The Bachelor by David Dower (read along books TXT) 📖

of bikinis into the shopping bags. She originally thought of dumping them under her bed, planning to leave them behind when it was time for her to get out of the show, but Pauline was too excited earlier so she attacked them, causing a mess on her bed.

Julianne did not think twice when she snatched a blood red bikini top and put it on. Her cheeks flushed when they perfectly fitted her. Zachary Astor knew her size, that idiot!

“Hey, Julianne! Let’s go!” Pauline rammed on the door.

“Coming!” she answered and opened it.

“Wow, you look gorgeous, girl!” Pauline cried out, looking at her outfit. Of course she wore the same shorts she was wearing earlier.

“Thanks,” she murmured, closing the door. “Pauline, I don’t think I will know how to play this game…”

“Well, me either! But that’s the fun part, right? Come on!” Pauline tugged at her hand and led her back downstairs.

The other ladies did not comment when they joined the big circle.

“Okay, so here’s the rule…”Chloe said, holding a deck of cards and looking at the ladies with her gray eyes. “I will give each of us a card, face down of course so that we will not know what card we have. And then, together, we will stick the cards on our foreheads so that the front part faces everyone like this,” she explained, picking an Ace and sticking it on her forehead.

“So you mean everyone else will get to see what I have on my forehead but I won’t have any idea what it is,” Hanna concluded.

“Exactly.”

“We will try to guess what card we have on our forehead?” Amanda asked.

“No,” Chloe shook her head. “The one with the lowest card will be the loser with Ace as the lowest, King as the highest. Clover as the lowest and Diamond as the highest in case there will be a tie.”

“So, if I got like an Ace on my forehead and the rest of you got like two and up, I will be the loser?” asked Tanya.

“Exactly. But if there will be two or more Aces, the symbols will help us decide. Just bear in mind that Clover is the lowest, followed by Spade, Heart and then Diamond.”

“But I don’t see the fun in that.”

“I haven’t reached the fun part yet,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes. “Okay, so now that’s settled, here are some few additional rules.” She started to count with her fingers as she said, “You can try to convince some of the players to change their cards. You can use it as a bluff or you can genuinely tell them they’re losing. Second, you can decide to change your card only once without looking at it. Really, ladies, it’s just a game of guessing and it’s like poker. You have to really read your opponents’ faces every time they look at your card. And finally, to the loser, a shot of tequila!” she squealed the last sentence, holding up a bottle of Patron.

Julianne was starting to get uncomfortable. Not that she didn’t drink but she had enough experiences with drunken women that she didn’t want to have another.

But the game started anyway and she found herself enjoying it. She got a two once and she lost. She drank the tequila with the ladies shouting her name. But when the game started to be forgotten as the ladies concentrated more on drinking, Julianne slowly distanced herself, making sure no one paid her notice. She did not leave, but she chose to be on the sideline.

As the ladies’ laughter and giggles danced around the room, and as the time flew by, Julianne was able to come up with some kind of cluster for the girls.

There were the Bitches namely Chloe, Hanna and Vivienne—well, just one look at them would tell you why. Then there were the Nice Girls which were Brenda and Pauline and they always made her feel welcome without any hint of indifference. The Dumb Pair were named Karen and Jill since everything that came out of their mouths was all straight out of the point. There were the Desperadas composed of Stella, Sally, Amanda, and Jenny. Julianne just knew by the look they had been throwing at Zachary every time he was near. Then, finally, there were the Romantics named Kim, Penny, and Tanya who believed that they were here to find love and they were not joking every time they said it.

When finally one of them gagged and ran towards the kitchen to throw up, Julianne decided to go out. She didn’t want to be around whenever things get dirty. Throwing up was contagious during moments like these and she didn’t want to be the one doing the cleaning.

She didn’t dare go to the beach where the water was most probably cold. And she didn’t go near Zachary’s cabin as well for he might be awake and she didn’t want to face him at this time. So, without other options, she strolled along the side of the cabin. The wind was not that chilly but she was still regretting ever putting on the bikini top or not grabbing a shawl. For the first time then, she wondered where they were exactly. Considering the short travels they had coming here, it was possible they were not out of the country. Well, she would never really know the answer to that since it was obvious that the Astor family treasured their privacy a lot.

By the time she reached the side of the house, she found a big tree a few meters away. Aside from the muffled laughter coming from inside the cabin, she could only hear the waves and the crickets. There was no sign that any crew member was still up and running around. They were probably asleep inside their big trailers near the docking site.

