"My mother would dig that get-up," Butler said.

"Because not only am I a good fuck physically, Butler, but I know all that psychological shit about scoring pussy too." Stony crumpled the hamburger wrapper into a ball and rolled it lightly between his palms.

"I mean, you know, how to make them, how to get them relaxed." He dragged out his words. "You know how ... how to get them to trust you, you know? So they don't even know they're gettin' laid."

"You know what my ol' man got my ol' lady for Christmas?" Butler challenged. "Ankle socks! A fuckin' dozen pair a ankle socks." He paused for the news to sink in, reaching for his cigarettes on the dash. "She asked for them." With his thumb he bent a match onto the carbon and flicked a light.

Stony ignored him and went on. "First I get 'em a drink, see? An' then I put on some music, you know somethin' nice, right? An' we'll dance." Stony shut his eyes and dreamily swayed his head. "I won't even grind, maybe just a little bump like ... unh!" Eyes still closed. Stony licked his lips, arched his pelvis off the seat and rotated his hips.

Butler raised his eyebrows and making a noise like a garbage disposal sucked the last drops of orange drink from the crushed ice.

"And now they're startin' to breathe a little funny, right? So I dance just a little closer, not grindin' or anythin', just enough to brush them with my meat, you know? Give them a hors d'oeuvre."

Butler unwrapped a hamburger.

"They try to act like they don't feel it, you know? But let me tell you something, Butler, you gotta be dead not to feel my piece—"

"I don' wanna feel your goddamn piece." Butler started in on some french fries.

"Anyways, I only do that once, one time, then we keep dancin'. They can think about it an' then like maybe two minutes later I say to them...'You wanna take a bath?' Very casual, you know? If the chick says 'sure!' you know that bitch is mine!" Stony tossed the crumpled wrapper on the tray hanging from the half-open car window. "Except one time I ast this girl to take a bath an' she got insulted. She thought I was sayin' she needed a bath."

An orange GTO with an idle like a dragon with asthma pulled in beside them on Stony's side. Butler squeezed Stony's knee. Two girls were in the front seat. Nice blondes with hard eyes and thin lips.

"Hey!" Butler smiled, leaning across Stony's lap. "What's happenin'?"

The driver and her friend stared straight ahead.

"You wanna take a bath?" He laughed, looking at Stony. Stony elbowed him back to his side of the car. The driver turned away and said something to her friend. Stony leaned out the window, winked at the driver and drummed his fingers against the car door.

"Hey"—his smile was right out of a Crisco can—"your name Carol? You look like a girl Carol I know. Your friend's name Carol?" No answer. He shrugged.