Kicks for a Sinner S3 by Lynn Shurr Read Free Book Online Page B

right, then an angled sweep across the brow ending with the hint of a curl on the left?”
    “That would work. I must do some thinning first, then blend in the back and sides. We begin. Ju doan wince. Be a good boy, and I give you a lollipop.”
    Howdy wrinkled his face again. He couldn’t think of anything to be sucked or licked that didn’t bring an obscene picture to his mind. He drew on his considerable powers of concentration to stay still and get through the ordeal. In the end, he had to admit he looked pretty sharp and smelled pleasantly of the scented powder whisked over his bare neck with a feather-light brush.
    “Thanks. You did a good job,” he told Joaquin who appeared offended.
    “No, I did a great job! I save ju from looking like a hick, a hayseed, a…”
    “Fantastic work, Joaquin. I am sure Howdy will be a regular customer from now on,” Brian said as he moved his pal from the booth to the register, picking up the scribbled tab in the process. “Here you go. I got you a special rate for newcomers.” He handed over the bill.
    “Three-hundred dollars for a haircut!”
    “Joaquin usually charges more. And he worked you in as a favor to me. Don’t forget to add the tip. He’ll expect twenty percent. Some goes to the shampoo boy.”
    “A sixty dollar tip? You think Joe Dean pays this much to have his hair cut?”
    “Oh, honey chile, I know he does, but he uses a different salon.”
    “Next time, can I go there?”
    “Up to you, but Joaquin did stunning work.” Brian gave an eloquent shrug implying he’d be a fool to change hairdressers.
    “So are you and Joaquin—involved?”
    “No, he’s far too flaming for me. Nor do I care for longshoremen or the hairy backsides of linebackers. Think Will as in Will and Grace , the old TV show, someone sophisticated and stylish who can cook a nice meal. I haven’t found that man yet—or perhaps a woman with the same qualities. But, could I be true to her? I’d have to ask myself.”
    “Never watched that show.”
    “I imagine it would be banned in the McCoy household, but very, very funny if you like gay jokes.”
    “What next?”
    “Shopping, dear boy. Shopping!”
    “Must I? I have plenty of clothes.”
    “Howard, you signed for over a million dollars in the draft, yet you still dress like a college kid, all grungy and unkempt.”
    “Well, I do my own laundry and sometimes I forget.”
    “You forget you can afford to send your laundry out. Gregory will arrange it for you. Once we buy nicer clothes, you must take better care of them.”
    “Okay, what kind of clothes? Mostly, I wear jeans when we’re off. I already got a nice suit. My college coach at Oklahoma State made us dress up with a tie and everything when we traveled. The Sinners aren’t nearly so picky.”
    “They should be, but Coach Buck doesn’t care as long as you can play football. Wear diamond earrings the size of plum pits in both lobes, so tasteless, he won’t blink an eye.”
    “No earrings, no piercings of any kind!”
    “Of course not. It wouldn’t fit the image we are building for this Cassie. Maybe a tattoo, though.”
    “No!”
    “Howdy, you are so easy to tease.”
    Brian steered him into a plush department store on Canal Street and directly to menswear. “First, we need to upgrade your underwear. Bet you five you still wear tighty-whities. You wouldn’t want to strip for Cassie and have her find out the hard way.”
    “Nothing wrong with a plain pair of men’s briefs. My Grandpa wore them.”
    “Exactly.”Brian stopped in front of a display that proclaimed Imagine your Man in These on Valentine’s Day . He eyed a selection of boxers patterned with red hearts and lipstick kisses, then shot out a quick hand that came up dangling a red silk men’s thong.
    Howdy couldn’t contain his blush, but he said coolly enough, “Now I know you’re kidding me again. I’d be dead and buried before I wore that.”
    Mischief twinkling in his big, dark eyes, Brian