Read Online Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Will McIntosh
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He’d been trying to think of a gift for Hunter since he’d invited her for Christmas. He wanted something that couldn’t be construed as romantic, yet wasn’t impersonal. Something between a gift certificate and earrings.
—
There was a little extra bounce in Dom’s step, his arms held farther from his body than required even by his impressive muscles, as they climbed the steps leading from the subway to Fifth Avenue. When he was around women, Dom seemed to turn up his tough-guy persona a few notches.
“Tell me what she was wearing the last time you saw her,” Mandy said as they breezed into Lord and Taylor, passing women in white lab coats manning fragrance counters. The air was filled with a light, flowery scent that made Sully long for springtime.
“Jeans, combat boots, a gray sweatshirt, black gloves with the fingers cut off.”
Mandy pointed at him. “Gloves. Perfect. Intimate, but not too intimate.” She raised her head and, gazing into the far reaches of the store, picked up her pace, so Sully and Dom had to push to keep up with her long strides.
She led them to a stretch of counters offering an elaborate array of gloves, crossed her arms, considering. “What kind of gloves does she have?”
Sully tried to picture them. “Just typical fabric gloves. You can see loose threads where she cut the fingers off.”
“Good, then she doesn’t have leather. If you give her leather gloves, you’re giving her something you know she’ll use, only nicer than what she already has.”
“Anything would be nicer than the ones she has. They’ve pretty much had it.”
“Perfect.” Mandy chose a pair of fingerless black leather gloves, pulled one on, held out her hand.
“Nice,” Dom said.
“Yeah,” Sully agreed. They were formfitting, simple, the leather thin and supple, the fingers ending just below Mandy’s first knuckle.
“This is what I’d choose, if I was getting them for myself. If her taste leans toward androgynous, I don’t think you can go wrong with these.”
They were also forty bucks. If not for the Hot Pink sitting in a safe-deposit box at the Hudson Valley Bank, they’d be out of the question. Sully took the gloves to the register, trying to suppress the idiot grin that kept forming. He couldn’t wait for Hunter to see them; they were exactly right.
They made a bathroom stop after that. As Dom and Sully approached the urinals, leaving one between them, Dom said, “I’m gonna ask her out. You think I should?”
Sully smiled. As if this was a surprising revelation. “Never hurts to ask.”
“I feel so comfortable around her.”
“She’s terrific.”
“Okay.” Dom took a big, huffing breath. “If I give you a look, back off so I have some room to work.”
“You got it.”
Mandy wanted to get a gift certificate to the Apple Store for her sister, so they left Lord and Taylor and headed out into the cold.
Across Fifth Avenue from the Apple Store, the black marble monolith that was the flagship Holliday’s store loomed. Thick at the bottom and tapering to a slender pinnacle ten stories up, it was bathed in white spotlights. It stood out from the buildings around it like a Persian palace among hot dog stands.
“God, I hate that slimebag,” Mandy said, looking up at the store.
Dom nudged Sully. “Let’s go see what a Hot Pink is selling for.”
“I don’t know.”
“Why Hot Pink?” Mandy asked.
“Sully and Hunter found one in the wild last week,” Dom said.
Mandy spun to face Sully.
“Really?”
Sully nodded, unable to suppress the same huge, dumb grin he’d had while buying Hunter’s gloves.
“That’s a serious stone.” Mandy shook her long, straight hair out of her face. “You want to check out the price?”
He
was
curious. Holliday’s did not publish prices for the higher-end spheres online; they were way too exclusive and sophisticated for that. But even stepping inside would feel like he was acknowledging the store’s right to
—
There was a little extra bounce in Dom’s step, his arms held farther from his body than required even by his impressive muscles, as they climbed the steps leading from the subway to Fifth Avenue. When he was around women, Dom seemed to turn up his tough-guy persona a few notches.
“Tell me what she was wearing the last time you saw her,” Mandy said as they breezed into Lord and Taylor, passing women in white lab coats manning fragrance counters. The air was filled with a light, flowery scent that made Sully long for springtime.
“Jeans, combat boots, a gray sweatshirt, black gloves with the fingers cut off.”
Mandy pointed at him. “Gloves. Perfect. Intimate, but not too intimate.” She raised her head and, gazing into the far reaches of the store, picked up her pace, so Sully and Dom had to push to keep up with her long strides.
She led them to a stretch of counters offering an elaborate array of gloves, crossed her arms, considering. “What kind of gloves does she have?”
Sully tried to picture them. “Just typical fabric gloves. You can see loose threads where she cut the fingers off.”
“Good, then she doesn’t have leather. If you give her leather gloves, you’re giving her something you know she’ll use, only nicer than what she already has.”
“Anything would be nicer than the ones she has. They’ve pretty much had it.”
“Perfect.” Mandy chose a pair of fingerless black leather gloves, pulled one on, held out her hand.
“Nice,” Dom said.
“Yeah,” Sully agreed. They were formfitting, simple, the leather thin and supple, the fingers ending just below Mandy’s first knuckle.
“This is what I’d choose, if I was getting them for myself. If her taste leans toward androgynous, I don’t think you can go wrong with these.”
They were also forty bucks. If not for the Hot Pink sitting in a safe-deposit box at the Hudson Valley Bank, they’d be out of the question. Sully took the gloves to the register, trying to suppress the idiot grin that kept forming. He couldn’t wait for Hunter to see them; they were exactly right.
They made a bathroom stop after that. As Dom and Sully approached the urinals, leaving one between them, Dom said, “I’m gonna ask her out. You think I should?”
Sully smiled. As if this was a surprising revelation. “Never hurts to ask.”
“I feel so comfortable around her.”
“She’s terrific.”
“Okay.” Dom took a big, huffing breath. “If I give you a look, back off so I have some room to work.”
“You got it.”
Mandy wanted to get a gift certificate to the Apple Store for her sister, so they left Lord and Taylor and headed out into the cold.
Across Fifth Avenue from the Apple Store, the black marble monolith that was the flagship Holliday’s store loomed. Thick at the bottom and tapering to a slender pinnacle ten stories up, it was bathed in white spotlights. It stood out from the buildings around it like a Persian palace among hot dog stands.
“God, I hate that slimebag,” Mandy said, looking up at the store.
Dom nudged Sully. “Let’s go see what a Hot Pink is selling for.”
“I don’t know.”
“Why Hot Pink?” Mandy asked.
“Sully and Hunter found one in the wild last week,” Dom said.
Mandy spun to face Sully.
“Really?”
Sully nodded, unable to suppress the same huge, dumb grin he’d had while buying Hunter’s gloves.
“That’s a serious stone.” Mandy shook her long, straight hair out of her face. “You want to check out the price?”
He
was
curious. Holliday’s did not publish prices for the higher-end spheres online; they were way too exclusive and sophisticated for that. But even stepping inside would feel like he was acknowledging the store’s right to
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