One Night Stand
Copyright © 2018 by Corina Eichholz
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
ISBN: 987-1-9991448-0-7
Cover design: Victoria Cooper Art
Editor: Stephanie Lott
Formatting: Champagne Book Design
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About The Author
To my cousin Stephanie, my first reader and the one who helped me to believe in myself.
I LOOKED UP FROM MY sketch book and admired the beauty of the old church in front of me and how the rays of sunlight danced off the old tile roof. It was incredible; we didn’t have churches like this back home in Florida. Then again, this church was hundreds of years old and America wasn’t discovered for centuries after this historical city.
My neck ached from being bent down awkwardly, for too long in the same position. I tilted it sideways and it cracked audibly, relieving some of the tension. My stomach grumbled and I looked at my watch. I’d been sitting here drawing for the past two hours. My stomach growled louder and I rubbed it absentmindedly. Yeah, yeah, I’ll get you something to eat, I thought to myself.
I stood up and stretched, before putting my sketch pad and pencils back into my purse. I couldn’t believe I’d already been in Munich for two weeks. It was beautiful here and I’d fallen in love with the city: its history, architecture, food and its beauty. I tried to capture all three with my pencils whenever I got the chance.
Tomorrow would be our last full day in this wonderful city. We were leaving the day after, back to sunny Florida. I still had a few assignments to finish up. This trip wasn’t meant to be all fun and games but it had been better than I could have expected.
I’d been skeptical when my best friend Chelsea had talked me into taking a summer German intensive class as one of my college electives. But when she explained that part of the class was taking a trip to Germany, I was all in. I’d never been out of my little hometown besides going to Washington once, for a school fieldtrip. This was huge and something I’d dreamed of doing. I’d always wanted to go out and see the world. It had been the perfect opportunity, not only did I get to do it with my best friend; I also got credits for a class at the same time.
It helped that Chelsea’s parents were paying half of the trip for me. They liked knowing I’d be there to make sure Chelsea didn’t get into too much trouble. I wouldn’t have been able to go without their help, I didn’t have the funds and neither did my family.
I made my way down the winding cobblestone roads to the market square. It was busy as usual this time of day and the tourists were milling around snapping their pictures. I tried to get to the bar where Chelsea was waiting for me without photobombing too many people.
Chatting away to some guys as usual, Chelsea flipped her golden hair back and laughed at something one of the guys was saying, her bright blue eyes twinkling. She was beautiful and fit right in here. Many people thought she was a local with her looks but she was just an all-American beauty. My stomach growled again and I stumbled on one of the cobblestones in my sandals, bumping into the person in front of me. A man caught me with strong arms and smiled down at me, his green eyes shining brightly like gems.
“Oops!” I exclaimed, embarrassed, as my cheeks caught fire. “I am so sorry!” I apologized, gaining my balance and rushing towards Chelsea and her new friends of the hour. I finally made it there and took the only empty chair beside a guy I didn’t yet know.
Chelsea smiled cheerfully. “Finally!” she grinned. “I was wondering when you’d grace us with your presence.” She laughed, always so bubbly. “Lee, this is Richard and Linus.” She waved at the brunet in front of me and to the blond seated next to me. They were both our age, maybe a little older and attractive but I wasn’t interested, I still had Chris back home.
I’d been with Chris for almost a year; we’d met during college orientation and had been together since. Well, until this trip and he’d decided we should take a break while apart. But once I got back home I was sure we’d be together. After all he’d said we both needed to enjoy ourselves this summer but we’d work things out again. It sucked and I hated it but I couldn’t give up on us, on him. He was all I knew and my first real boyfriend.
“Hi,” I said unenthusiastically to the guys and grabbed a menu. I was getting a little dizzy now, I was so hungry. A waitress came to us and I ordered a large plate of fries with mayo and a beer. It was awesome being able to order alcohol whenever I wanted and not needing to worry about being only nineteen. Back home I was still underage but that didn’t stop anyone from getting alcohol, it just made it harder. The waitress came back with my order and I scarfed it down, needing to fill my aching stomach, I ignored the looks from the people around me.
“Forget to eat again?” Chelsea asked, chuckling at me and my savage eating. I merely nodded, chugging down some beer to wash away the saltiness at the back of my throat. Chelsea left me
