Let’s get you cleaned up.” She fussed over me. It felt nice. Something my mom would have done had she not been so busy getting high. Like mother l...ke daughter, right? She undressed me, her lips tight, her eyes tighter, as I shed my clothes until I was naked, shivering, not with chill, but with fear and humiliation as she appraised me. I could almost read her mind. Too thin. Track marks. Dark circles. Bruises. And then, those damning words. Junkie. “I’m sorry, Denise. I tried. I did,” I. After a bit we got up, laughed, leaned against each other, looked fruitlessly for my bra, and then went back to the refreshment table to get something to eat. Jerry needed his strength and a glass of cider. We kissed a couple more times, and then, reluctantly, parted. I hit the head, and came back to find Anna bouncing up and down on a guy who looked vaguely familiar. It took a bit before I placed him: I'd partied with him back when I was in high school.I know a couple of girls who make notes. Leanne, my love, you’re taking the conversation in a risky direction.“He gets lawyers to give you money?” Alice asked Leanne. “How does that work? It usually goes in the other direction.”“Remember that trouble with Tommy Cox a month ago?”“I don’t know if we should get into this,” Jake said.“I think we should,” Alice said. “I remember when it was in the news. I got very interested after I saw Jake and Boris planning to attack Cox’s ranch.”“That’s not what we were doing,” Jake said. “I explained. I walked up behind Kathy and put my hands on her hips, leaned over and said in her ear "Damn your hips feel good". She tuned around quickly with an angry look on her face, but once she seen it was me she put on a smile showing her perfectly white teeth. "Oh My God! What are you doing here?" Kathy asked. I told here I was here with some friends and I was stopping at the bar before hitting the dance floor. I got me andKathy a long island and after downing them and talking for a bit we hit.