？All　hail　the　conquering　rock　star。　I？m　Vanessa。？　She　clomped　over　to　the　guy　Ruby　was

straddling。　He　hadn？t　looked　at　her　once。

？This　is　Piotr；？　Ruby　explained；　wiggling　her　purple…leather…clad　ass　as　she　said　his　name；　as　if

just　saying　it　was　a　real　turnon。　？We　met　after　our　show　in　Prague。？

？Hallo；？　Piotr　replied　in　a　stiff　accent；　exhaling　a　long　plume　of　smoke　as　he　spoke。

Charming。

？The　apartment　looks　cool。？　Ruby　sounded　skeptical。　She　glanced　around　the　room。　？But　how

could　you　afford　all　this？　The　furniture；　the　drapes？？

？It？s　a　long　story；？　Vanessa　answered；　leaning　against　the　lavender…painted　wall　and　trying　to

look　anywhere　but　at　the　fawn…colored　suede　couch　where　the　filthy；　scrawny　Eastern　European

stranger　was　stretched　out　underneath　her　sister。

？Like　the　story　of　where　you　got　those　shoes？？　Ruby　asked；　throwing　her　purple　hair　back。　It　was

the　same　color　as　Willy　Wonka？s　hat。　？And　that　top？　Jesus；　look　at　you。　You？re　a　real　fashion

plate。？

？I　had　a　meeting。？　Vanessa　felt　hurt。　Why　was　Ruby　being　such　a　bitch？　If　only　the　slimebag

between　her　legs　would　get　lost　so　they　could　order　some　sushi　and　have　one　of　their　sis…terly

heart…to…hearts。

？A　word？？　Ruby　climbed　down　off　of　Piotr？s　lap。　She　nod…ded　toward　the　kitchen。

Vanessa　followed；　wondering　how　long　Ruby　was　going　to　be　home。　They　leaned　against　the

Formica　countertop。　？You　two　look　pretty　。　。　。　serious；？Vanessa　observed。

？It？s　love；？　Ruby　murmured　wistfully；　sounding　surprisingly　un？rocker　chick。　She　did　a　little

half…pirouette　then　stopped；　pseudo…embarrassed；　and　leaned　against　the　counter　again。

？That？s　cool；？　Vanessa　responded；　irritat