"Yes," she said. She really thought she could get away with short answers. She's always been stubborn like that."And what are you going as?" he asked.... He sounded really interested."I don't know," she said."I think you'd make a great Xena, Warrior Princess," he said.We both stared at him. Xena was on one of the cable channels, but we both knew it was ancient history."I don't think so," said my sister, carefully. But he'd hooked her. "Why do you think that?" You've got the body for it," he said. She felt great. She had admonished herself for looking at the men in the room, feeling each time she looked thoroughly at one of them (sitting alone at the bar, with other women, with men friends) the sensations that she had had earlier in the afternoon. She was just as pleased to leave the restaurant as she had been to arrive there.Once home Marily tried to shake the feeling of need and desire that bunched up inside her demanding an outlet. She couldn't. While Fred had been showering for bed,. "Now please let us dispense with the formalities!" Thank you sir, if it got much more formal I'm afraid I would get lost in the etiquette. We do, however, thank you for your hospitality." Think nothing of it. Please let's have a cocktail; dinner will be in half an hour."They mingled for the half hour. Deborah, 'Debbie', and Harold 'Harry' turned out to be college students home for the break. Debbie was the younger, in her first year studying business at Duke. Harry was actually home from Oxford. " As thetears flowed down my cheeks she repeated the question, but as hard as Itried I still couldn't stop myself shouting, "He is my friend Ryan." Thepain was worse the second time round and caused me to slump forward andbeg for relief but with a cold stare she hissed, "State your relationshipwith this man." As the consequences of giving the same response beckonedI suddenly had memories of seducing this man at the nightclub. I couldn'tunderstand why I had forgotten this especially as I had.