Engaging Evelyn

ENGAGING EVELYN

Blissful Bets Series

JENNIFER SALAIZ

Copyright © 2010

Chapter 1

When one is single and lives in a small town along the gulf coast of Texas, there’s only one thing to look forward to: spring break. Most would think that just the high school or college crowd partakes in the monthlong, party-packed celebration. But truthfully, Evelyn and her friends had enjoyed it for years, and their ages ranged from the mid-twenties to early thirties.

Of course, they weren’t an average group of women. One could say they were a bit eccentric in a way. Evelyn hadn’t personally ever met another group of women who made bets the way they did. But the pain they had all experienced in their pasts allowed them to enjoy the game they played, without regret. As she looked at her new recruit, she tried to explain.

“I know, I know, you say bets like you’re not sure what I mean.” Evelyn looked at Natalie’s confused face, trying her best to cheer up her upset friend.

“Please don’t tell me that you bet on men,” Natalie whispered from across the small table for two. The restaurant was one of the smaller, family-owned businesses on the island. It was one Evelyn frequented, often.

“Well, of course not!” Evelyn made her face look appalled at the question, but she couldn’t hold out for long before a smile appeared. “All right, that’s a lie. That’s exactly what we do.” A laugh burst from her lips at her friend’s parted mouth. She couldn’t help it. Natalie was downright shocked, and Evelyn loved it.

“Let me explain,” Evelyn said, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “We look for the most gorgeous men we can find, and then the bets are on. One point of the index finger toward a man, and that’s all it takes for us to get our point across to each other. With a wink, the one appointed with the task happily—and trust me, they’re very happy—stalks toward her target to see if she can get him to leave with her. And if by some chance she might not be feeling that particular man, no problems. There’s always another girl ready to take on the challenge.” Evelyn smiled.

Poor Natalie. Evelyn couldn’t help but think that she had lost her as a possible recruit. The dear girl, not a day over twenty-four and she just didn’t have what it took to put feelings aside. That was all right, though. They really didn’t need anyone else. The idea of adding someone had seemed fun when she had thought of it.

There were four of them altogether. Their looks ranged from the tall, fair-haired Sarah; to Melissa, whose hair was the darkest red Evelyn had ever seen; to Julie, with hair that was a dark brown with blond highlights; and Evelyn, whose hair was a natural midnight black, which looked exotic against her pale skin.

They had gone to school in the small tourist town of Port Aransas, Texas, and although each one of them had had a chance to escape at one point or another, they had refused to leave. This place held more to offer than any big city that Evelyn had ever been to. There was the beach, and during tourist season, there was a wide variety of men from all over. One couldn’t ask for more than that.

The blame for the betting game could only be pointed in one direction: Evelyn’s. With the growing uneasiness in their lives, something needed to change. The restlessness each of them was feeling wasn’t hard to detect. They knew they needed something to kill the time during the winter, until spring break arrived, starting the months of fun that would last during the summer. That’s when everyone would come to vacation on the beach.

They had been sitting at their favorite little Cajun restaurant eating dinner when a group of men walked in and were seated two tables over. That’s when it had hit Evelyn. They needed to have fun, a new game that was sure to please the entire group, kill time, and one that would sidetrack her from the deep depression she was quickly sinking into.

Natalie standing brought Evelyn’s focus back to what she had come here for. She grabbed her friend’s hand and looked up into her angelic face.

“Evelyn, let me think about it. Bradly and I have only been broken up for a month. I need time to process everything, but don’t get me wrong. It sounds like a fun thing to do. Something I would have relished a few months ago. Just let me think it over.”

Standing, Evelyn hugged Natalie and looked into her gray eyes. “Take all the time you need, but remember you promised not to tell anyone.”

“I won’t tell a soul. I’ll see you next time you’re in the office.” Watching her walk away, Evelyn sat back down and drifted into her thoughts of the first time this game went into effect.

“Sarah, I bet you can’t get that man over there to leave with you,” Evelyn had whispered.

Everyone at the table had turned to view the group of men. The women’s eyes lit up at the wickedness Evelyn’s words carried. Sarah turned to her with her usual competitive face, and not the least bit intimidated, she smiled.

“Which one?” she had asked in her usual challenging tone.

Evelyn had looked the men over and settled for the one she had seen before. To her, he was the hottest out of the group. His blond hair rested above his eyebrows but was disheveled from the constant wind along the coast. The width of his shoulders alone had her mouth watering.

“The blond,” Evelyn had whispered back to her.

“And if I get him to leave with me, what do I win?”

It had taken her a few moments to think about the reward. She hadn’t considered that part. “I’ll buy all of your drinks tonight, but if you lose, you buy mine.”

Sarah’s lips had twisted slightly, but she had nodded her head, agreeing. “All right, you’re on. But if I have to do this, then so does Julie. Julie, how about you take the brunet with the green eyes. I’d hate to have him wasted.”

Julie had laughed and raised one of her eyebrows. “Okay, Sarah. It would be a sin to pass up such a good-looking man. I think I can handle the brunet. He was the first one who caught my eye, anyway.”

They had all started laughing, and that had been it. A game that started in September had lived on and carried into the beginning of February. It had become so much a part of their lives that they looked forward to the weekends now for a whole new reason.

There had been a few curves in their game, so to speak, like the one they were in at the moment. Well, the one Evelyn was in. When the bets didn’t turn out the way they expected, they’d spice them up a bit.

Melissa had bet Sarah that she couldn’t get this man named Bill. Well, Sarah had gotten Bill, but there was one problem. She couldn’t make him come, no matter what she did. So, therefore, she bet Melissa back that she couldn’t make him come. When Melissa failed, they came and bet Evelyn.

Normally, women won’t sleep with men who their friends have had, but these women didn’t quite consider themselves normal. They were too close to care. As long as they were always safe and no feelings were involved, then they were secure to sleep with whomever they wanted.

After grabbing the ticket and paying for her lunch, Evelyn looked at her watch. It was time to get this bet over with. She had put it off the entire morning. Bill was hers, and from the picture on Sarah’s phone, she didn’t think she was going to regret it. If she didn’t get him to come, oh well. She’d probably get hers, and that’s the only thing she cared about as she approached her car.