’ Mr. Strang was standing just inside his door, all bundled up, when Joyce arrived. ‘What is it? Are you not feeling well. Palpitations? A tightne...s in your chest?’ Mr. Strang was prone to believing he had any disease he heard of. But as far as Joyce could tell he was as healthy as a man twenty-five years younger. But, then, a sixty-year-old man could have a good reason to suddenly need to go to the emergency room. ‘Need a ham. A pretty big one.’ ‘You need a ham?’ ‘Yep. In case you haven’t. ” “I suppose you know that you were just taken by a raving lesbian, don’t you. Well it’s my fucking turn now, and because it’s my fucking barn I’m going to punish you. Nod if you understand me.” Melissa nodded. Her lips quivered. She pulled hard on the rope and tensed her body, waiting for his touch. “I wouldn’t tense if I were you. It’ll only hurt more.” Melissa listened to him, and relaxed as much as she could. She heard a swoosh of air. Then she felt the pain. Then she screamed. Melissa. And I loved it. ‘Got any plans tonight?’ I asked. He took a moment to answer me. I could see his eyes darting back and forth across the screen. The tapping stopped and a moment later he looked up. ‘Huh?’ ‘Plans? You doing anything tonight?’ ‘Oh… Nah. I’m grabbing coffee with Stacy tomorrow morning, so I’ll probably go to bed early.’ He forced a smile and asked, ‘How about you? Where are you and Jake going?’ ‘I dunno yet. He’s taking me to dinner in the Mission.’ ”That should be fun. You coming. She wished she?d decided to work only half that number, but then she?d probably have earned only half of the money she?d made in tips. With an hour left to go, after her break, she?d maybe make another couple hundred. One thousand four hundred dollars wasn?t bad for eight hours of dancing, she thought.She smiled at the thought of Sam, drunk on his ass, patting her bottom and shoving tens and twenties under her waistband. Alone, he?d probably contributed several hundreds to her night?s take..