Sherri smiled. “Thanks,” she said, but it came out zanks, and she had to put her hand against the wall to keep from falling down. Once she made it to the bathroom, the black and white checkered tiles on the floor seemed to move around, making her dizzy, a state she viscerally feared after watching her mom lose her balance. On her way back she passed a group of Bunnies leaning over an antique pub table in the den. What were they all looking at? She looked closer and saw Tina snorting white powder into her nose. Tina? Cocaine? She’d heard about it at school, read about it in the newspaper, but had never seen actual drugs up close. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d heard people talk about coke. Yet even in her drunken state she felt disappointed. She wanted to believe that Tina was as virtuous as she thought she was, and that the resort was as clean as the reputation they touted at training.

“Want a bump?” Bunny Barb asked. Those were the only words Barb had ever said to Sherri. She was the head Bunny in the VIP lounge. She made more tips than anyone. “It makes your eyes warm.”

“No thank you,” Sherri said politely, as if she were declining sugar in her coffee.

When she returned, she sank back down into the couch, even closer to Frank. She let his fingers travel up and down her arms and thighs. Her plan was to become more experienced. She felt the gravitas of the word “initiation”; it meant more to her than Danny knew. All her life she’d wanted to be initiated into something. Instead of pushing him off, she gave in to the pleasure of being touched and paid attention to. Soon his tongue was in her ear and his hand was pawing her breast, and she felt herself lean into him, hungry, even if they were both awkward, and Frank’s kisses were wet and sloppy and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with her hands. The room began to clear out as some people went home or paired up and disappeared into the many guest rooms. Frank stood and reached for Sherri’s hand the way a gentleman might, a small gesture of kindness. They laughed and stumbled down to the basement, where Val and Danny played beer pong on the Ping-Pong table. Val winked and said, “Sister Sher!” Soon the sound of the ball bouncing against the table stopped; everything was quiet and everyone was gone except Frank.