 Previous
New Readers Start Here
Table of Contents Next
Coco Interlude VIII
Unless he could take the controls Alec hated to
fly. He was a brilliant pilot but a terrible passenger.
He sat alone in the airliner, staring out of the window
and counting the minutes. They had been in the air for
fully twelve hours.
The airport provided little relief. It was hot and
the air conditioning was either faulty or inadequate
but at least he was on the ground again. He trundled
his luggage through the arrivals hall in excited anticipation.
Three girls waved to him as he passed. One of them
was taller than him, with bright red lipstick and a
leopard skin miniskirt. "Sir?" she called.
Alec tried to give her a kindly smile. "No.
Thank you."
"Forty dollar, one week?"
He moved on, noticing a sign for taxis in the distance
and heading vaguely in its direction.
Nearer to the door there were more girls. Some were
old, some young, some clean, some had obviously slept
out of doors. He could afford to take his time. There
was no need to find someone right away. He could just
go to his hotel, check in, and probably find company
there. Or he could head downtown where he was guaranteed
success.
Then he saw her, leaning against the wall. Skilfully
she had positioned herself behind a group of telephones
so that she could watch the passengers as they emerged
without herself being easily seen. She was looking directly
at him, and smiling. She wore a pale blue cotton twill
dress with buttons all the way down the front. The lower
three were undone to reveal her slender legs which were
crossed at the ankle.
She had short blond hair that framed a round, attractive
face that she had taken the trouble to wash. Her skin
was only slightly dark and there was no trace of makeup,
both facts setting her apart from the majority of the
girls he had seen. Rather incongruously she held a book.
He steered his luggage towards her. "Hi. I'm
Alec."
She had a pretty, enigmatic smile. "Hello,"
she said, calmly.
He wasn?t quite sure what to say. So far the girls
had been only too eager to take the lead but this one
was different. A terrible thought flashed through his
mind. What if she was just waiting for a friend? He
watched her for a while and she looked back at him,
neither threatened nor threatening.
"Can I help you?"
"Er," said Alec. "Well""
"Are you looking for company?"
He breathed an inward sigh of relief. "Yes."
She pushed herself away from the wall and took a
step towards him. "Have you been here before?"
He nodded. "Once. Last year."
It was not true. This was his first trip but it
was imperative that she did not know. She watched him,
appraisingly, content with the silence. He had a feeling
that she didn?t believe him but he was too cool to allow
his discomfort to show. Instead he reached a hand forward,
towards the book. She handed it to him. The title was
Introduction to Pharmacology. He raised an eyebrow.
"I?m studying," she explained. "Med
School."
Her English was good. The accent was charming but
very clear.
"You serious?"
She nodded, not appearing to care whether he believed
her. He looked around and noticed that a short, heavy-set
policeman was watching them. On his belt he carried
a pistol, an electric prod and a shiny pair of handcuffs.
"Would you like to join me?"
"I think I?d like that. Yes."
"How much?" There was no point being gracious
about it. This was business.
"Five dollars for two hours. It?s the best
deal you?ll find."
"Oh, I think I could find a better deal than
that."
She corrected him, very gently. "You could
find a cheaper deal than that."
He smiled. She was right and he liked her style.
"Well, I don?t like the two hour time limit. How
about this?"
The cop was still watching them, and it made Alec
nervous. This was legal but he felt uncomfortable anyway.
"I?ll give you twenty dollars for the night. We
can eat breakfast together and then you can leave tomorrow
morning."
She flashed him that smile again. "OK."
There was something deeply enticing about her, something
that he felt but couldn't put into words.
"You didn't tell me your name."
She glanced up at him and then took his arm. "Coco."
Previous New
Readers Start Here Table
of Contents Next
|
