Hi all,
Here's an excerpt from one of the early chapters of
ONE SMOKING HOT FAIRY TAIL. It further introduces Sabrina London as well as giving you a glimpse of her friends, Mira and Moselle.
Hope you enjoy! The paperback version, linked above, is still on sale!
Something seemed wrong. Sabrina had always
been sensitive to the world around her as well as its minute changes, and her
whole body was telling her: something was off.
Dressed in her pink Agent Provocateur bikini, Sabrina stared down
into the buzzing city of Beverly Hills from the balcony of her Rodeo Drive
penthouse apartment, twisting her jeweled silver bangle. It had become a habit
over the past few years, one that normally surfaced when she was anxious.
The wind fluttered the pages of
an old People magazine beside her. Startled
out of thought, she listened to the tips of the glossy paper as they struck the
white wood of the French bistro table.
That magazine—she would never
forget the day it was given to her. One
year ago, Sabrina had stood on that very spot—set to end her life. Her wealth,
her family, her job—everything was at risk, with the exception of her fame. Fame
was like a highway, and one year ago, like it or not, Sabrina was traveling in
the fast lane.
“I swear, Mira, I feel like there’s
something big happening out there, you know? Something that requires my
attention.”
Mira, her best friend, was treading water in
their small, indoor pool. Mira lived to swim, and together the girls did a
hundred laps in the thirty-foot indoor pool each day. Though Sabrina credited
her tight, athletic form to swimming, Mira did it simply for pure enjoyment. On
days the pair were not busy, she would stay in the pool as long as Sabrina
would allow it.
A gust of wind whipped Sabrina’s pale blonde
hair around her face. A helicopter’s spinning blades thumped louder as it drew
near. It had been months since a desperate photographer tried to make a buck
off a photo of her in a skimpy bikini, if that were the case today, she would
give him exactly what he wanted.
Sabrina placed her hands on the railing of
the balcony, spread her legs shoulder-width apart, and bent over slightly at
the waist. Chest pushed out, she quickly adjusted the bra’s sailor’s knot
detail at the center of her cleavage. She wanted to make sure that if this photo
showed up on the tabloids and social-networking sites, it was a damn good one.
Surprisingly, the helicopter passed by, it’s
red and white blades a blur of motion as it sped off in the direction of the
highway. Fuck me, probably another car
accident, she thought while relaxing her stance.
“Isn’t today the day?” Mira called from
inside the penthouse.
“Yes, the funds I transferred into your
account should be good now. You know what to do.”
“I already found a no-kill animal shelter in
Nacogdoches, Texas, that could use the money desperately.”
“Great.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to donate it
yourself, Sabrina? The press you would get from it would be incredible.”
“No, Mira. It has to be completely anonymous,
untraceable to me. I seriously don’t want to read on some asshole’s blog that I’m
trying to buy back my celebrity.”
Mira nodded; Sabrina knew she understood.
A sudden chord of music from Sabrina’s
favorite heavy metal song alerted her to an incoming call. Snatching her cell
phone from the table where it sat next to the weathered People magazine, she pressed accept with a quick glance at the
unknown caller ID.
“Sabrina, at your service.”
“Greetings, Sabrina,” a sultry voice licked
at her ear.
“Moselle!” Sabrina cheered. “I didn’t
recognize your number.”
“I had to change it again, my friend. It has
a way of falling into the wrong hands.”
“I understand.” Sabrina rolled her eyes;
she too had been the victim of such annoyances. “What’s up, babe?”
“Do you recall the texts I sent you last
month, telling you my father would be opening a new Club Afterlife? Well, forgive
me for not calling sooner, but the red carpet grand opening is this Friday.”
“Really?” Sabrina bounced with excitement.
“When and where?”
“I will text you all the details.”
“Great. I’m there.”
“Will you be bringing a date?” Moselle inquired.
“I’m kinda single at the moment, so Mira
will be my date for the evening. How about you, sexy? Still eating men alive?”
“I have
found someone special.” Moselle replied. “I will introduce him to you at the
club.”
“Oh, no juicy details?”
“All I will say is that he has beautiful eyes
and smells so delicious, my mouth waters at the mere thought of him.”
Sabrina laughed. “I can’t wait to meet him. See
you there, babe.”
With the People
magazine rolled tightly in her hand, she marched inside to tell Mira the news.
“What’s today’s date?” Mira asked when she
saw the rolled up magazine in Sabrina’s hand.
“You know what day it is.”
“Then it’s time you got rid of that stupid
thing.” Mira pointed from the water where she bobbed up and down.
“I know.”
Sabrina took one last look at the cover: Sabrina London, People Magazine’s Most
Beautiful Woman.
“Sabrina…” Mira prompted again.
“Yeah, I know.”
Sabrina pictured herself a year ago—weak and
disheveled, with wind-scattered hair sticking to her tear-stained makeup. It
was the night the video of her freeing the test animals went viral. CNN called
it a crime—her father called it unforgivable.
Sabrina’s heart seized as the painful memory
played out further—her mind burned with the hurtful words that filled her ears
that night.
The same old, dangerous thoughts echoed in
her head as she watched her past self climb the slippery railing and slide her
bare feet to the edge. If only the
pharmaceutical corporation would have accepted my bribes. If only Cade wouldn’t
have filmed us. If only he hadn’t left his camera lying in that fucking parking
lot where anyone could find it. It had been a long time since Sabrina considered
just how close she was to giving up and jumping.
Cade
is gone. Those days are gone.
Sabrina couldn’t think about it another second. She swallowed her sorrow and, with
all the strength she could muster, pitched the magazine over the balcony, out
into the empty sky.
“Done,” she said.
“Done,” Mira repeated.
Thanks all!
Kevin James Breaux
www.kevinbreaux.com