Julianne relished the solidarity and the peacefulness. Slowly, she made her way to the tree and after making sure that there were no snake holes of some kind, she sat on one big root that had crept up the ground through the years and leaned her back against the trunk, watching the waves as they danced in the moonlight.

“I knew it was you,” that low boyish voice said above her and her head snapped.

She found, much to her disappointment, the grinning face of Zachary Astor in his white shirt and bohemian shorts.

The look he was giving her gave her the impression that she better get up and run like hell. Chapter 7

“What are you doing here?” she asked, adjusting her glasses.

“I was in my balcony when I saw you walking out the cabin,” he smiled and dropped down on the sand beside her. “Sounds like you guys were having fun,” he smiled sheepishly.

“It wasn’t fun,” she uttered, her head aching from all the alcohol. “I have to go,” she started to get up but his hands stopped her.

“Jules, come on, why don’t we talk? It’s a nice evening and I want to spend it with you,” he smiled at her.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said, pulling her hand away from him. “And stop calling me Jules.” She didn’t know why she kept telling him that. Diane called her Jules all the time, but hearing Zach say the name was just weird.

“Come on,” he urged.

“I’m tired,” her voice sounding desperate, and she wanted to get away from him. His stare was scaring the hell out of her.

“Jules, please?” he batted his eyes at her.

“What are you? Twelve? Batting your eyes looks scary, you know that?” she said with etch of irritation.

“Five minutes, just spend it with me.”

She motioned her head towards their cabin, “There are women in there who will be happy to entertain you. I’m not in the mood for that.”

“But I want to spend this evening with you,” he pouted.

“What are you—” she gaped. “Pouting your mouth is even scarier, stop that!”

“I’m trying to be cute,” he chuckled, his face now back to its natural look.

“You’re not,” she shook her head.

“Yeah, I guess it’s not working,” he muttered. “Five minutes,” he said with a smile.

Julianne looked at him and sighed. “Five minutes,” she said and leaned back against the trunk.

“Why are you here? Okay, don’t answer that. You’re weird so I guess that answers that.”

“I’m what?”

“Weird,” he said, nodding his head. “Yeah, I find you weird. You are always alone and you don’t find me irresistible like all of them, so you’re weird.”

Julianne scoffed. “You’re impossible.”

“I just don’t get it why you keep pushing me away, you know. You should give me a chance though,” he turned his head to look at her reaction.

Julianne was not used being studied that way. She didn’t like eyes scanning her face. She was used to being ignored and put aside. But Zachary Astor was giving her too much attention since the moment they met. “I’m not giving anyone a chance where this show is concerned,” she uttered.

“But what if we met outside the show? Will you still be like this?”

“Yes,” she answered too quickly even for her to believe.

“You still don’t believe I like you?”

“Definitely,” she nodded. She knew this was all just a game for him. He found her challenging and intriguing and he wanted to prove to himself that he could make her give in to his so-called charms.

“But I don’t like you anymore,” he said in a low voice.

Julianne was startled. “You don’t? Good,” she said with relief.

“I think I’m infatuated with you,” he beamed and his chuckle rang out when her jaw dropped.

“Okay, I’m leaving,” she stood up and he stopped her once again.

“I assume I said the wrong words again?”

“You definitely did. Look, Zachary, I don’t want to be here, you understand? I want to be out of here and start working on the real job Jack Carter promised to give me. I can’t do that if you still want to keep up with this game you’ve set for yourself. Just accept it that there are actually women who can’t be dazzled by your charms.”

He looked confused. “I don’t understand. You think I’m doing this for my ego?”

“Why else?”

“Is being infatuated and insanely charmed by you not enough?”

There was just something about him that made Julianne not believe his words. If she was someone else—like those women getting wasted inside that cabin—she would have been swooned out of her feet. But the thought that she was one of those women who never gets attention from men like Zachary Astor was different. She couldn’t believe his words.

“Why don’t you stop thinking that you’re not worth my attention? I really do like you, you know,” he said with a grin. He looked handsome with that look, she thought. She could admit she liked his grin, but that was all. He was annoying her to her grave with his little game and she was close to her limitations.

“Because I know you are playing a game here, Zachary,” she answered his question.

He scooted to face her and looked her in the eyes. “I’m not playing games where you are concerned,” he said.

That line was just overused for her to believe him. “I don’t believe you. You just lied to me.”

“I’m not lying and I can prove that,” his lips lifted at one corner.

“How?”

She expected him