“Who’s your rabbi?” Stone asked. “Not Brian, I trust.”
“Not exactly,” Mitzi said.
“You don’t have a rabbi, do you?” Dino asked.
“Not exactly.”
“All you’ve got is Brian.”
“I have other friends in the department,” she said uncertainly.
“I’m really glad to hear that,” Dino said, as if he didn’t entirely believe her.
Nobody spoke again until a waiter came to take their orders.
52
THEY STARTED FOOLING around in the cab on the way home, and by the time they had made it upstairs they were leaving a trail of clothing across the bedroom.
Mitzi undid her bra and threw it as far as she could. “Free at last!” she half-shouted. She tackled Stone, and they fell onto the bed, writhing in the mutual pleasure of their naked bodies. In a moment they were conjoined.
“I think this is what they mean by ‘one flesh,’ ” Stone said.
“I like it,” Mitzi said, sticking her tongue in his ear.
It was, perhaps, her tongue that kept him from properly hearing the first outburst.
“What?” Stone asked.
Mitzi froze. “That wasn’t me,” she whispered.
“What was it?”
“Lying scum!” a female voice said.
“You promised not to bring your roommate,” Stone said to Mitzi.
“I didn’t.”
Stone sat up and looked around the darkened room, lit only by a few shafts of moonlight cutting through the venetian blinds. As he squinted, a naked female stepped out of his dressing room.
“Miserable son of a bitch,” Carrie Cox said. “And with her.” She pointed at Mitzi.
“Oh, come on, Carrie,” Mitzi said, sitting up on one elbow. “You’ve got to get over high school.”
“Carrie,” Stone said. “What are you doing here?” He realized that sounded hollow, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“What am I doing here? What is she doing here?” Carrie pointed again.
“You want to join us, Carrie?” Mitzi asked.
“What?”
“Stone’s pretty good at threesomes,” Mitzi said. “Come to think of it, so am I. And I like your dancer’s body.”
“Mitzi, please,” Stone said. “Let me handle this.”
“Okay, handle it,” Mitzi replied. “I’ll wait here.”