Read Rescued: A Festive Novella Online
Authors: J'aimee Brooker
Rescued: A Festive Novella
Rescued
A Festive Novella
Rescued
By J'aimee Brooker
Copyright 2013 J'aimee Brooker
Smashwords Edition
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RESCUED
A Festive Novella
Two gorgeous girls
A knight in shining speedos
One red-hot Australian Christmas!
Set against the glorious backdrop of Australia's iconic Bondi Beach comes the story of childhood friends Anya Thompson and Sophie Anders and their brush with one of Bondi's finest—lifeguard Jack Covey.
As a lifeguard, Jack's instincts are finely tuned. He's spent his career watching for danger and avoiding distractions but when the gorgeous Anya Thompson catches his eye, he can't help but be intrigued by Anya and her modest and reserved manner.
Anya's lost more than her Christmas cheer, but will one steamy night with her best friend and the deliciously handsome Jack be just the thing to restart her shattered heart?
Draw On My Heart
Command My Heart
Train My Heart
“And that”, Anya sighed, dramatically falling into the overstuffed and uncomfortable couch that she called a bed, “is it! Christmas can officially come now; food, presents, and most importantly our wine is here, safe and sound!”
Christmas had never been important to Anya; the memories of the Christmas that changed her life were still too raw, too real to distance herself from. But, Sophie was the closest she had to family now and she didn’t want to deny her best friend a day of relaxing and celebrating.
“Anya! You should’ve told me you were shopping today, I’d have come and helped” chided Sophie as she walked into the living room in a revealing navy and white striped bikini, hair swept into a high ponytail and sunscreen in hand.
“That’s exactly the reason I didn’t tell you Soph. I’ve seen how much your ‘help’ costs” Anya laughed, instinctively grabbing the sunscreen from Sophie’s outstretched hand and rubbing the cream into her friend’s shoulders and back.
Sophie was the quintessential Aussie girl; legs that stretched on forever, long blonde hair and the palest of blue eyes. By comparison, Anya with her darker hair, generous smattering of freckles and shorter, curvier figure had always felt plain. Add to that, Sophie with her outgoing personality and carefree attitude to life and love as opposed to Anya’s preference for intense long-term relationships made them truly as opposite as two friends could be, yet somehow their friendship worked. Their bond had been forged as little girls and though the years saw each undergo their separate highs and lows, their friendship had always endured, had always grown stronger and firmer with each passing year.
“Swimmers, Anya” Sophie ordered, shifting easily into her usual bossy role, “I’m desperate to get to the beach, I can’t handle this heat! It’s crazy out there, like 35 degrees or something…” she trailed off, grabbing bags of groceries and haphazardly putting them away.
“Ok, ok” laughed Anya, reaching over to pick up the bag that held Sophie’s Christmas present before walking down to Sophie’s bedroom and pulling out a sensible black monokini from the dresser that belonged to her and slid it on, staring back at her reflection at how the immodest swimwear brought out her curvaceous figure. For years, Sophie had begged her to ditch her one-piece swimmers but Anya could never feel comfortable in public in a bikini, so she’d compromised on a monokini which offered just enough coverage to make her slightly less self-conscious.
Searching for a suitable hiding spot for Sophie’s present, Anya knew the time had come to talk to Sophie about their living arrangement; they’d have to move soon, the one-bedroom setup had stopped working months earlier and was now simply impossible.
They’d been so desperate to leave their hometown of North Grove in June that one day they’d simply packed what belongings they had into Sophie’s SUV and travelled east until they hit the coastline of Sydney. A week in a backpackers hostel had been a little too much of an eye-opener and when Anya saw the ‘For Rent’ advert in the local paper for this one-bedroom flat with “ocean glimpses” and refreshing “crosswinds” it seemed too good to be true. But, the price was right and the location, just a minute away from the iconic Bondi Beach was too good to refuse, so it was decided and they moved in that afternoon.
Anya, with her insomnia and unrelenting nightmares had volunteered to take up residency in the lounge room, which though logical meant Anya had no privacy and nowhere to really call her own. To a degree, Anya didn’t care—what did she have anyway? It’s not as though she needed privacy for anything other than being able to wallow and hide away from life, particularly at this time of the year. It was the second anniversary of her life being torn apart, her second year alone in the world, the second Christmas that served only as a reminder of her how one split-second of her father’s selfishness cost him, her mother, and her two younger sisters their lives.
