She's got a tight ass, thought Nick. The girl was young, about eighteen. Seems like she couldn't speak a word of English.
It was a small boutique, back of beyond, downtown Delaware for Christ's sake. Even the spades didn't come here.
"You got a name?"
She shook her head. Her mouth was tight, her green eyes wide. So wide he couldn't see her eyelids. She blinked twice. Stared at him.
Nick cocked his head. The back room was small and hot, smelt of rock salt. Boxes of clothes were piled up the walls. They both sat on plastic chairs in the center of the room a good five feet apart.
Her eyes pierced into his. She had long, dark hair, big on the top, came down her shoulders and halfway down her back. She was wearing a dark green dress, long. It trailed on the floor around her feet in waves. It made her seem younger almost, this old woman's dress on a girl's body.
"You Hispanic?" he asked.
She blinked, shook her head slowly.
She didn't look Hispanic. She wasn't dusky enough. She had pale, waxy skin, a thin nose, wide lips. Wide red lips. She was short too - five four maybe.
Nick picked up the clothes from the floor.
"Got the money for these?"
She looked at the clothes in his big hand. A red skirt, halter tops, T-shirts. A necklace, big blue stones, swung from his thumb.
Her eyes pivoted to his again. Her mouth parted; might've been a smile, he couldn't tell.
He reached down and picked up a second pile.
Panties, brassieres, stockings.
"Nice selection. You'd look good in 'em."
Her mouth parted slightly. He was confident she couldn't understand him. He stood up, dropped the panties and stockings onto the floor right in front of her. He kept the two brassieres in his hand, one black, the other scarlet, both see-through. He didn't know much about lady's undergarments, but he liked the look of these. He examined them closely.
The girl dropped her eyes, bent slowly to the pile of clothes on the floor.
She whispered something.
He stopped off examining the brassieres. "What d'you say?"
She picked up a pair of panties from the floor, her hair falling across her face.
She whispered again. He couldn't hear. Her bent down, comically cupped a hand to his ear.
"Huh?"