Free Rattlesnake by Kim Fielding

just—”
    “Passing through. We know.” Shane grinned like a schoolboy, looking momentarily years younger. “Try us out. Maybe we’ll grow on you.”
    So although two of the three parties involved weren’t entirely enthusiastic about the arrangement, it seemed that Jimmy had a job and a place to stay.
     
     
    T HE FIRST - FLOOR room wasn’t bad. It was small, as Shane had said, but not cramped. The furniture was either well-preserved antiques or well-done reproductions, but not overly fussy. Jimmy could have lived without the green striped wallpaper, but nobody had asked him to play interior decorator. The room contained a double bed, an armoire hiding drawers and a flat-screen TV, a pair of nightstands, and a small desk with a chair. There was also a closet and, near the door, a tiny sink with a mirror above. The narrow single window looked across a small air shaft to an unremarkable brick wall.
    “We only rent this room out when everything else is booked,” Shane explained. He stood in the doorway, watching Jimmy take a look around. “It’s pretty quiet, at least. And the mattress is good. Belinda replaced all of them just a few months ago.”
    “It’s a nice room,” Jimmy said. And it was. Very clean too, with a highly polished wooden floor and gleaming brass fixtures.
    “You share the toilet and shower with three other rooms, but you’re the closest. I guess it’s kind of inconvenient to pull on clothes if you have to pee in the middle of the night.” The corner of his mouth rose. “Or maybe you’re a pajamas kind of guy.”
    Jimmy snorted. “I haven’t owned pajamas since… well, I can’t remember.” When he was a kid, he slept in underwear and maybe a T-shirt when the weather was warm, and added more layers if it was cold.
    And yes, this time the gleam in Shane’s eyes most definitely existed. It made Jimmy’s throat feel dry. Stupid , he told himself. So you’ll fuck and then you can leave town. What’s the problem with that? None. Except maybe he’d stick around long enough to get in a shower and clean his clothes. Maybe even save up a few dollars.
    “Do you want to unpack now or take the grand tour?”
    Fuck. It was time for Jimmy to flirt back, just a little. “I’ll take the tour, if you’ll be my guide.”
    The gleam momentarily flared. “Deal. But I gotta be sort of quick. Belinda’s handling the bar at the moment, but things’ll start picking up soon. Guests wanting to check in. Let’s go.”
    They explored the ground floor first. After leaving the hall with the seven hotel rooms, they toured the bar and lobby, a crowded storage area behind the bar, a small office, and Shane’s apartment. Shane unlocked his door so Jimmy could peek inside. A bathroom, a living room with a kitchenette, and a bedroom. The furniture was mismatched and a little shabby, as if it had been salvaged from a variety of sources, and the painted walls provided a beige background to several framed photos. Jimmy recognized one of the locations.
    “I walked by there today,” he said, pointing. It was the abandoned house he’d considered as a shelter. “That’s a nice picture. It captures the… the atmosphere.” Sad and lonely.
    “Thanks,” said Shane, looking pleased.
    “Did you take it?”
    “Yeah. A couple years ago.”
    Jimmy waved a hand. “The others too?”
    “It’s kind of… it’s not even really a hobby. Just something I do now and then. I don’t have fancy cameras or lenses or anything and I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
    “Well, I’m not exactly an expert. But I like them.”
    Shane beamed.
    The apartment was a bit messy. Scattered clothing and papers lay on the furniture and floor, and dirty dishes adorned the kitchen counter. The place wasn’t a disaster by any means. It looked lived-in. Comfortable.
    “Do you like living where you work?”
    “Sure. It’s convenient. Before this I lived in a trailer at my parents’ ranch. That was all right, but not very