I didn't have any tattoos to show her. "I never had the courage to go throughwith it. I always wanted a bird on my ass though." She laughed and I continued."You know where I could get one, without getting any diseases?"

"Yeah, sure."

"But will you come with me?"

"Well, I don't know about that?"

"Come on. You know, you're incredible. What is it? Some sort oflove potion?"

"I don't think so."

"What? You just make me feel so..."

"Horny?"

"Well, I didn't want to say it."

"Maybe it's cause I'm nineteen."

"Oh my God, nineteen. Really? Is that legal?"

"I hope so."

"You think you could put that gun down?"

"I don't think so."

"Come on. I just want to talk. I swear. But if you becomeinterested in anything else, you can let me know." Now I could believeI was a total leech at that point, but she was grinning and I wasfeeling aggressive and strong, like a whole human male, and I wasn'tabout to question that. Why should I?

"Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?"

"I dropped out. You don't really want to know that, do you?"

"I do." And I did. I wanted to know everything about this chick. Iwas driven to know everything. "Let's just sit on the couch andyou'll talk to me, like a real person. And when you feel morecomfortable, you'll lower the gun."

She agreed and sat, but she was quiet for awhile and so was I. At onepoint she got up and got us both Molsons. She didn't ask, she justdid it. It was so cool.

"I'm actually a Valley Girl, if you can imagine that, but a ninetiesversion. My mother ran some hokey women's group. They gave her moneyand she got all these women together to, I don't know, bitch abouttheir lives. She's not a doctor or anything, just a capitalist. Shesaw a demand for a certain service and provided it. That's capitalism,isn't it? Personally, I consider it exploitive, because it neverbenefited those women in anyway."

"Where was your dad?"

"Oh, he was drugged out during the eighties, and resurfaced in thenineties as a cop. You're typical LA dude. Where were you in theeighties?"

"Playing around."

"Literally."

"Yeah, I suppose." I said.

"For as tough as I look, I got to tell you something." She paused, slightly embarrassed.

"What's that?"

"I've never...had sex."

"Oh my God."

"You think that sucks, don't you?"

"No, no. The total opposite. It's the coolest thing I've heardin a long time."

"I actually didn't think I would feel this way about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd do anything for my dad. I've got that daddy complex. Probablycaused by the fact he wasn't around when I really needed him. Nowthat he needs me, I can't let go."

From behind I heard, "Thata girl, baby." Then the door slammed.

I turned around. "What the...?" It was Friday and Gannon.

"Hi, Daddy."

I screamed, "Daddy!? Oh God, I'm fucked."