"Don't tell me you thought she was a virgin?" Morton chuckled and strode past Dex into the restaurant.
Dex came in after her. She knew she could rip the arms out of Morton's body. But she had to control her temper. She slid into the seat against the wall, squeezing in beside Morton who had chosen the most crowded corner.
Before Dex could resume their talk, Morton started a conversation with two girls sitting at the counter. Dex subsided, pushing her energy back down into her chest. She felt tight and hard. It couldn't be possible that Gena was playing her for a sucker. What had Gena to gain by it?
She ordered a vanilla malted and sipped it slowly while Morton took her time socializing with the other girls until they had finished their sandwiches and gone.
"I'll tell you what," Morton said. "Since you're so hard up against the wall, why don't you go on up to Gena's place and keep her home while Ryan is out looking for her tonight? Wouldn't that solve your problem nicely?" Morton winked. "Kill two birds and so forth?"
There was something condescending in her manner. Dex felt the gorge rising as she watched Morton scribble out Gena's address and phone number on a bit of napkin. What bothered Dex along with everything else, was that everybody seemed to take it for granted that she didn't know how to get in touch with Gena for herself.
She shoved the paper into the pocket.
But Dex didn't get up right away. An odd feeling drifted through her that Morton was only too glad to be getting her out of the way tonight.
On instinctive impulse, Dex said, "When you spoke with Ryan today, didn't she say anything about coming downtown?"
"Sure." Morton chewed on a chunk of bagel. "I bet she's floating around the Village someplace right now."
"Didn't she say she wanted to see you and cry on your shoulder?"
"Nope," Morton answered casually.
"So what did she phone you for?"
Morton shook her head. "Come on, don't pump me, Dex. I'm being good enough to you as it is."
Dex clenched a fist beneath the table. She knew she could haul off and bang Morton in the teeth if it would do any good. But it wouldn't. Couldn't. She had never seen this side of Morton so clearly in all the years they had known each other. Strange how the layers peeled off all at once, revealing the rotted bones underneath.
Yet even though Morton revolted her, it was Morton who knew the important details. She might not want to share them, but she knew; and that gave Morton a peculiar advantage concerning Ryan.
The straw, as Dex sucked at it, began to make slurping noises at the bottom of the glass. She looked down into the flattening froth along the sides of the glass and thought about Ryan flying around the Village like a mad one, looking for Gena.
Originally, Dex had hoped that Morton would keep Ryan company. Ease the pressure of Ryan's unhappiness. Now she felt that she didn't want Ryan near Morton at all.
Dex put a dollar bill on the small table and worked her way out from behind it.
"Going somewhere?" Morton said with a mock innocence.
Dex didn't bother to answer.
She turned and walked out of the restaurant, glad to be getting away from the sight, sound and smell of a viper.
Alone once more with her thoughts, Dex could feel herself digging deeper into a complicated mess of human involvements.
Unconsciously, she looked up and down the street, hoping that she might bump into Ryan and see for herself that Ryan was all right.
Yet the thought of Ryan brought on counter thoughts of Gena. And the two slips of paper seemed to be burning a hole right through her pocket and into the flesh.
What was it that prevented her from phoning Gena? What was it that prevented her from taking any really effective action?
It was the dreaming that caused most of the pain, Dex knew. If she could get her fingers in to the tangible flesh of reality, most of what ailed her would subside.
Certain that she was giving herself good advice, Dex went into a phone booth and dialed Gena's number, intending to tell the girl that she was coming up to see her tonight, regardless…
She waited with the phone pressed hard to her ear while it rang and rang.
Finally, the receiver clicked up from the cradle.
"Hello?" said a voice.
It was a familiar voice with a familiarly cool lilt.
"Hello, Ryan," Dex said. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
CHAPTER FIVE
The telephone slammed down in her ear.
Dex held the receiver out and stared at the ear piece without seeing it. As the phone trembled in her hand, she imagined the expression on Ryan's face. Her nose would be wrinkled up a little, her eyes would be blazing fire and brimstone, her mouth would be cruel, all for a split second. Then it would collapse. Her chin would begin to tremble, tears would well up in her eyes and she would turn away. Ryan was not much of a fighter.
Then she imagined Gena, her cocky ways, and her delight at being the odd end of a triangle.
The thought of Gena's glee made the blood pound in her temples. The scaredy cat, the tearful expression she had glimpsed from the cab which in the end meant revenge, it was all there. It would make her enjoyment of the situation just perfect, thought Dex. Dex slapped the phone back into place and slumped for a moment against one wall of the booth. Already the situation had gotten way out of bounds. There would be no controlling Gena now. Gena was feeling a taste of power. And Dex knew that it was Gena's cup of tea.
She eased out of the phone booth, urged on by a hand of fate which seemed to be pushing her headlong into disaster. She had been unable to avoid the confrontation between Ryan and Gena. Now she would have to go there and face them both squarely. With Ryan on one side and Gena on the other, Dex felt as though she were being caught in a vise.
Three in a bed and you're dead.
But that's how it was going to wind up, Dex knew. If she herself didn't force the issue, she knew that Gena would.
Jerkily, Dex kept glancing around for a cab. All of her was wound up into tight springs. Coiled and ready for action, she could barely live through time and space until she reached Gena's apartment.
In the taxi, she sat forward on the edge of the seat and played with the heavy gold ring on her small finger. Suddenly, she remembered the moment when Ryan had bought her that ring. Vacation on Cape Cod. Just the two of them. Alone. Before Ryan had started playing around… Before she needed to.
Dex thrust away thoughts of Ryan. This was no time to rehash past mistakes.
Yet she sensed that Gena was probably making Ryan jump through hoops. She could almost hear Gena describing the sexy affair. Gena would know how to make the most of her advantage.
"I'm Dex's roommate," said Ryan coolly. Gena stood with the door open, staring at the beautiful girl in front of her.
"Well, come in. Any friend of…" Gena knew enough to stop short from uttering the full cliche. It would have been as stupid as saying that Dex was her latest one-night stand. So this was the big bad wolf, she thought to herself, eyeing Ryan up and down. The long willowy legs, long hair, sharp eyes, beautiful cheekbones – this was indeed something very special.
Ryan sauntered slowly into the apartment. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do or say next. It seemed imperative that she confront the girl.
She had left Robard feeling slightly foolish at having slept with him, yet at the same time glad I that the tension had come to a head and that she had satisfied him. She was not a man-hater. That was more Dex's territory. But no man could satisfy her, especially not at this crisis in her life. She had needed a woman. She had called Morton.
"You must have seen her leave last night," she had pressed. There had been a long silence on the end of the phone, then Morton had answered.