Loose Lips Sink Ships
Page 1
Loose Lips Sink Ships
By: Katrina LaCroix
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2011 Katrina LaCroix
Chapter 1
Carter Thomson rolled over to find a young woman with a large birthmark on her cheekbone sleeping next to him. He stared at it for a minute, that dark thumbprint on her face with little mice hairs poking through. Cringing, he stuck his tongue out when he imagined the only possible explanation. She must have bumped her head something awful on the way out.
Why was he sleeping with random girls who had huge birthmarks on their faces? What happened to his standards, his integrity, his manhood? It was ridiculous for him to be lying next to some woman he’d just met in a shabby downtown hotel room. Carter was hung-over, unable to think clearly. Didn’t he have a girlfriend? Oh, right…scratch that.
Looking her over, she appeared to be sweet enough even though the birthmark made her look like she was going to a football game. Her lips moved a bit. She was starting to stir. He could already tell she had the kind temperament of a girl who could truly and deeply care about him. That’s what Carter desired above all else. She groaned and put her hand to her forehead. When she removed it to brush away some of her blonde hair, her innocent blue eyes caught him.
“Can you hurry up and pay me? I’ve got to get out of here. It’s seventy-five dollars.”
“Wait, what? Pay you? What are you talking about?” Carter coughed, choking on the sudden lump in his throat. The girl widened her eyes, taking on a puppy dog sweetness he found irresistible.
“I was good, wasn’t I? Didn’t you enjoy it? I feel like I can barely walk.”
“Of course you were good,” he replied, happy to supply the right answer to comfort her. He rolled onto his elbow and smiled.
“Good! Then pay me my seventy-five dollars!” she demanded. Carter’s jaw dropped, completely lost to any speck of comprehension over what was going on. His hesitation didn’t please her. “That’s it! I’m calling my dad. Where’s my phone?”
Pulling the comforter tight over her neck, she reached to the floor and fumbled through her clothes. She grabbed something and started to put it on under the sheets.
“Your dad, why?” he winced, bewildered.
“Because he’ll have something to say about it when he learns you’ve stiffed us,” she snarled. “If there’s one thing he hates more than deadbeats, it’s his daughter giving out freebies.”
“Your dad is your pimp? That’s insane! Wait, wait, wait,” he jabbered, because the girl looked like she was about to go off on an angry tirade. “This was a consensual thing. We met in a bar, had a few drinks, and decided to grab a room. We don’t need to involve anybody else. It was romantic.”
Carter feigned another smile, hoping to salvage some scrap of the lovely night out he’d imagined. The girl pursed her lips and gazed at him for a moment, contemplating something.
“What’s my name?”
Shutting his eyes, he silently kicked himself. He had no idea what her name was.
“Dee, Dee, Dina, Denise? No, Diana!”
Groaning loudly, she grimaced as though she would spit on him but instead hopped out of bed in her bra and panties and went to her bag slumped against one of the overturned chairs.
“Was I wrong?” Carter wondered.
He slid out of bed wearing only a pair of Pokemon boxers, but he grabbed his gray t-shirt and pulled it over his black hair and muscular back. The fabric fit tightly around his stomach, hinting at the abs it concealed underneath.
“If you don’t know my name, that makes the charge one-hundred dollars. Every girl knows that rule: it’s one-hundred bucks if he doesn’t know your name the morning after,” she said, crossing her arms.
She turned to face him, her face full of scorn. She had on her skirt and red, revealing top from the night before. Her messy hair was the only clue she wasn’t about to go right back to the club, or street corner, or wherever she was from.
“I don’t know anything about any rules!” he sniped, starting to get defensive. “I was just looking for a night out with a special girl. I didn’t realize I’d have someone shaking me down as soon as I woke up!”
The girl chuckled, grabbed her bag, and tiptoed toward him. He stood by the end of the bed when she came close enough to kiss him. She fluttered her eyelids and ran her finger across his chest.
“I poked a pinhole in the condom while you were taking a whiz. I shouldn’t get my period for a couple days, so I’d say you have a fifty-fifty chance of getting a call from me in about nine months. This hundred dollars is going to be the least of your worries.”
She brushed by him and went for the door. Carter turned to watch her go, a sickly revulsion wreaking havoc inside. The girl exited the dirty hotel room, leaving the door open. Drained, Carter collapsed onto the bed and hid his face in his hands. She didn’t appear to have any trouble walking at all.