If only her father hadn’t been so selfish, hadn’t put his own desires ahead of the family’s safety. If only she’d been at home with her family instead of out partying with Sophie and their friends. If only she could turn back the clocks and take away all the destruction and pain…
If only, if only, if only… those two words were the ones that haunted her everyday, every night when she tossed and turned quietly sobbing herself to restless and tormented sleep. If only…
“Anya, come on!” Sophie called, interrupting her thoughts. She’d talk to Sophie about moving but right now, nothing was happening until Soph got her hit of sand, salt water, and surfers.
“He’s gorgeous” Sophie purred from behind her glasses, “don’t you think Anya?
”
“Ah, yep, I guess so…”
“You guess so? Anya Thompson, you have to be kidding me—look at him, he is the ultimate specimen of man! Ooh, and look at the guy next to him… my gosh I’m glad we made this move! What I wouldn’t do to have them both at my beck and call…” she trailed off.
“Oh Soph, seriously, too much information” Anya sighed, rolling over to rest on her stomach giving her back a much needed slathering of the intensely warm sun rays but throwing a quick glance over her shoulder at the two lifeguards all the same. They were hot, but then again that was hardly a surprise, she hadn’t seen any that where less than Adonis-like since moving to Sydney.
“Right. Like you’ve never had a lifeguard fantasy Miss Goody-Two-Shoes?” she replied mockingly. “Oh, gosh, Anya they’re looking over here” she whispered before stilling completely.
“Big deal, some hot lifeguards are checking out girls on the beach. Now tell me something that should surprise me, Soph?
”
“Oh, that’s nice don’t ya think Jack—this one thinks we’re hot” came a strong male voice from above her sending her into a frenzied scramble to kneel and cover herself.
“Hey…” she shouted accusingly, looking up at the two lifeguards introducing themselves as Finn and Jack. Finn, the outwardly cocky personality of the pair instantly grabbed Sophie’s undivided attention as she jumped to her feet, appreciative of the attention. Jack stood back almost apologetically before stepping forward and offering Anya his hand as she struggled to her feet.
“I’m sorry” he spoke gently, pulling her to her feet effortlessly, “I did try to convince Finn not to be so rude, but, well that’s easier said than done” he laughed, turning their attention toward Finn who’d settled in close to Sophie and had her undivided attention, one hand resting casually on the small of her back.
“Aren’t you working?” Anya asked spying Finn’s hand working it way further south before resting it across Sophie’s backside. Realizing instantly how rude and direct she sounded, “Sorry, that came out all wrong—I didn’t mean it like that” she backtracked, taking in the surprised look on Jack’s face.
“Nope, I probably deserved that, though it looks like your friend isn’t too annoyed” he smiled. “I’m Jack, and yes I was working but I've just finished my shift” offering her his hand once again.
"Anya. It's nice to meet you, Jack. I haven't seen you down here before, do you work here often?" she asked, the warmth and strength of Jack's hand holding hers encouraging a slight blush to stain her cheeks.
"Does he work here often?! Geez Anya, you couldn't have chosen a cornier pick-up line if you'd tried" laughed Sophie playfully patting Anya on the back. "Finn's taking me for a swim out in the back breakers" she winked conspiratorially before the slap of Finn's hand on her backside and Sophie's flirtatious squeal broke the silence.
Anya sighed vocally, if only she had just a tiny smidgen of Sophie's confidence. She'd always been envious of Sophie's easygoing nature and her ability to have men eating out of her hand; it was just a pity that she never stuck with any of her conquests after the deal was done. Surely, one of these days a man who could captivate her for longer than it took her to get re-dressed would come along, until then, Sophie would keep being 'Sophie'.
"They're certainly getting along well" Jack laughed, bringing Anya back to the moment as she looked up to see Finn throw Sophie over his shoulder and head into the waves.
"Soph has always been laidback" she offered, sitting down on her towel and scooting over to offer him some space next to her. As he shuffled his bulk onto the towel beside her, the smell of his sunscreen and the heat of his body so close to hers engulfing her senses, "I've never quite understood how she does it, but she seems to have an awful lot of fun" Anya laughed awkwardly, looking out to watch them frolicking in the waves.
"What about you?" he asked, turning his body to face her, "what do you do for fun, Anya?"
Anya considered him for a moment; with his dark hair and even darker eyes, deliciously tanned skin, and shoulders so broad that even covered with his Lifeguard shirt they screamed for attention, arms that were bulging from beneath his shirt that she'd just die to have around her, keeping her safe and secure. No doubt about it, Jack was the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on. And, judging by the filthy looks she was been shot by women far more beautiful than her, she was definitely out of her depth. Yet, he hadn't once looked at any of them, hadn't once broken her eye contact.
