Read Online Flesh by Richard Laymon - Free Book Online Page A

woman.”
    “You better believe it.”
    “What’re you trying to pull?”
    “I’m not trying to pull a thing, darling. Do I take it that you don’t approve of my attire? It’s an early birthday present from Harold. Isn’t it heavenly? And it feels so scrumptious.” Staring at Jake, she smiled lazily and half shut her eyes. Her hands started high and glided downward, caressing the kimono, rubbing the fabric against her breasts. “Scrumptious,” she whispered.
    “If only Harold could see you now.”
    “So what if he did.” She squirmed slightly as she rubbed her breasts. Her motions had loosened the front of her kimono, widening the opening. It was open all the way down.
    “For godsake!” Jake snapped in a hushed voice.
    She smirked. “Turning you on?”
    “I get turned on better scraping dog shit off my boot.”
    Barbara’s eyes went wide. Her face colored. Her back went stiff. She tugged the kimono shut. “You bastard.” Her voice trembled when she said it. Her chin started to shake.
    Astonished, Jake realized she was about to cry.
    She pivoted away from him. “Kimmy!” she shouted. “Get your ass down here!”
    “Barbara!” Jake snapped.
    “Fuck you.” She hurried from the room.
    Jake stayed on the sofa, stunned and angry and confused. What the hell had just happened?
    Normally, when he came to pick up Kimmy, Barbara acted as if he were a visiting peasant: haughty, sarcastic, delighted by the opportunity to rub his nose in the lifestyle she had achieved by dumping him for Harold.
    What was this, today?
    Acting like that with Kimmy and Harold in the house.
    Harold had to know she was dressed that way.
    What was she trying to prove?
    That’s pretty obvious, he thought. She was trying to prove she could turn me on.
    Look how she flew apart when I put her down.
    The gal’s got a major-league problem.
    Off the deep end, or she wouldn’t be pulling that kind of stunt.
    Troubles with Harold?
    Oh, wouldn’t that be a shame.
    Golly, I’m so sorry. It breaks my heart, you slut.
    The harsh thoughts made Jake feel a little guilty. He told himself that he had loved her once, that it was wrong to wish misery on her.
    What about Kimmy? If Barbara and Harold were having problems, she could certainly be affected. He didn’t want that. If Kimmy had to live with her mother—and there was no real alternative as long as Jake remained unmarried—then he wanted her to be in a home where there was love and happiness.
    The situation was only tolerable as long as he could be sure that Barbara was taking good care of her. If this morning was any indication, however, Barbara was losing her grip.
    Maybe it’s nothing, he told himself. Just a fleeting aberration. Tomorrow’s Barbara’s birthday. She would only be twenty-seven, but he remembered her saying, when she hit twenty-one, that it was all downhill from there. She apparently believed it, too. Each year, after that, she had fallen into a pit of depression around birthday time.
    That must be it, he decided.
    Flaunts her stuff in front of her ex-husband to prove to herself that she’s still got something to flaunt.
    And he smashes her down.
    Shit.
    At least it was good to know that her bizarre behavior was nothing more serious than the birthday blues.
    If that’s what it was.
    “Hi, Daddy!”
    He stood up, suddenly feeling good as Kimmy came toward him, smiling. As always, after going days without seeing her, he was amazed by her beauty. A gorgeous four-year-old kid with big blue eyes and a great smile, she couldn’t go anywhere without people taking a second look.
    Harold stood in the entryway, holding her overnight bag. Kimmy had Clew, her tiny stuffed kitten, clutched in one hand. She raised her arms, and Jake picked her up and kissed her. “How’s my baby?” he asked.
    “I’m not a baby, I’m a little girl.”
    “Oh, well excuuuuuse me.”
    Leaning back and grinning, she poked a finger against a button of Jake’s shirt. “You have a spill,