On Thin Ice Read Online Free PDF Page B

maybe—she’s so self-contained I doubt that anyone really knows her all that well—but we followed the same amateur circuit. The point is, she acts so pure all the time.”
    â€œI know what you mean. And most of the Bozos who claimed to know her in the good ole Biblical sense are full of shit more often than not, anyway,” Connie agreed. “But . . . all of them, Sasha? Every damn heterosexual male in this company? Performers, lighting techs, roadies, stage crew? That’s a lot of men all claiming the same thing.”
    Sasha looked at her friend across the table. “You know what makes me believe it might be true?”
    â€œHenry,” Connie stated with a grin.
    â€œYeah, Henry.” Sasha’s return smile was a little sheepish. “When I heard he’d been with her, I flat-out asked him but he refused to kiss and tell—like the very nice gent he is. But, God, Connie, he blushed so hard I was afraid he was going to spontaneously combust.” She laughed suddenly, an unprompted robust sound that came from deep in her diaphragm. As always, it caused people to turn and look at her, smiling reflexively at the sound. “Man, if it’s true and she seduced Henry, she must be something.”
    Connie was still grinning. “Kind of boggles the mind, doesn’t it?”
    â€œI’ll say.” Sasha looked at her friend across the table. “So what was the deal with the new manager? What exactly did he say to her to put her back up?”
    Connie repeated the string of obscenities and watched Sasha’s mouth drop open in shock. “Yeah. To give Karen her due, the guy’s got a mouth on him. It kind of took me by surprise when he introduced himself as the new manager, ’cause you know the powers that be and their reverence for the ‘Follies’ Family Image.’ ” Her fingers crooked quotation marks around the phrase. “Your act is about as R rated as we get. In Mick’s defense, though, he didn’t actually say it to her. I was running a little late coming down here for lunch—”
    â€œOoh, there’s a surprise.”
    â€œKiss my pretty gold butt.” Connie had practice ignoring that knowing sort of quirk Sasha could give to her right eyebrow. “Anyway, I ran into Karen upstairs just as she was heading back to her room from God knows where. I told her that everyone was meeting in the coffee shop and she decided to come down with me. Mick, which you’ve probably figured out by now is the new manager’s name, was standing outside his room. He was trying to juggle all this stuff he had in his hands and open his door, and we were just passing by when half of what he was holding fell to the floor. He let rip, and as you’ve already heard it was with quite a bit of creativity.” Connie shrugged. “You know Karen. She stopped to let him know in no uncertain terms she found that sort of language intolerable.”
    â€œAnd did he take one look at her big brown eyes and fall all over himself apologizing?” They’d seen that reaction more than once.
    â€œHe was about two seconds away from telling her to f——off,” Connie replied with a laugh. “He didn’t actually say the words, but you could see them forming. He’s gotta be one of the few men I’ve ever seen she hasn’t managed to leave feeling about an inch tall by the time she’s finished raking them over the coals.”
    Connie watched in silence as Sasha consumed her sandwich. Then she rolled her shoulders and continued, “It was kind of weird, though, Saush. One minute he’s all arrogant male and you just know that nothing is going to make him back down. Then all of a sudden he takes a closer look at her and then at me . . . and it’s like watching night turn into day. He didn’t exactly fall all over himself even then, but he smiled, which believe-you-me is nothing to sneeze