The Dunning Man by Fortuna Kevin

Author:Fortuna, Kevin [Fortuna, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Lavender Ink
Published: 2014-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Flogging Maggie

There she is in her glory, sitting in my torn-up La-Z-Boy, wearing nothing but the bra I lent her. Her legs are drawn up sideways so her knees sit just under her chin. She's sipping a strawberry Nesquik—my strawberry Nesquik. She always wipes me out of my Nesquik. Says it reminds her of being a little girl and having no stress. Says the fact that I keep it in stock is one of the things that made her fall for me. Her red-brown hair hangs over the deep, scabbed-up gash on her cheek, almost covering it like a picture over a long crack in a wall. I'm looking at her through slits in my eyes. I'm in a bad way, not ready to talk. She takes a gulp and stares at me, letting the pink mustache stay on her upper lip. Is that supposed to make me switch teams?

I know what's coming, the unstoppable force. Those wheels of hers spinning—she's wondering if I'm awake, wondering when the action will begin. She expects me to go to Atlantic City with her. She expects that once there, I'll get carried away by the occasion, the spectacle of the night and her reunion with Damien and her performance in front of the crowd. And we'll kiss in front of everyone. No tongue but our mouths open, we'll linger. We'll leave them wondering. We won't care. Then we'll disappear into an elevator to a bed we'll share. We'll spend the night together. We'll discover each other.

Maybe she's right. I don't know. I don't know much of anything with this hangover. My mouth tastes like an ashtray smells. Nausea erupts in my gut and pushes up my throat. Feels like someone pounded a skewer through my temple. I see now that Maggie is smoking a fat joint and has filled up my little apartment with its stink. I look at the neon numbers 9:43 on the clock radio, and I want to pick it up and bean it at Maggie's head.

She smiles at me. "Hello, love. How's the head?" Her London-Irish accent peeks out. Her crooked smile tells me she's going to mess with me, her favorite hobby. You tease the ones you love, and Maggie says she loves me. But she really just wants to screw me, or do whatever it is that girls do to each other. I've told her no but I haven't said no, never. She's fun and sexy and mysterious and sings like her voice was meant to fill stadiums, and I'm glad to have her off the road and back in my company. And I can't seem to find a guy who makes me feel half as good as she does. All that makes me wonder if I might let her do it. For a millisecond I wonder if she tried anything on me last night, but no. She wouldn't.

"Hey, Jen. Question for you—where'd you park?" she says. I'm hit with panic. I've got no clue where my car is.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.