Fool for Love (High Rise) Read online

“Oh my god. Who are you and what have you done to my flatmate?” As expected, Nat was being all dramatic about it. Alex had barely set foot in the flat since her date with Maddie last Thursday. It was late Sunday afternoon, dusk already settling into darkness outside. “Is that you, Alessandra?” Nat squinted into Alex's direction. “Oh, and if you’re going straight back up, tell your girlfriend the ceilings in this building are ridiculously thin for the exorbitant amount of rent we pay.”

  “Imagine the things she must have heard coming from your room for the past two years then.” Alex took the chair opposite Nat’s computer.

  “Ouch. It fights back.” Nat leaned back in her chair, the illuminated screen of her laptop lighting up her face. “You are positively glowing, Pizza. Hallelujah.” She pumped her fists into the air, punching nothing.

  “What are you doing tonight?” Alex cut straight to the chase.

  “Being a literary genius, as I do every Sunday night. Why does the seriously over-fucked lady want to know?”

  Alex rolled her eyes at Nat. Maybe this plan she and Maddie had hatched was the worst one in the history of set-ups. It definitely looked like it from the outside. Come to think of it, from the inside as well.

  “Maddie is inviting you and Isabella to dinner. And I’ll be there as well, of course.” Alex tried to keep her voice casual. She was bad at this sort of thing. Something always gave her away. An unfamiliar inflection in her voice. Or that twitch in her lip.

  “You’ve barely been shagging a few days and are already playing house. How revoltingly lesbian and domesticated.” Nat slapped down the lid of her computer. The room now solely lit by a small reading lamp on the floor—not its correct place, but Alex had long given up on adhering to the right spot of things in the flat. “Good for you. But I’m sorry, I can’t make it tonight. It’s a little too short notice.”

  Nothing was ever too short notice for Nat—especially if it involved a girl in her early twenties and the prospect of sex. “Oh really? What pressing matter is keeping you from a home-cooked meal with friends?”

  “Work. I can see the end looming. Just a few more hours and my first draft is done.”

  “Fair enough, but you’ve got to eat, right?”

  “Not today.” Alex noticed how Nat deflated, her voice almost breaking. “I’ll have a liquid dinner tonight.” Just like that, Nat went from mouthy brat to broken girl. She drummed her fingers on the table, as if mustering up the courage to say something but not quite getting there. “I’m very happy for you. I honestly am. But I don’t have it in me to look young love in the face tonight.” Alex noticed how Nat swallowed hard before continuing, how she hesitated to say the next words. “Today’s the day, you know. My drunkest day of the year.”

  That’s when Alex remembered. Nat had the morbid habit of commemorating the day Claire had dumped her three years ago. Claire, the woman Nat had left Brooklyn and moved to Hong Kong for. She got up and walked around the table, sitting down in the chair next to Nat.

  “I say this with the biggest amount of love in my heart.” She took Nat’s hand in hers. “But isn’t it time you broke that habit?”

  Nat brought both their hands to her face. “Good grief, Pizza. You could have washed. You reek of sex.”

  “Don’t do what you always do, Orange.”

  “Don’t try to fix me.” Alex hadn’t counted on this display of grief. It made her all the more determined to hook Nat up with Isabella, if only for a talk.

  “I’m just trying to help you.” She gave Nat’s hand one final squeeze before releasing it. “Just like you would do for me.”

  “One drink and the shrink’d better bring some of that Cadenhead.”

  “You got it.” Alex risked a wink. Nat responded with the beginning of a sly smile, the cocky one all the girls fell for.

  “And none of that lovey-dovey stuff, okay? Be kind to single lesbians.”

  “Cross my heart.” Alex got up. “Come on. Stand up.”

  “What for?” Nat pinched her eyebrows together. Alex pulled her up by her arms.

  “Because I want to hug the silliness out of you.” She slung her arms around Nat’s firm frame and held her tight. Nat fell into the embrace with a desperation Alex hadn’t expected.

  * * *

  Two hours later, all four of them sat around Maddie’s round dining table. She’d prepared roasted chicken thighs, grilled asparagus and baked potatoes and Alex was quite impressed with her cooking skills. Isabella had brought a few bottles of Bardolino. Nat had purchased a bottle of the strong stuff herself. Her blue eyes were already a bit glazed over, but Alex knew she was better trained than that. She could drink a bottle and still be standing.

  Maddie’s hand rested on Alex's thigh while Isabella poured the wine. Her best friend, a little broken but not unfixable, sat across from her. Not bad for a fitness instructor who, a few weeks ago, was still nursing a badly broken heart. Moving into The Ivy, one of the poshest high rises in Hong Kong, had been one of the best decisions she’d ever made.

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  High Rise Novella Two (Nat and Isabella’s story) will be released at the end of December 2012

  Dear reader, if you enjoyed this ebook please leave a review, however lengthy or brief, at the site where you purchased it. Your opinion matters and will help other readers as well as the author.

  About the author

  Harper Bliss has travelled the world in search of sexual satisfaction. She now resides in a hot Asian country and dedicates her time to writing down the stories that have inspired and aroused her.

  You can e-mail her at [email protected]

  If you want to receive exclusive content and free erotic stories, you can subscribe to the Harper Bliss mailing list

  Website: www.harperbliss.com / Twitter: @HarperBliss

  Scan the QR code to subscribe to the Harper Bliss mailing list (and get Hired Help for free!)

