Page 52 of Rigid

“We have a few pieces that may interest you. How old is she?”

“Seventeen.”

She stepped behind the case and turned to face us. “Oh, what a great age.”

“Yep,” P-Nut said. “Just a couple years older than you.”

Jesus H. Christ.

“Oh stop,” she said, doing the hand to the face thing again. “Please, you’re going to make me blush.”

P-Nut glanced over each shoulder, then reached for his zipper. “I’ll make you blush.”

I turned to the side and shot him a glare. “Damn it, Nut.”

“You guys are such fun.” She reached into the case and retrieved three rings. “We have the Infinity Line, the Legacy Line, and the--”

“I’m sorry,” I said upon seeing the rings. “I want a solitaire. Something big. Maybe a carat or two.”

Her thin lips formed a delicate “O”, and she scooped up the rings.

“You don’t want a solitaire for Eddie, Smoke. She’ll look like a seventeen-year-old...” He paused and twisted his mouth to the side.

I arched an eyebrow. “A seventeen-year-old what?”

He looked at Jennis.

Her eyebrows raised slowly, and then her head tilted to the side. “Courtesan?”

“Excuse me?”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, leaned forward, and rested her hands against her hips. “One would assume she’s engaged. A young woman wearing such an engagement ring may be perceived as being a…” She let out a dramatic sigh. “Gold digger?”

P-Nut pursed his lips and nodded.

“Really?” I asked.

She shrugged.

“What do you suggest?”

“The Somerset, Schlumberger Daisy, maybe the Enchant Scroll.” She raised her index finger. “I’ll be right back.”

She grinned a shallow grin and disappeared behind another jewelry case at the front of the store.

P-Nut looked at me. “I’m gonna shove that chick so full of cock that it dislocates her hips.”

“No, you’re not.”

“The fuck you say. Who’s stopping me?”

“Leave her alone, Nut. I need to get this ring bought.”

“I ain’t talking about doing it now. Buy your ring and watch the master at work.”

I coughed a laugh. “The master?”

He nodded. “You know what they say about skinny red-heads, don’t ya?”