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Show 168 where a grease burn s t i l l smarted; or that prompted by his g r i t t e d teeth to suppose his bladder was bursting she had sprung out of bed and led him by the handle to the bathroom where she sat on the edge of the tub and waited, f i n a l l y asking him to leave i f he didn't intend to do anything because she needed t o . There was s t i l l room for a seventh sequence, but Noel had finished now (the Coke machine had caught his bumper as he was backing away from the pumps at a gas station on Bundy and had fallen against his right front fender, putting a crimp in i t s e l f and crushing his headlight), and Paul had gone off to make a Denver sandwich for someone, and the conversation at the table had drifted into anecdotes between Noel and Simon about driving in New York, where Lorin had never been. He leaned toward her and said, "Would you l i ke some more coffee? On the house i f you're quiet." " I don't think so," she said, her forehead nearly touching his. "I'm trying to keep from dancing now." "The other side of the fireplace. Look for a potted palm and keep going r i g h t ." "I remember." He was composed by the time she returned. She looked around her, smiling faintly, as she sat down, and he saw his chance to be familiar on short acquaintance. He cupped his hand to his mouth and she leaned over to listen. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a dump like this?" he asked. She crinkled her eyes, and cupping her hand to her own mouth, applied to his ear. Their fingers brushed. "This was all Simon's idea. I didn't have anything to do with it." "Where do you know Simon from?" His cupped hand touched the edge of her face. "We're neighbors. We live in the same building." Her fingertips |
