Rescue Me

second.
    He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. Through the darkness, he looked down at the toes of his loafers. She hadn’t owed him sex, but if she hadn’t wanted to go heels to Jesus, she should have stopped him before he slid his hands to her full breasts. She was old enough to know where kissing and having a man’s hand in her panties ended. She was old enough to know it ended in both people getting something out of it. And yeah, this probably wasn’t the best place to get naked, but there were hotels in town. He’d seen them. He would have let her take her pick, but instead she’d run off like her tail caught on fire. Leaving him with nothing but a hard-on. Nothing but frustration. Nothing. Not even a thank-you.
    The light flipped on and Vince looked up as a girl in a Bubble Yum dress walked in. She had long tubes of blond hair pinned about her head. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened. One hand went to the top of her strapless dress and she gasped. “What are you doing in here?”
    Good question. “Meeting someone.” Vince was used to thinking quick and coming up with plausible lies. He’d been trained to give up just enough information to pacify interrogators. “But I guess she must have left.” He also knew how to change the subject and pointed to her dress. “I see you’re in the wedding.”
    “Yeah. My name’s Becca, what’s yours?”
    “Vince.” He still didn’t want to risk standing and scaring young Becca.
    “Who were you meetin’?”
    “Sadie.” The dick tease.
    “I just saw her leaving.” She sat in the chair next to his. “She stood you up.”
    In ways he didn’t want Becca to know about, which was why he stayed seated.
    “Love sucks,” she said, then, to Vince’s horror, burst into tears. She shook her head and her curls bobbed as she told him all about her boyfriend, that dirty no-good dog, Slade. She rambled about how long they’d dated and the plans she’d had for their future. “He ruined everything. He cheated on me with that slut Lexa Jane Johnson!” Becca reached for a Kleenex on the counter behind her. “Lexa Jane,” she sobbed. “She’s as dumb as a wad of hair and been rode more than a rented mule. Why do men go for women like that?”
    Instantly Vince’s erection went soft and he was almost grateful for Becca and her hysteria. Almost, but he’d never been the kind of guy who could tolerate emotional females.
    “Why?” she asked again.
    He figured that had been a rhetorical question. Or at the very least obvious, but she was staring at him through watery eyes like she expected an answer. “Why do men go for easy women?” he asked, just to make sure they were on the same page.
    “Yes. Why do guys mess around with sluts?”
    He’d never liked the word “slut.” It was thrown around too much and implied that a woman was dirty because she liked sex. Which wasn’t always true.
    “Why do guys want that?”
    He might be a good liar, but no one had ever accused him of being tactful. “Because some women are a sure thing and don’t play games. You know what she wants, and it isn’t dinner and a movie.”
    A frown puckered Becca’s forehead. “Isn’t that emotionally shallow for both people?”
    “Yes.” He placed his hands on the arms of his chair and prepared to stand. “That’s exactly the point. Emotionally shallow sex. You get in, you get out, and no one gets hurt.” He rose halfway out of the chair, and Becca burst into hysterics again. Shit. “Well, a . . . It was nice to meet you, Becca.” This was Sadie’s fault, and it was a good thing she was leaving town in the morning and he’d never see her again. He’d sincerely love to wring her neck.
    “That’s so immature and dis-disgusting, Vince.”
    It was convenient and mutually beneficial, he could have argued, but he didn’t feel like a discussion on sex and morality with Becca, and he wondered how much longer he had to sit there. Thirty seconds? One minute? “Can I get you something before I go?”
    “Don’t go.” She swallowed and shook her head. “I need someone to talk to.”
    What? Did he look like a girl? Or even one of those guys who liked to chat about shit? “Why not find one of your girlfriends? I’ll go find one of them if you’d like.” Not that he would actually put much effort into it once he escaped out the door.
    “They’ll just tell me to get over it because everyone knows Slade’s a dog.” She shook her head again