“I couldn’t help noticing that it’s white. False advertising or not?” When Alice just stared at him, puzzled, he said gently, “I’m asking you if you’re a virgin or not.”

She blinked at him as she considered what answer to give. Here was the true one: she and Patrick had come close a couple of times but she’d never been able to quite go through with it, had always made him stop at the last moment. (It wasn’t that anything felt wrong with Patrick, not exactly. It was just that it hadn’t felt totally right either. To Alice it seemed as if sex with Patrick would be an extension of the fondness she felt for him. And she didn’t want to feel fondness when she had sex for the first time; she wanted to feel passion.) Not that she was about to tell Jude the true one. Not that she knew what to tell him. It was too late to tell him to go fuck himself, play it like she was outraged and wouldn’t justify such an obnoxious query with a response. She had to tell him something, though; time was passing. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She heard a few snickers, then a few more. Her blush was so strong now she felt as if her life were in jeopardy, as if her face were about to burst into actual flames.

Then, from the other side of the bonfire, Charlie said, “Sure she’s a virgin. She’s got to balance me out.”

Alice had never been so grateful in her life as when Jude’s eyes swung away from her face and over to Charlie’s. “And who are you?” he asked politely.

“I’m her sister, Charlie.”

“You’re depraved enough for the both of you, that’s what you’re telling me, Charlie?”

“More than enough.”

“You earned that tramp stamp, huh?” Alice didn’t know how he could see the angel’s-wing tattoo unless he had X-ray vision. Charlie’s halter was pulled all the way down, plus her back was to him. Had he been watching them earlier? Could he have been at the summer solstice party without them noticing?

If he was trying to embarrass Charlie, it wasn’t going to work. Holding his eye, she said, “Every last drop of sleazy ink.”

He laughed, was about to say something in response when Tommy stood up. “I’ve had enough of this shit. You’ve asked all the questions you’re going to ask tonight, Jude.”

Jude stuck out his lower lip in a pout. “Oh come on, Crash. Just a few more. I have an inquiring mind.”

“Go ahead, ask away,” Tommy said. “But it’s going to be tough to talk with your teeth down your throat.”