Page 281 of Vicious Saint
And my shoulders…Saint’s Letterman free.
They both must’ve fallen off during the shuffle.
“Mannaggia!” I rip a “damn it!” out of Carlo’s passport book, knowing Saint is going to lose his ever loving mind over me not listening and following him back to the private room.
“We havegotto stop meeting like this.” A feminine chuckle comes from behind me, and when my head darts up I find Leerie, the girl from the Macy’s dressing room, almost as disheveled as me.
“What the?” I swing around, gaping at her. “When the hell did you get in here?”
“Probably thirty seconds before you did. Barely made it out alive.”
“Yeah, well, you look a lot better than me.”
She cringes. “Looks pretty gnarly.”
Way to twist the damn knife.
Leerie’s heels clank against the tile as she makes her way to the sink next to me. “Were the boys fighting over you?” she jokes as she washes her hands, revealing that subtle accent I can’t quite make out.
The joke is hilarious for so many dry reasons, until I remember the weird feeling I got the last time she started asking questions.
Same store?
Same club?
Same bathroom?
Yeah, I mean, Manhattan is a small island, and LACE is popular, but after the creepy dude I spotted watching me? I’d be a full-fledged idiot not to be on guard with anyone outside a mobster or a Royal Heathen.
Even a girl who was clearly knocked around like me.
When silence befalls us long enough to thicken the air, Leerie sucks in a dramatic breath. “Well, I’m gonna attempt an escape before the cops show up.” She drops a paper towel in the garbage pail. “Shall we do it together? Strength in numbers?”
We. Shall. Not. Leerie. I’d rather take my chances here than out there with the stampede and creeper possibly lurking around.
“Yeah, I’m gonna hang tight and wait for my…” The words trail off, once again feeling like I should shut my damn trap.
“Boyfriend, huh?” She grins a cheshire grin. “A new one or old one?”
This girl, man. Abrasiveandintuitive.
“Good guess.”
“New or old?”
“Why do you wanna know?” I ask, a little sharper than I intended, but Leerie doesn’t seem to mind.
Instead, she shrugs, her eyes drinking me up and down. “Shooting my shot, I guess.”
Okay…so sheisinto chicks.
Or maybe just stalking them.
Another terrible reason to go anywhere with her, Hendrix.
Damn, conscience, at least give me a little credit.
“I’m flattered, but I’m straight, and obviously taken.”