  Other Harper Bliss books

  All of Me

  Jess’ girlfriend Laila surprises her one night when she flips her over and demands all of her.

  2.400 word lesbian erotic story available as FREE ebook.

  Can’t Get Enough

  Eight sizzling tales of lesbian lust and love.

  Harper Bliss takes us from romantic Paris and groovy Berlin all the way to the scorching beaches of Thailand. The stories in this sensual anthology include a threesome, a steamy locker room encounter, a teacher crush and old friends discovering each other in whole new ways.

  The ladies in this collection just can’t get enough.

  An anthology of all of Harper Bliss’ stories published by Ladylit. Available as ebook from Amazon US and Amazon UK.

  Endless Summer

  Two women, one story

  This book bundles Summer Heat and Younger Than Yesterday.

  Available as ebook from Amazon US and Amazon UK.

  Younger Than Yesterday

  Rose’s husband died seven years ago, but when she welcomes an unexpected guest in her Tuscan holiday home, she’s forced to remember what instant desire feels like. Desire for a younger woman no less.

  This story shows the point of view of the character Rose from Summer Heat.

  9.500 word lesbian erotic story available as ebook from Amazon US & Amazon UK

  Summer Heat

  When Cat is unceremoniously dumped by her girlfriend right before their holiday, she decides to join her parents on their annual trip to Tuscany. Prepared for two weeks of sun-drenched melancholy, she finds much more than nostalgia in the house where she used to spend her summers as a child.

  9.000 word lesbian erotic story available as ebook from Amazon US & Amazon UK

  A Hotter State

  Three novelettes (Hired Help, The Honeymoon and Learning Curve), all set in a different part of the world, packed together with a previously unreleased short story.

  Available as ebook from Amazon US & Amazon UK

  Learning Curve

  Ada’s company relocated h
er to Berlin, provided that she’d take an intensive course in German. It proves to be a steep learning curve, until her teacher Giselle implements some alternative educational methods.

  9.000 word lesbian erotic story available as ebook from Amazon US & Amazon UK

  The Honeymoon

  A sizzling novelette featuring a couple of newlyweds honeymooning in Phuket. When they encounter a mysterious Asian woman in their beach side resort, they decide to give each other a very special wedding gift.

  8.000 word lesbian erotic story available as ebook from Amazon US and Amazon UK.

  Wetter

  Rachel has had a crush on her spin instructor Toni for months. One late night visit to the locker room steam cabin transforms her fantasies into hot, steaming reality.

  2.500 word lesbian erotic story available as FREE ebook from Amazon US.

  Hired Help

  Olivia’s girlfriend walked out on her months ago and she’s desperate for some action. Her best friend recommends some hired help.

  9.000 word lesbian erotic story available as ebook from Amazon US and Amazon UK

  About LadyLit

  LadyLit is an independent fiction publisher based in Hong Kong. Our main focus is releasing e-books that display diversity as well as entertainment quality. Our e-books are available from all major retailers as well as from our website ladylit.com

  Apart from publishing, we offer related services to fellow indie-publishers such as e-book and paperback formatting and author website design.

  All the planned releases for 2012 and 2013 feature lesbian and gay protagonists.

  If you’d like to be informed about LadyLit’s future publications you can:

  Like LadyLit on Facebook

  Follow LadyLit on Twitter

  Subscribe to the LadyLit mailing list

  Contact: [email protected]

  Website: www.ladylit.com

  Other LadyLit books

  Come and Go by Lee Harlem Robinson

  Available as ebook from Amazon US and Amazon UK

  Who says we have to be perfect anyway?

  Lee Harlem Robinson is used to getting all the girls, until she arrives in Hong Kong. Faced with a severe shortage of dateable lesbians, it takes Lee months to find romance and surrender to her first summer of love in 100% humidity. Her affair with posh banker Stella doesn't last into autumn and she's left scouring happy hour with her single gay friends again.

  She's on the brink of a melt-down when she meets Nikki, a leather-clad lawyer-cum-photographer. Can they defy the odds and find love in a harsh and loose city like Hong Kong?

  A blend of chick lit, romance and lesbian drama set against the backdrop of that other city that never sleeps.

  Praise for Come and Go

  "Delightful, delicious, well written lesbian chick lit. A refreshingly different story of love, loss and finding love again, with an added touch of humour thrown in for good measure."

  "Lee Harlem Robinson is a dramatic, gruff, funny, sexy and immensely likeable heroine."

  "Imagine Sex and the City or The L Word, filming in Hong Kong and you will have a hint of what the book has to offer. Come and Go is basically a unique Hong Kong version of lesbian drama."

  "Come and Go is a slick, sweet and shockingly steamy read. The writing is light but lucid, expertly flirting with rosy-eyed romance but yanking the reader back to stark reality with accurate and assertive timing."

  www.comeandgothenovel.com

  Dirty Pleasure by Lee Harlem Robinson

  Available as FREE ebook from Amazon US & Amazon UK

  A weekend in Hong Kong

  During a decadent weekend in Hong Kong, Lee and her best friend Charlie encounter a slew of interesting characters. One of them is Stevie, a girl who ignites a spark in Lee. Can Stevie restore Lee's hope that Hong Kong is not totally void of lesbians?

  Dirty Pleasure is a free 5000-word stand-alone (prequel) short story, with the same characters and settings as the novel 'Come and Go'.