saying?”
“You called me, remember?”
I shook my head and it hurt like hell.
“You got beaten up pretty bad. You passed out in your car. You’ve got a couple of bruised ribs, I think. They might be fractured but you said no hospital. You were in agony and starting to go out of your head so I gave you a couple of Percocet for the pain.”
“Why’d you use that shampoo?”
The question made her tilt her chin. The dripping shag fell across her face in a way that made me want her more and also made me want to run. “You seemed obsessed with it. You were holding on to that bag with a death grip. I thought it might relax you.”
She angled the shower head and rinsed us off. I said, “You might want to get out. I need it cold. If my eyes close up I’ll be useless.”
“It’s okay, I won’t throw myself at you again. If you don’t want it, that’s fine, just say so.”
She stepped out and I shut off the hot water, then stood there beneath the freezing needles trying to center myself again.
Number five. The expression on the face of the beautiful lady who saved you as you spurned her adoring advances.
I climbed out. She was still drying off. She held the towel open for me the way a mother waits to dry her kid off at the beach. She patted me down carefully, avoiding the worst bruises. She opened the medicine cabinet and got out a roll of tape. The pain meds kept me from bellowing while she tightly bound the ribs on the right side.
I checked the damage in the mirror. “Holy Christ.”
“It’s not that bad. Here.” She taped up my nose, my ear, and my right eyebrow. My eyes were already going black. The cold water had helped a little but not enough. I looked monstrous and couldn’t believe she’d touched me in any kind of an erotic manner. She appraisedher work. “I don’t think you need stitches but you should keep the tape on for a couple of days at least.”
“You’ve been to nursing school too?”
“Close enough. The husband I told you about, who liked to drink? He had small, fast hands.”
Perhaps as much as a quarter millionre couple of I knew I should apologize for calling her. I’d taken advantage of her. I’d possibly gotten her involved in some real trouble. The crew might still be on my ass and parked right outside. There was no point in checking, I still wouldn’t be able to spot them.
I tied a towel around my waist. She wrapped one around her hair and slid into a robe. I tried to read her eyes but my vision was hazy from the beating and the pills made me loose without relaxing me.
She led me to the bedroom, which was stacked with books in every free inch except where there were overstuffed bags and bins of yarn. My clothes were in a pile on the floor.
“Which sells better?” I asked. “The yarn or the books?”
She let out a short sigh that smelled faintly of mint. “Why are you asking me that question now?”
“I have no idea.”
“You’re stoned on the Percs, aren’t you.”
“I think I’m a little stoned on the Percs, yes.”
Getting stoned only seemed to drive up my curiosity. I still didn’t understand the store, or why she was interested in playing the role of a semiprostitute, and whether she was looking to become a real working girl or if it was all a sex game, and whether I was going to have to pay before the day was out or not. I stared at her and her beauty worked its magic on me, and I was full of need and want again, and the loneliness burned through me like diesel. I had a head full of bad wiring. She sat on the bed and looked up at me expectantly. I had sixty bucks in my wallet. The crew hadn’t mugged me. I hoped she wouldn’t cost more than that, but then again, if I was going to spend time with a call girl, I’d want her to be a high-priced call girl. Itwas only reasonable. You had to have standards. I could always rob her next-door neighbors. The Percs and the pain were making me goofy.
She said, “Are you sure you didn’t mean to ask if
“You called me, remember?”
I shook my head and it hurt like hell.
“You got beaten up pretty bad. You passed out in your car. You’ve got a couple of bruised ribs, I think. They might be fractured but you said no hospital. You were in agony and starting to go out of your head so I gave you a couple of Percocet for the pain.”
“Why’d you use that shampoo?”
The question made her tilt her chin. The dripping shag fell across her face in a way that made me want her more and also made me want to run. “You seemed obsessed with it. You were holding on to that bag with a death grip. I thought it might relax you.”
She angled the shower head and rinsed us off. I said, “You might want to get out. I need it cold. If my eyes close up I’ll be useless.”
“It’s okay, I won’t throw myself at you again. If you don’t want it, that’s fine, just say so.”
She stepped out and I shut off the hot water, then stood there beneath the freezing needles trying to center myself again.
Number five. The expression on the face of the beautiful lady who saved you as you spurned her adoring advances.
I climbed out. She was still drying off. She held the towel open for me the way a mother waits to dry her kid off at the beach. She patted me down carefully, avoiding the worst bruises. She opened the medicine cabinet and got out a roll of tape. The pain meds kept me from bellowing while she tightly bound the ribs on the right side.
I checked the damage in the mirror. “Holy Christ.”
“It’s not that bad. Here.” She taped up my nose, my ear, and my right eyebrow. My eyes were already going black. The cold water had helped a little but not enough. I looked monstrous and couldn’t believe she’d touched me in any kind of an erotic manner. She appraisedher work. “I don’t think you need stitches but you should keep the tape on for a couple of days at least.”
“You’ve been to nursing school too?”
“Close enough. The husband I told you about, who liked to drink? He had small, fast hands.”
Perhaps as much as a quarter millionre couple of I knew I should apologize for calling her. I’d taken advantage of her. I’d possibly gotten her involved in some real trouble. The crew might still be on my ass and parked right outside. There was no point in checking, I still wouldn’t be able to spot them.
I tied a towel around my waist. She wrapped one around her hair and slid into a robe. I tried to read her eyes but my vision was hazy from the beating and the pills made me loose without relaxing me.
She led me to the bedroom, which was stacked with books in every free inch except where there were overstuffed bags and bins of yarn. My clothes were in a pile on the floor.
“Which sells better?” I asked. “The yarn or the books?”
She let out a short sigh that smelled faintly of mint. “Why are you asking me that question now?”
“I have no idea.”
“You’re stoned on the Percs, aren’t you.”
“I think I’m a little stoned on the Percs, yes.”
Getting stoned only seemed to drive up my curiosity. I still didn’t understand the store, or why she was interested in playing the role of a semiprostitute, and whether she was looking to become a real working girl or if it was all a sex game, and whether I was going to have to pay before the day was out or not. I stared at her and her beauty worked its magic on me, and I was full of need and want again, and the loneliness burned through me like diesel. I had a head full of bad wiring. She sat on the bed and looked up at me expectantly. I had sixty bucks in my wallet. The crew hadn’t mugged me. I hoped she wouldn’t cost more than that, but then again, if I was going to spend time with a call girl, I’d want her to be a high-priced call girl. Itwas only reasonable. You had to have standards. I could always rob her next-door neighbors. The Percs and the pain were making me goofy.
She said, “Are you sure you didn’t mean to ask if
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