Vanessa　had　been　about　to　offer　her　services　as　a　reader；　but　it　didn？t　sound　like　Dan　wanted　any

help。　？Okay；？　she　said　coolly。　？Call　me　if　you　need　anything　or　whatever。？

Dan　flipped　his　collar　up　again　and　lit　another　cigarette；　experimenting　with　his　new　look。　？Oh；

wait。　I　wanted　to　ask　you　something。　Rusty　Klein　invited　me　to　this　thing　called　Better　Than

Naked。　？The　Better　Than　Naked　show。？　That？s　what　she　said。　Do　you　know　if　that？s　a　band　or

something？？

Better　Than　Naked　was　the　antifashion　fashion　label　that　Vanessa？s　older　sister；　Ruby；　blew　all

her　gig　money　on。　Most　of　their　clothes　looked　like　old　thrift…store　rags　that　had　been　run　over　by

a　fleet　of　street…cleaning　machines；　which　was　pletely　intentional。　Very　downtown　？fuck　the

trends？　fashion。

？It？s　Fashion　Week　starting　on　Friday；？　Vanessa　explained。　？It　sounds　like　she？s　inviting　you　to

the　Better　Than　Naked　runway　show；　which　I　only　know　about　because　Ruby　is　totally　crazy　about

their　clothes　and　always　watches　the　shows　on　the　Metro　Channel。　I　don？t　know　why　Rusty　Klein

thinksyou　would　want　to　go；　though。　What　do　you　care　about　clothes？　And　it？ll　be　full　of　posers

and　wanna…bes？you　know；　that　whole　vapid　fashion　scene。？

Dan　looked　thoughtful　as　he　puffed　on　his　cigarette。　？I　think　I？m　gonna　check　it　out。？　He

wouldn？t　have　cared　if　Rusty　Klein　had　asked　to　meet　him　at　a　pro　wrestling　match。　This　was

about　building　his　writing　career。

Filming　Dan　at　the　Better　Than　Naked　show　would　have　been　perfect　material　for　her　film；　but

Vanessa　didn？t　want　to　butt　in　if　Dan　was　meeting　someone　as　important　as　Rusty　Klein　at　the

show。　？Okay；　Mr。　Hot　Shit　Poet。　Don？t　forge