mirror, dabbing powder beneath her eyes like it could erase three years and two affairs. Her sequined dress hung from on

behind me and le

to talk

about your pitch, you went flat

out Fran

ntion. One blink.

to face me fully, one leg

abou

. "And not just in the

. "Half the girls in this zip code hav

ust try," I said.

"You're playing a game, Vivi. An

deal m

erself a neat shot of gin from the bottle we all pretende

you read about when their wives get caught with pills and their drivers get caught with girls. Fr

kind o

ty. The kind that gets

oser. "Who w

id, "Some redhead. Tall. Pale. Real

the room like a ma

ealise it the momen

or, lit another cigarette,

. Kissed the cheek of a man who always tipped

did everything, fingers deliberate, joints slo

I fol

o hesitation. Just sharp turns and deeper shadows. I kept

. Or maybe he di

wn shop, half-covered in ivy. Th

ough it wasn't cold. He handed Cha

d to the wall,

ething. I couldn

n I

an Du

Sharp.

linch. Just pock

d without

n minutes b

e was playing, he wa

go home r

g like dying stars. My heels echoed again

ed my apartment, it

s slowly and checke

disturbed. Nothing missing.

ink. Didn't

lit a cigarette, blowing smo

kn

. Tw

fr

ove for a

opened

ile. Just eyes that looked like the

e neighbourh

eally just anyw

he adm

out waiting. Walked th

drink, this tim

s of the couch, the si

k tired,

like you d

't answ

Malone. What's

n't b

n't b

y it sounded like he'd said

nk he has something

he's in debt. And you look at me like some

lie. Could'v

I di

asked, "Wh

s drink. Set t

o tell me. I

he

ight,

re, he left before

lt colder a

ight. Checked the w

th

didn't fe

ook. The name on his t

threads.

d, shoes still on, and wait

oor staye

, there wasn'