Free Flattery

-I'm not really looking forward to something long-I glance at him to check his reaction as I take another gulp from my beer. He smiles kind of absently and I don't know how to read that, so I just wait for the answer.
-You don't look like the usual one-night-stander-is all he says.
-Was that meant to be a compliment?-he laughs. His voice is so naturally coarse I'm afraid it might scratch his vocal cords away.-Well, surprise then, cowboy. No offense, but you sure do look like the usual one-night-stander.
-No offense taken, gorgeous-the free flattery makes me shiver.-But I'm quite the opposite to normal. How about you?
His left hand, hidden until now, slips calmly over the counter, almost by chance, but I pale when I see what it carries. He wears a symbol - like a yin-yang but parted in three zones -, a silver piece, small on his ring finger.
And I know what it means. He drinks, looking like he does not even care about my reaction, but we both know this is the critical point.
Then I let my right hand fly over my beer, circling the edge with a finger, and I know he sees it. Gold ring, simple, with a smaller ring attached to it. It kind of resembles a dog collar, doesn't it?
Well, it is.
He smiles openly this time. The already thin lips stretch, showing me a neat white row of teeth. I laugh, infected by the cheerful insolence this man exudes from every pore, and I finish my beer and stand on my heels, disorienting him.

Dettagli