra gives me the kind of shocked look that suggests I may have committed social suicide by admitting that. Then she smiles. “Wow, Livi, you are going to love it. Clifton 4 th Beach is gorgeous. And guess who’s going to be there.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me as she unlocks her car. “Jackson.”

Clifton is buzzing with activity, making it almost impossible to find a parking spot. After doing a three hundred-point manoeuvre—Allegra doesn’t seem to be able to parallel park, and I’m not about to try it in someone else’s car—we manage to get into a gap on the sidewalk. We grab our bags, run across roads, climb down narrow staircases, and eventually the beach comes into sight.
    Bronzed bodies in tiny bikinis line the sugar-white sand, guys with rippling abs and gleaming skin toss a volleyball over a net, and several small yachts bob in the gentle waves close to shore.
    “Wow.” I pause at the foot of the staircase. “So this is where all the beautiful people hang out, huh?”
    “Totally,” Allegra says, flicking her hair back and sauntering onto the powdery sand.
    “I’m not sure I belong here,” I say with a giggle, hurrying after her. “These people are too perfect. Like, not a wobbly bit in sight.”
    “Oh, don’t be silly. You’re a total stick. I wish I had your figure.”
    “Um …” I’m not sure what to say to that, because I’ve tried on some of Allegra’s clothes, and after not being able to get the zips up on any of her jeans, it’s clear to me she’s the only stick around here. Well, aside from all the glamorous sticks already lounging on their towels, their perfect wobble-free skin glistening beneath the sun. “And where are we gonna sit, anyway? This place is packed.”
    “Yeah, we shoulda been here hours ago, but someone decided to sleep in this morning and not answer her phone.”
    “Well, you know, it is Saturday, so I—”
    “But Charlotte and the girls got here a while ago, so they’re keeping a spot with a good view for us.” She looks over at me. “And you know what I mean by a good view.”
    I’m pretty sure she means the hot guys and not the clear blue sea spread out before us or the mountains rising behind us. “How do you know where they are?” I squint and shield my face from the sun as I search the tanning bodies for three I recognise.
    “Oh, we came here a few times during res orientation, so we’ve kinda decided on a favourite spot. See? Over there.” She points to a cluster of rocks, then jogs towards the three girls lying in a row and the two empty towels beside them. “Hey, ladies.”
    Courtney and Amber raise themselves up on their elbows to greet us. Charlotte simply waves, not moving from her perfect tanning position. “Hello, dears,” she says. Her eyes squint at us from behind the brown lenses of her retro sunglasses before closing again.
    “Where are the guys?” Allegra asks, glancing at the two empty towels before looking around.
    “They dared each other to go for a swim,” Courtney says as she lies down and drapes her arm over her eyes.
    “Insanity.” Allegra shakes her head, but I can see from her small smile she’s impressed. “There’s no way you’d get me into that