"James Patrick Kelly - Big Guy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kelly James Patrick)

The door chimed and its icon started flashing. тАЬExpand,тАЭ he said. A delivery girl peered into the camera.
тАЬLarge cajun potato,тАЭ she said. He hadn't seen this one before. She looked a little like Mandy Moore,
whose vid тАЬNot Now,тАЭ was Murph's favorite. He collected covert pictures of Mandy and taped them to
the mirror on the utility wall. Slightly illegal but still a hot barter item. Poor Mandy needed a new security
opтАФa champion like Murph. No one had coverts ofhis clients. The delivery girl had limp hair the color
of sand. Brown eyes. A funny little flat spot at the tip of her nose. тАЬNine-ninety-five,тАЭ she said. She was
maybe thirteenтАФtoo young to be making deliveries at 23:25.

тАЬPaying.тАЭ He authorized a fifteen dollar debit to Squeeze Pleeze. тАЬYou're new,тАЭ he said, while they
waited for the transaction to register. тАЬWhat's your name?тАЭ
 тАЬYeah, right.тАЭ She flipped her hotpak open. A large potato squeeze was the size of Murph's shoe. It
came wrapped in crinkled foil. Wisps of steam curled from its crown. Even though he couldn't smell
anything through the security door, he could imagine its moist starchy fragrance. Yes, and that edge of
garlic and onion and nasty red pepper. He opened the delivery hatch just wide enough for her. The
hotpak chimed when it verified his payment.

тАЬFive buck tip?тАЭ She glanced up from the readout suspiciously. тАЬWhat for?тАЭ

тАЬAfter you give me the squeeze,тАЭ he said, тАЬkeep your hand in the hatch.тАЭ

Her eyes widened. тАЬThey told me about you.тАЭ

Squeeze Pleeze was on his list. тАЬThey tell you I'd bite it off?тАЭ

тАЬI'm no joyride, mister. I'm here. I'm real.тАЭ

Murph heaved himself off the workseat. тАЬUntil I say.тАЭ

тАЬYou won't hurt me.тАЭ She made it an order.

тАЬNo.тАЭ Dizzy, he was dizzy. Probably because he had been sitting for almost eight hours.

She had to be from town, a commuter. He probably could've IDed her, but why bother? He watched
her kneel in front of the door. He turned all the lights in the cabin up. The squeeze came through the
hatch. He stooped. When he took it from her, the tips of her fingers curled slightly. The foil was very hot
and he dropped it to the floor. The smell was intoxicating.

She was wearing a glove, of course. It came to the folds of her wrist. He tugged at it. She twitched but
did not pull away. He uncovered her palm slowly, exposing the ball of the thumb, the head line, a
beautiful heart line. She had long, sensual fingersтАФa woman's fingers already. He brushed their length,
lingering over the arches and whorls of her skin. It felt like a dream. When he'd been her age, he'd slept
every night. He must've had dreams then. He couldn't remember. When he finished, he crumpled the
glove and pushed it back through the hatch.

тАЬOkay.тАЭ Murph picked up the squeeze, shifting it from hand to hand to keep from burning himself.

She paused uncertainly outside his door for a moment. тАЬThanks,тАЭ she said.

тАЬLive fast.тАЭ As Murph closed the hatch, he realized that she probably couldn't. Her folks would be