Diary of an Ugly Duckling by Langhorne, Karyn (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

thing for my

first day back.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Be careful out there,

Audra

“You’re gonna need a new badge, Marks,” Dar-

lene Fuchs said when Audra clocked in.

“That’s the only way anyone’s going to know you.”

The uniform was brand-new, in some tiny size

called only “petite small” on the uniform sizing chart,

and it fit her trim hips and brand-new bodacious

behind in a way that the designer probably never

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intended the drab fabric to do. She wore a crisp,

white, fresh-out-of-the-box shirt with every button

flat, including those outlining the high peaks of her

new breasts.

“Real or fake?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow at

Audra’s hair.

“Extensions,” Audra answered, checking over the

duty roster. There was only one name she was look-

ing for . . . and it wasn’t there. “Where’s Bradshaw?

He’s still working this shift, right?”

“Called in sick,” the other woman said, still eye-

ing Audra interestedly. “How much weight did you

lose?”

“In all?” Audra calculated. “About eighty-five

pounds of fat . . .” She made a mental note to thank

Julienne as she made a bicep pop for the woman.

“But I’ve built up a good deal of muscle, too, so it

looks like more.”

“Amazing. I wouldn’t have known on the street if

I fell on you, seriously, Marks.” She stretched the

bare forearm emerging from the short sleeve of her

uniform blouse toward Audra. “You and I are nearly

the same color, since it’s summer and I have a tan.

How did they do that anyway?”

“Do what?” Audra asked innocently, grinning

broadly.

Darlene laughed. “You don’t actually plan to pre-

tend like you were born that color, do you?”

Audra shrugged. “ ‘Hey, if it works for Michael

Jackson, it might work for me.” She paused. “Did . . .

did Bradshaw say what was wrong?”

“Nope,” Darlene shook her head casually enough,

but her expression said she was quickly reaching

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conclusions about the reasons for Audra’s interest.

“You’re doing day room patrols today . . . in fact, all

week. Next week you’ll switch back to the night

shift. That all right?”

“Fine,” Audra said, checking her weapon and

strapping on her holster and trying most unsuccess-

fully to feign the most casual of interest as she

asked, “Bradshaw still have that detail? When he

gets back, of course . . .”

“Of course, Marks,” Darlene said sweetly. She

leaned close and smiled. “The way he’s been talking

about you for the past three months, I’d say you’d

have to screw up big time to keep from reeling him

in,” she whispered. “Congratulations.”

Audra felt her face go numb. Darlene was con-

gratulating her, but Art was evading her, it was obvi-

ous. It was beginning to look like she’d already

blown it, big time . . . right when she finally had a

chance. “Thanks,” she mumbled in Darlene’s gen-

eral direction and turned away with a heavy heart.

“You boys are going to lose all your privileges if you

don’t cut it out,” Audra shouted, but it was hard to

keep the ghost of a smile from the corners of her lips

with the hoots and catcalls answering the swing of

her hips as she strode ahead along the line of con-

victs moving in a slow formation toward the day

room. “Keep it up and you’ll all be in your cells for a

week with no rec time at all.”

They reached the day room and Audra counted

them in, watching the men’s faces as they passed her,

registering their appreciation. Some addressed her

in low voices—she heard “baby,” “flower,” “sweet

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thing”—while others addressed her with their eyes,

clearly enjoying the carefully crafted arrangement

of flesh. Not one of them seemed to know her, even

though—with the exception of a few unfamiliar

faces—Audra knew she could call each one of them

out by both number and name. Even Haines saun-

tered by her, his lips losing their habitual sneer of

disdain long enough for him to look her over and

leer something that in his twisted universe was

probably considered a smile. Audra doubted he’d

have given her more than his usual cursory glare if

he had recognized her.

Nothing like that was ever likely to happen again.

She’d worked too hard to lose the weight to ever risk

gaining it back, and instead of brute strength, she’d

already signed up for refresher self-defense classes

to insure her skills were still sharp enough to subdue

a prisoner if necessary. And fortunately, she still had

brains . . . even if she’d lost a bit of her brawn.

“Officer,” Haines greeted her in his sneering way

and there was a touch of awe in his voice that Audra

had never heard before. Apparently, there were

other ways to subdue a man, Audra realized. Ways

that had nothing to do with force.

Pride swelled inside her, along with an intense

hopefulness. This is what it felt like to be beautiful—

to have the appreciation of men and the envy of

women. She inhaled deeply, drinking in the feeling,

bursting to share it with Bradshaw . . . if he’d ever

come out of hiding long enough to let her.

The last man came through the doorway, all slink

and slither, pimp rolling along like he thought he

owned the joint.

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“Hey there, mama,” he murmured, batting his

curly black eyelashes at her. “You new here? Be

happy to show you the ropes—”

“Carlton?”

He blinked, hearing his given name come out of

Audra’s mouth.

“Listen, sweet thing, only my mama calls me

that—”

“You were paroled in March, Carlton,” Audra

snapped, ignoring him. “It’s mid-September! What

are you doing back in the joint that fast?” Audra

shook her head. “I tell you what, boy. I’ve got an ass-

whipping with your name on it.”

The kid’s face vacillated between titillation and

confusion.

“Baby, do you know me?” he said in a voice full

of sweetness.

“Yeah, I know you,” Audra muttered. She nodded

to her fellow CO as he brought up the rear and

closed the day room’s doors behind him.

“You been checking me out, huh, pretty lady?”

Carlton muttered, all seduction and zero seriousness.

“That’s all right—but when do I get to know you?”

“Not so fast, Casanova. There’s a speed limit in

this state,” Audra said, for