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By Root 408 0

woman had her tongue in the man's ear, and he was perspiring heavily and wriggling in his seat. Hector, the busboy, was on the pay phone, speaking to his family in Mexico on a stolen credit card number. He had been on over an hour, and Tommy watched him in the mirror from his place at the crowded bar. Tommy was drinking vodka, half sitting, half standing, one buttock perched on the tall bar stool. He felt something slide onto the other half of the bar stool and turned to face Stephanie. She had changed into her street clothes and taken her hair out of the clip, and she smelled of perfume. She leaned her long mane of wavy brown hair on his shoulder and sighed.

"Hey, Steph," said Tommy. "How'd you do tonight?"

"I would have done okay if it wasn't for those Canadians," she said.

"They stiff you?" Tommy asked.

"Just about," said Stephanie. "Five dollars on an eighty-dollar check."

"You still shoulda had a pretty good night."

Stephanie just shrugged innocently and called the bartender over for a drink. She ordered a Stoli Sea Breeze. When the drink arrived, she took a long sip, turned to Tommy, and giggled conspiratorially. "So, Tommy, I hear you're fucking Cheryl. Is that right?"

Tommy's ears turned red. "Who said that?"

"I heard from somebody," said Stephanie with a smile.

"A gentleman doesn't tell," said Tommy.

"So you are fucking her," said Stephanie, flashing an even bigger smile through abundant lips. She took another long hit on her drink. "So how long has this been going on, you dog?"

"I still want to know who's been talking to you," said Tommy. "You tell me and I'll tell you. Was it the chef?"

"Michael?" exclaimed Stephanie. "Michael knew—and didn't tell me? I'll kill him! I tell him everything that goes on on the floor . . . everything. And he's been holding out on me with something like this? Ooooh, I'm gonna kill him!" She finished her drink and ordered another. Tommy ordered another vodka for himself.

"No, it wasn't Michael," she said. "It was Harvey."

"Harvey?" said Tommy. "What the hell does he know?"

"He called me in the office yesterday and asked me if you and Cheryl were bing-bonging," said Stephanie. "He didn't tell me. He asked. But that got me thinking about things."

"That's how he said it? Bing-bonging? He said that?" asked Tommy.

"Nah," said Stephanie. "He asked if you were seeing each other. Harvey's got serious hots for Cheryl."

"You are fucking shitting me," said Tommy.

"Nope. He loves her. He wants to get in her pants so bad it's not even funny. He's always mooning over her. Why do you think she gets all the good shifts? He's totally in love with her. Gonzo. Why do you think he had them put the cappuccino machine so low on that shelf? So every time Cheryl's steaming milk, he can look at her ass.

"She does have a nice ass," said Tommy, lighting a cigarette. He was looking down Stephanie's leotard . . .

"Can I get one of those?" asked Stephanie. "The whole place was bummin' off me all night, I don't have any left."

"Sure," said Tommy. He gave her a cigarette and lit it for her. He leaned toward her and cupped his hand around the match. "Thanks," said Stephanie.

"So, you have to tell me now. I told you. How long have you been seeing Cheryl?" she asked.

"Why don't you ask her. I admit I've been seeing her, okay? Anything else you want to know, why don't you ask her," said Tommy.

"Oh, I can't do that," said Stephanie. "I ask her that, she'll think I want to fuck you."

"Stephanie," said Tommy, "you already did fuck me."

"Oh, that," said Stephanie. "A blow job in the bathroom isn't exactly a torrid weekend in the Poconos."

"Maybe not," said Tommy. He looked up at the bartender, who was hovering near them, and said, "Stop listening in on my fucking conversation, alright?"

The bartender smiled. "Sure, Tommy, sure. Sorry."

"He's the biggest gossip in the place. Like an old woman," said Stephanie. She leaned close to Tommy and whispered in his ear, "I hear he's hung like a hamster."

The bartender moved away, shaking his head. Tommy took a sip of his drink. "So Harvey's got hots for