"Aah, well not that" she laughed nodding to Sophie and Finn who were now lip-locked in the waves oblivious to all around them. "I, ah, I don't really know to be honest".
"You don't know what you do for fun?" he questioned. "Anya, have I imposed on you, would you like me to leave?" he asked genuinely as he began to rise to his feet.
"No, don't leave" she replied, quickly resting her hand on his knee to stop him. "I'm just not very good at this" she said, waving her finger between them both as way of explanation. "I've just moved to Sydney, well six months ago now, but I've just thrown myself into work and I don't really have any pastimes, I don't really know anyone except for Sophie" she revealed honestly.
Nice one Anya, no friends, no fun, no life… What man would find that interesting?
she chided herself—if that didn't make her seem like the most boring and pathetic person in the whole of Sydney she'd be surprised.
His silence was monumental; it felt like minutes had passed before he finally replied, "Sounds like you need another friend" flashing her a warm smile and a wink adding "I'd like to get to know you Anya, if you're interested?"
His smile warmed her from deep inside and she felt the resultant blush hit her cheeks almost instantly. "Really? Anya with no family, no friends, no life—
you
want to get to know me?" she replied unbelievingly.
"You don't believe me?" he quizzed her, lowering his voice and causing Anya to lean in closer to hear him, "Why wouldn't I want to know you?"
"Well, I mean, look at you and look at me" she scoffed, "Every woman on this beach is death-staring me right now just for daring to talk to you. Even they can tell this is the mismatch of the year!"
"Anya, I don't care what they think. And, for the record, we" he said just loud enough for her to hear, "we're not a mismatch" before flashing her a smile that momentarily stopped her heart from beating. "So, what brought you to Sydney?"
"New beginnings" she offered, meekly. She'd come to despise telling her life story and was even more reluctant to do so with Jack lest he run in the opposite direction from fear of her 'baggage' as it was so often called.
"Right, new beginnings… You're not going to give anything away are you Anya?" he replied, sounding almost disappointed with her.
"I… I don't know what to say. Soph and I just got sick of North Grove, so one day so we packed up and decided that Sydney was a better option. It was really that simple, we didn't even really think about what we were doing until we were in the car and on our way here"
"But something led you to such a spontaneous move…" he asked indirectly, staring at her intently as though she was a puzzle he was trying to solve.
"It was too stifling there. Everyone knows each other, knows each other's business, knows each other's past… It… It just got too hard"
“So, you have no family here at all? That’s got to be difficult, especially at Christmastime?”
“Yeah” she answered, “it is. Anyway, what about you—do you have family here in Sydney?”
“Nice way to deflect my question” he smiled, “My family live up north, I moved here a few years ago to study and work. They’re busy with their lives – mum and dad have retired and my brother recently got married. What about your folks, will they travel up for Christmas?”
"Well well well… I wasn't expecting to come back and see you two so cosy!" interrupted Sophie just in time to enable Anya to avoid Jack’s question. She instinctively moved back from Jack, her body instantly missing his warmth and the closeness though overwhelmingly grateful to Sophie for her unusually good timing.
"Mate, we best be off—the tower's been looking for us for post-shift debrief" Finn called to Jack, before slapping Sophie backside yet again and pulling her in for a kiss. "That was fun, babe, give me a yell if you wanna hook up again"
"Geez, Finn, why not just tell them what we've been doing?!" Sophie said incredulously, "nice work at being subtle!"
"Oh, seriously" Anya fumed under her breath, standing to pack up her towel and head home. It wasn't the first time and probably wouldn't be the last, but Sophie's relaxed approach to sex since arriving in Sydney was starting to bother Anya.
"Ignore them", Jack replied, shaking the excess sand of her towel before handing it to her neatly folded. "Have you got some paper in there?" he asked, nodding to her beach bag.
"Yep, why?" she replied, digging deep into her bag and coming up with an old notepad and pen.
"Here", he said grabbing it from her, "this is my number. Text me when you get home; I mean it Anya, let's get to know each other" he offered genuinely, passing her the notepad and holding her hand in his. "Can we do that?"
"Yes. I think so" she smiled shyly, looking up into his gorgeous brown eyes.
"Good, I'm glad that's settled" he smiled, bending and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek and whispering, "text me your number when you get home. I'll be waiting".