Gena said into the phone, "All right, I'll be there in a few minutes," her voice was hurried but soft.
She dropped the receiver into the cradle. Then she turned her head to face Dex. Gena's bright smile did not match the soft voice she'd been using.
"Well, you're back fast," Gena said, and the voice was bright again.
Too bright, Dex thought. And much too impersonally good-natured. Obviously, Gena was being distracted by something or someone else.
"I've come to stay," Dex said.
She walked to the sofa and flopped down on the cushion farthest from Gena. Stretching out her legs, she wanted to convince herself that it was possible to relax in Gena's company. But her body felt like coiled steel.
"That's nice," Gena said neutrally. She swung her legs from the couch arm and got up.
Dex watched Gena saunter toward the tiny bathroom. Gena closed the door between them. The sound of water running into the sink reached Dex's ears.
When the door opened again, Gena looked freshly combed. It was three in the morning, but she seemed ready for a tea party.
Dex didn't feel that Gena had fixed her appearance for the sake of their blossoming romance.
"Don't you ever sleep?" Dex said.
"I'm a night pussycat." She went to a closet and took out a cotton jacket.
The jacket was a stylized version of the one she had seen on Morton. A woman's safari type. It fit Gena neatly. As she pulled in the wide belt, her tiny waistline became emphasized. The firm ass jutted proudly and the muscle line of her thighs showed through the narrow cut of her slacks.
"You can't be going anywhere at this hour," Dex said, wanting Gena to admit the truth.
"No. No place important, anyway. You go to sleep, Dex. I'll be home in a little while."
Dex swallowed as she felt the anger beginning to rise. If only there were a way to trap Gena. But Gena's personality was like a mist. Dex could be blinded by it but she could find nothing solid to grab hold of and deal with effectively.
"Maybe I ought to go with you," Dex offered.
"Oh, don't bother. I'm used to getting around by myself, you know."
Gena did not hide her defiance. She dropped her small leather wallet into one of the jacket pockets and headed for the door.
Dex reacted without thinking. She sprang from the couch and put herself between Gena and the door to block Gena's exit.
"I don't think you ought to go anywhere," Dex said, her voice breathless. "Stay here with me. It's our first night together. We shouldn't have any interference, should we?"
Gena turned slightly away from Dex. "Well, I'm only going for some milk, anyway. You can't call that much of an interference." She laughed softly but uncomfortably.
Dex felt her cheeks burn. She wondered how Gena could lie so easily, so completely and without shame.
"How come you expect me to believe something so stupid as that," Dex said, her voice low and poised.
Gena raised her shoulders and held them there, awkwardly. "You started this," she said.
"You're not going to start twisting my words around, either," Dex said, anticipating Gena's method of fighting. "Either I go with you. Or you don't go out," Dex said flatly.
Gena pushed out her lower jaw. The impishness left her face. In its place came determination.
"I never asked you to come up here. I never even gave you my address. Why are you bothering me?"
Frustration shattered Dex's thinking. She picked Gena up and carried her back to the couch. The girl's feet kicked into Dex's thighs and knees but she felt no pain, felt nothing but the numb insistence throughout her being that Gena not make a fool of her tonight… or ever again.
Dex flung her down and watched Gena bounce.
"I know you want Morton," Dex rasped. "That's where you're off to, isn't it."
"So what if I am. You can't tell me what to do I don't know you."
"You know me plenty," Dex forced Gena back down as she began to lift up from the couch. "You just watch yourself, missy. I'm not in a mood for your kind of lying shenanigans."
"You get out of here." Gena's voice was shrill.
Dex's, hand went back. It arced forward. She heard the sharp slap and felt it stinging across her palm. Gena snapped backward, her face drained of color and the nostrils flared. She did not look frightened. Her anger was like the rise of volcanic lava that finally bubbles up and over the top. She snapped her mouth, and the front teeth came down on Dex's fingers.
Dex flung herself on top of the girl and pinned her fast. She drove her knee up and concentrated on that sensation till Gena relaxed the grip of her jaws.
Gena fell back panting. She shut her eyes. The swallowing movement in her throat was like convulsions, and she turned her face into the back loose cushions, to bury her nose and mouth there. Dex heard the sobs that tore through Gena's body. They were sounds of despair. Of defeat. Dex let go of her and leaned over. She put her lips to Gena's hot cheek.
"Can't you see?" Dex said. "Morton didn't do you any good. None at all or you'd be with her. But you and I… maybe we have a chance. We're a lot alike, darling. You're young and you want to live. I've been buried in a back room someplace for too many years. And now I want to live, too."
Gena stuck an arm out and tried to push Dex away.
Dex sighed. She could not tell what Gena's motives were. Was she being stubborn out of a sense of humiliation? Did she have to conquer Morton before she gave her up?
"Why don't you talk to me?" Dex said. "If you don't tell me what's on your mind, I won't know what to do."
She waited until the sobbing subsided. When she felt sure that Gena would stay put and not bolt for the door, Dex went to the bathroom. She found a washcloth, wet it in cold water and brought it back.
Gena took the cloth and put it to her eyes. Then she wiped her face and forehead, gradually coming back to a quieter balance. After a few minutes, she sat up, her eyelids red and swollen and staring with concentrated thought at the design of the worn carpet.
"You'll never know," she said simply.
Dex felt herself beginning to relax. "Try me."
"Morton is waiting for me right now. I promised to go there. She'll never believe that you nailed me to the wall."
"You make it sound as though I crucified you."
"You did."
Gena sounded glum. The despair was thick and forever. There was no arguing her emotion. No trying to cajole her out of it with reason.
At the same time, what was the sense in preventing Gena from going to Morton, since she believed that having Morton was having the pinnacle of love?
Dex struggled against a surge of humiliation that threatened to overturn her own good sense. Gena was too young to know that throwing herself at Morton was a waste.
"All right," Dex said. "You're going to spend your life thinking of me as the black pirate if I keep you from your lover girl. Go on. Go to Morton. I only hope she manages to make it worth your while."
Gena put her palm to her forehead. "And if I go, how are you going to embarrass me later? Shall I expect you to come barging in at us around sunup?"
"You don't understand me, Gena. I'm not going to make a single footstep in your direction. Not ever again. You're going to walk out of here and go to Morton. As far as I'm concerned, you're going to the devil… and I'll never expect you back."
Dex saw Gena examining her with surprise and disbelief.
"Okay," Dex said, standing up. "I'll be on my way now, and you do what you want."
Gena pursed her lips. "How can you change your mind back and forth so many times? First you come dashing in here like a madwoman. Then you fly out. Then you're back. Now you're leaving again."
Dex smiled despite herself at the accurate description.
"I know. I'm acting nuts, Gena, because I thought that we had a chance. But the minute you drag Morton in on everything, that's the end. I don't share anything I have with her."