Page 10 of Brutal Prince

“My name’s Debra,” her mom called out. “Deb if I like ya and I do, so you can call me Deb.”

We sat on the bar stools at the kitchen bench and I tried really hard to stomach my food, because of the lingering stench that wafted off her mom, Deb. I wondered if Gretta even noticed it or was she like the barista at the Mudhouse who can’t smell coffee anymore after working years with the stuff.

“Do you sleep through there?” I nodded my chin towards the door leading from the living room. The apartment was tiny and there was no couch due to Deb’s bed engulfing the entire space leaving a tiny path between the TV table at the end of her bed and the breakfast bench.

She nodded her bright head. The more I looked at her, the more features I discovered that were attractive. Like the way a curl of her claret hair flicked up by her right ear, her cute upturned nose, a couple of old zit scars on her chin, long elongated neck, cheeks rosy from the weight of my stare or was it embarrassment from me discovering her secret.

“Thank you for doing that,” she breathed.

Taking the tacos out of the bag and dropping grated cheese all over the already grubby bench, “I guess it was a case of right place right time.”

Climbing off the stool, she stepped into the small kitchen to grab three plates. “So are you going to tell me what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you,” I told her.

“Why?”

“I dunno, I thought we could get to know each other better, since we’re working together on this underc-” she placed her finger over her lips to hush me and stepped to the TV to turn it back up again. Her mom was still wrestling about with the sheets looking uncomfortable and wincing in pain. Those ulcers must hurt something chronic.

She leaned close to me and I wanted to bury my face in her hair inhaling the scent of her shampoo to offset the stink of her mom. You’d think red hair would smell like strawberries or cherries. “I haven’t told her what I’m doing.”

“Mom’s the word,” I joked.

She smiled with those pink swollen lips and our eyes collided and locked, tearing me apart on the inside. “So, maybe you’d like to go out sometime…catch a movie or dinner or something?”

When she dropped her eyes, I expected a ‘no’ to follow. “I’d like that.”

“Come again?” I asked, placing my hand by my ear. “I didn’t quite hear.”

“Yes,” she said a little louder, since Jeopardy was encroaching on our moment. “I’d like to go out with you.”

“Great.” I beamed from ear to ear only for my moment of glory to come crashing down when her phone beeped.

“Oh,” sliding the phone over to me so I could read the message stating of a job opportunity.

Job Type: Cleaning.

Payment: One quarter of your school fees.

Location: Grand’Mere Hotel.

Time: Midnight tomorrow night.

Status: Come alone

Password: G1078 to give to reception

“Cleaning?”

“What sort of cleaning exactly?” she said scathingly.

I wasn’t pleased about this. The only guy I wanted her having sex with was me and ‘cleaning’ could be anything. “You gonna inform Mathias?”

“I guess I should.” She sounded disappointed.

“I’m gonna come with you, alright,” placing my large hand over her small pale hand which was like touching ice. She shirked me away and glanced behind her to see if her mom was watching. Deb’s slits were fixed in our direction, but it was hard to tell if she was looking at us or the TV. Maybe both. “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you, okay.”

“Okay, but you can’t come into the hotel room,” pointing her finger at the ‘come alone’ order.

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