JК
The Harlequin :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 29 из 330«Do you really think giving Greg and his girlfriend a stage name for me will keep them from making the connection to Anita Blake?»
«Yeah, I do. They'll think of you as a stripper named Nicky and that's it. You won't be anything or any more to them than that.»
«Strangely disturbing, but why Nicky, why that name?»
«Because I knew I'd remember it.»
«Remember it, why?»
«Because it was my name when I did porn.»
I blinked at him. «What?»
«Nicky Brandon is the name I used when I did movies.»
I did the long blink, the one that meant I was thinking hard, or too surprised to think. «You gave me your pornography name?»
«Half of it,» he said.
I didn't know what to say. Was I supposed to be flattered, or insulted? «I declare this fight over until I figure out if we're actually fighting.»
«Trust me, Anita, this isn't a fight.»
«Then how come I'm angry?»
«Let's see: there's some bad vamps in town messing with us, you always hate it when fans recognize Brandon the stripper, but tonight, for the first time, you got recognized from the one time you went on stage. If you're embarrassed by my job, you're even more embarrassed that anyone would think you could be a stripper.»
«I'm not embarrassed about your job.»
«Yeah, you are,» he said.
I started the car. «I am not.»
«Then next time you introduce me to your friends, don't call me a dancer, call me an exotic dancer.»
I opened my mouth, closed it, and started backing up. I wouldn't do it. He was right. I'd keep introducing him as simply a dancer. «Do you want me to introduce you like that?»
«No, but I want you not to be ashamed of what I do.»
«I'm not ashamed of you, or your job.»
«Fine, have it your way.» But his tone said clearly that he was letting me win, but that I was wrong, and hadn't won anything. I hated when he did that. He just stopped fighting in the middle of the fight, not because he'd lost, but just because he didn't want to fight anymore. How do you fight with someone who won't fight? Answer: you don't.
The real trouble was, he was right. I was embarrassed about his job. I shouldn't have been, but I was. When he was a teenager, he'd been a runaway, and a prostitute, and on drugs. He'd been off drugs for nearly four years. He'd been out of «the life» since he was sixteen. He'd done porn, and I knew that. But I didn't dwell on it. I assumed he'd stopped doing the movies about the same time he stopped hooking, but I wasn't sure of that.
«Yeah, I do. They'll think of you as a stripper named Nicky and that's it. You won't be anything or any more to them than that.»
«Strangely disturbing, but why Nicky, why that name?»
«Because I knew I'd remember it.»
«Remember it, why?»
«Because it was my name when I did porn.»
I blinked at him. «What?»
«Nicky Brandon is the name I used when I did movies.»
I did the long blink, the one that meant I was thinking hard, or too surprised to think. «You gave me your pornography name?»
«Half of it,» he said.
I didn't know what to say. Was I supposed to be flattered, or insulted? «I declare this fight over until I figure out if we're actually fighting.»
«Trust me, Anita, this isn't a fight.»
«Then how come I'm angry?»
«Let's see: there's some bad vamps in town messing with us, you always hate it when fans recognize Brandon the stripper, but tonight, for the first time, you got recognized from the one time you went on stage. If you're embarrassed by my job, you're even more embarrassed that anyone would think you could be a stripper.»
«I'm not embarrassed about your job.»
«Yeah, you are,» he said.
I started the car. «I am not.»
«Then next time you introduce me to your friends, don't call me a dancer, call me an exotic dancer.»
I opened my mouth, closed it, and started backing up. I wouldn't do it. He was right. I'd keep introducing him as simply a dancer. «Do you want me to introduce you like that?»
«No, but I want you not to be ashamed of what I do.»
«I'm not ashamed of you, or your job.»
«Fine, have it your way.» But his tone said clearly that he was letting me win, but that I was wrong, and hadn't won anything. I hated when he did that. He just stopped fighting in the middle of the fight, not because he'd lost, but just because he didn't want to fight anymore. How do you fight with someone who won't fight? Answer: you don't.
The real trouble was, he was right. I was embarrassed about his job. I shouldn't have been, but I was. When he was a teenager, he'd been a runaway, and a prostitute, and on drugs. He'd been off drugs for nearly four years. He'd been out of «the life» since he was sixteen. He'd done porn, and I knew that. But I didn't dwell on it. I assumed he'd stopped doing the movies about the same time he stopped hooking, but I wasn't sure of that.