boots and heels.

Abbie expected a peaceful day. It was not her kind of weather outside but she didn't expect any action. She still dressed up of course, and sipped on a mimosa through a straw while watching Dave Gorlomi through their adjacent windows. He was tenderizing meat. She liked to watch. Her legs were propped up on her register, her head was relaxed back over the back of her chair. She was completely in peace, but then she heard it. That dreadful noise. The noise that indicates that a certain person, a particular rat was coming closer. Abbie's head perked up. She quickly slipped her feet off the register, removed the straw from her mimosa, took a giant sip and rushed to the glass door of Abbott's Dream. As she was halfway through closing the blinds on the door, the face popped up. The noise ceased. Abbie was stuck, paralyzed even, staring into the eager eyes of Courtney Red. Abbie scanned her, from her ugly clothes all the way down to her monstrous, blood-red boots. Abbie was shocked back into reality by the presence of the boots. She slammed the blinds down and locked the door. The boots made their way to one of the glass windows.

"Hi." the boots said.

"No, no." Abbie said, shaking her hands in the air, grabbing her mimosa as she kept her back turned to the window.

"I know-"

"No, no. No you don't. You don't know anything." Abbie shot back the rest of her mimosa, and made her way to the mini-fridge beside the register.

"I saw Kandie-"

"That's nice." Abbie threw open the mini fridge door.

"And Renee-"

"Wonderful." Abbie scanned through her collection and grabbed a sampler of Smirnoff and Patron.

"They came here."

"This is a store." She tossed the Patron back into the fridge and closed the door.

"Through the back."

Abbie stopped.

"I know what they were doing here. There were men."

Abbie untwisted the cap off of her vodka sampler and slipped it down her throat. She cringed, but popped up behind the counter. She stared at the boots, and then at Courtney.

"Listen, Red." Abbie said, swaying a bit. "You don't know anything. What I got going on is completely illeg- I mean legal. Just some girls having a good time with some guys that need a good time. There's nothing wrong with that."

"So you confirm?" Courtney said, whipping out a small notebook and jotting things down feverishly.

"Do I confirm what?" Abbie hiccuped and held her stomach.

"That you're running a brothel." Courtney looked up from her notebook, a sly smile curling on her face. Abbie turned red. Her face became hot and she stomped to her door, unlocked it and stood outside on the sidewalk. Courtney backed up slightly, continuously noting things down.

"Unless you want a job, run." Abbie shook her curls back, preparing herself.

"What?"

"I said unless you want a job, run." Abbie placed her hands on her hips, ready.

"Run? Why?"

Abbie bent down and grabbed her vintage heels. She took aim and threw one directly at Courtney's face. Courtney dropped her notebook and held her face. A drop of blood hit the sidewalk.

"Assault!" Courtney yelped, revealing a bloody eyebrow gash. Abbie bent down again. Courtney grabbed her notebook from the ground and started to jog away. Abbie chucked her other heel at Courtney's back. "You're psycho!" She screamed and sprinted for the rest of the block. Abbie stood, hands on hips, still a little tipsy, but relieved.

"Hey baby," Renee said, appearing from the doorway of Abbott's Dream. "We're out of tequila downstairs. Should I make a run?" Abbie turned around, a new rip forming in her tights.

"Yes." She said going back inside the store. "And pick up my shoes while you're at it."