I motioned for Iris to take a seat at the table as I set about making a pot of fresh coffee. She slid onto the white painted chair with the elegance of a ballet dancer, her long, tanned limbs moving with a liquid grace which held me transfixed. As a result, I spilt ground coffee onto the worktop. "Shit," I yelped, feeling clumsy and gauche as I scrabbled round, scraping the loose grounds into a heap, before carefully sweeping them back into the bag. Iris didn't say anything, she just watched, amused as I got flustered.

Thankfully, the rest of the coffee-making went without incident and I placed a steaming cup of Jamaican blue mountain in front of her. "Thank you," she said, "I think I need this before I can tackle my work today."

I watched as her lips wrapped around the rim of the cup and she took a sip. "What work are you doing today?" I asked. I couldn't think of anything better to say, as my mind had gone a bit blank.

"I'm working on a commercial for the company Juliet works for, which is just a happy coincidence," she replied. "I do all the graphic effects, my specialty is computer generated code, made to look like film."

"CGI then?" I asked. She nodded. "Have you worked on motion pictures?" My last movie had relied heavily on CGI, so I knew a bit about it."

"Yes, but I can't bear being away from home for long stretches, and movie effects are done in specialised studios. I'm happy just working here on smaller projects. I have a full schedule booked until next year, so I'm not short of work."

"How did you meet all the others?" I asked. I wanted to bombard her with questions but held back.

"At college, in the sorority house," she replied. "Ava took me under her wing, improved my English and helped me fit in with all the others." She paused, "I was very shy at first, but the girls all helped me, turned me into an American."

"How come you came to America?" I asked. Everything about the softly spoken girl intrigued me.

"We fled Myanmar when I was thirteen, just my father and I. Our lives were in danger, we were lucky to escape."

"Does your father live around here too?" I asked. She shook her head, sadness clouding her face.

"He stayed in New York. He has a new wife now."

"And your mum?" I asked. She drained her coffee and stood up.

"I'd better go now, thank you for the coffee."

"Anytime. Shall I make you another one later on? I could bring some over for you.."

She just smiled and waved goodbye as she skipped out of the patio doors and along the beach to her own house.

I poured myself a fresh coffee and thought about her. There was something about her that drew me in, like a moth to a flame.

I 'd just settled into a sun lounger outside, with an icy cold can of soda and a book I was considering optioning for a movie, called A Very Corporate Affair, when I heard a voice calling out "Hey Henry, how you doing?" I glanced up to see The Pixie walking up the beach, her wild curls bouncing as she walked.

"I'm good thanks," I said, putting down my book. "You don't look like you're going to work?"

"Day off," she said, beaming a radiant smile. "I'm going into town in a bit, I wondered if you needed anything?" I shook my head.

"My PA sent over everything I need, besides, I'm quite looking forward to fending for myself, I've not done it for a long time." Her face fell, and I wondered if I'd said the wrong thing.

"Tell us if we're intruding won't you?" I watched her blush. "I guess we can be a bit too friendly at times. We don't mean any harm, but Alex says he finds it all a bit overwhelming when he's been over, which pisses his friend Howie off, because he's got a crush on Iris and wants to hang out here more often."

"Who's Howie?" I asked, feeling a jolt of anger at some idiot making a play for the lovely Iris. No doubt it was a spotty youngster who was trying to punch well above his weight.

"Alex's friend? oh he's CEO of some software company down in the valley. Alex brought him to one of our parties and he keeps finding excuses to come over. I wish Alex was as keen." She looked despondent.

"Why isn't Alex keen?" I ventured.

"He's too busy staring at his screen. He's building some sort of forum business so he's wrapped up in that, but the Pixie is patient. Can I ask you a question?" I nodded. "What exactly are you running from? I mean, why do you want to be in this sleepy place all by yourself when you could go anywhere in the world and be waited on hand and foot?" She tilted her head as she waited for my answer.

I thought about it for a moment. "I need some time out from being waited on, being stared at, fawned over and from being hassled by all the hangers-on that fame attracts. I need to be real for a while so that I can face it all again for the next round of movie promo."

"Cool, I understand. In the meantime, I need to go into town. I ate all of Janine's emergency chocolate stash by accident, and she'll be cross if she finds out." She gave an impish grin before disappearing around the front of the house. Two minutes later, I heard a car pull away, ABBA blaring from the sound system. I smiled and picked up my book. The Pixie was, in my opinion, adorable.

I struggled to concentrate for some reason, the news that another man was making a play for Iris made me edgy. I wondered why she hadn't accepted his advances. As I gazed out at the ocean, it struck me that I was jealous. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I was actually envious that another man had been making overtures to Iris. I mentally slapped myself for being juvenile and got back to my book.

A couple of hours later, I finished it and placed it on the sand. I needed to eat, get a drink and cool down. The sun was relentlessly fierce, and sweat was pouring off me. I wiped my face with the towel and headed inside to peer into the fridge, where I found some cold cooked chicken and a bean salad in dressing, as well as a bottle of beer and some melon.

I sat out on the sun lounger to eat, wolfing down the chicken as I'd skipped breakfast. With my belly full of food and the cold beer making me drowsy, I must've fallen asleep.

"Anyone home?" Someone yelled, waking me with a start. A UPS man wandered down the passageway between the first house and mine.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Package for Janine Brennan. It's gotta be signed for." He brought it towards me. I signed the device and watched as he dumped the box on the sand at my feet.

"Thanks man," he muttered, glancing at the back of the girls house ruefully before scooting off back to his van. I examined the box. It was marked 'beachbeauty.com' and was too well sealed to look inside. I moved it off the sand and went for a swim.

I was just stepping out of the ocean when I spotted Janine. I called out and waved to get her attention, yelling that she'd had a delivery. By the time I'd got back to the lounger, she'd found the box. "Typical isn't it? I pop out for two hours and the delivery I've waited two days for turns up. Thanks for taking it in."

"No problem," I said, "what have you been buying?"

"Bikinis. I bought a few to try. I'll go put them on and you can tell me which one looks best."

She skipped off with the box under her arm. I sat dripping on the lounger, waiting for the sun to dry me off so I could apply more lotion.

She emerged in the tiniest bikini I'd ever seen. The triangles of the top barely covered her nipples and the bottoms left almost nothing to the imagination. I nearly choked on my beer. "I think it's a bit small," she said, "what do you think?" She turned around to show me the back, which was cut away to the point of almost being a thong. Her peachy, taut bottom was fully on show. My cock twitched and started getting interested. I had to sit up and draw up my knees to prevent a tent in my shorts.

"It's very revealing," I said diplomatically, trying to adjust myself without her seeing. She threw me a knowing smirk and went off to try the next one.

I had to sit through five bikinis, each one more revealing than the last. Janine had a fabulous figure and was one of those effortlessly sexy women, who's hips swayed gently when she walked. By the time she'd finished, I was soaked in sweat and sunburned as I couldn't stand up to apply sun cream. I could only sit still until my erection subsided. What I really wanted to do was rip the flimsy material off of her and fuck her hard and fast. I knew it would scupper my chances with Iris, so I fought the urges with every bit of self control I possessed.