Girl Talk in "Strange Bedpersons"

Gina sounded unconvinced. “So why do you care? I thought you spit on big business. Especially lawyer big business.”

“I do. Nick doesn't. And he needs my help.”

“So you're still hung up on him.”

“No, I'm not hung up on him.” Tess sat up again, annoyed. “I just feel sorry for him.”

“Right,” Gina said. “And?”

“And he makes me feel good.” Tess leaned back a little as she thought about it. “Okay, he makes me feel really good.”

“And?” Gina prodded.

“And he turns me on,” Tess finally admitted, sliding all the way back down into the chair. “I know, I'm shallow.” She sighed. “Really shallow. I know he's a mercenary lawyer, but we're talking about a man who turns me on doing his laundry. You know, the kind of guy you sit next to by the dryer, and he's wearing a sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off, and you realize he has the best arms you've ever seen in your life, and suddenly you're having hot flashes and losing your train of thought, and it's either menopause complicated by Alzheimer's or you're in heat, and then that damn tingle starts and you know you're in heat, and you have to go upstairs and lock the door, because if you don't, you'll claw off his shirt and bite into his bicep.”

After a long pause Gina said, “Would you like me to wait while you go take a cold shower?”

Tess ignored the question. “This is why I should not be seeing him again. Because it's only a matter of time before I just drag him off to the nearest flat surface and have my way with him.And that would be bad.”

“Oh, yeah,” Gina said. “That sounds bad. I wish I had something that bad.”

“Look,” Tess said, “don't get snippy on me. That would be bad. I mean, I'm already tempted by him just because he makes me laugh and feel safe. If I went to bed with him and it was great, I'd be in real trouble. Because as much as he makes me crazy with lust, he really isn't right for me. He thinks my apartment is a dump, and he gets huffy about my thriftstore clothes, and he wears designer suits and gold watches.”

“Oh, well, gold watches,” Gina said. “There's a real drawback.”

“It's symbolic,” Tess protested. “I mean, he can be really sweet, but he can also be an uptight, money-hungry yuppie. And the thing is, those money-hungry times just seem to be getting longer and the sweet times shorter, and I don't really believe you can change a guy, and who am I to decide to change him, anyway? He's happy the way he is. We're better off apart. Besides, he won't let me wear an apron.”