Free THE POLITICS OF PLEASURE by Mark Russell Page A

tomorrow.'
    A silence fell between the women.
    Michelle rubbed her knees and her eyes brightened from the prospect of future work. 'Hmm, I'm really confident about this new offer.' She saw the disbelieving look on her friend's face. 'Some new flavour-of-the-month designer saw me in an Alexis portfolio and, I don't know, got all fired up and said I just had to be part of his new inter-seasonal collection.'
    'I still can't believe you hitchhiked here.' And Carmen in turn displayed parental-like concern.
    However Michelle didn’t doubt such concern was a ploy to keep attention away from Carmen's growing excesses and the demands they were beginning to make on her money-making looks. 'Well I did.' Michelle rubbed her thighs and thought about Goldman and decided to use her time with him to steer the conversation in a more congenial direction. 'Anyhow, this really nice guy gave me a lift.'
    'Oh, I'm sure ...' Carmen studied her long slender hands (which made her considerable money from hand-modelling assignments - most recently from a De Beers Diamonds contract). She looked up and blurted. 'Are you carrying, babe? Come on, please!'
    'Just wait,' Michelle snapped, though she soon reached into the change pocket of her jeans. She pulled out a small bag of coke along with the folded dollar bill Goldman had given her. Toying with the two items, she said, 'Anyhow this cute guy gave me his phone number and offered me a lift back to DC on the weekend.'
    Carmen sat anxiously on the edge of her seat and watched Michelle's play of hand. 'You've got two. More the merrier.' She reached for the folded dollar bill.
    Michelle pulled back. 'No, Scott gave it to me.'
    'Michelle, please!'
    A part of Michelle took pleasure from Carmen acting like an agitated pup hungry for feed. Accordingly she took her own sweet time in handing over the coke. She then appraised the folded bill as if it were emblematic of her agreeable time with Goldman. 'Hmm, this is something else.'
    'Like what?' Carmen hardly cared now she had what she wanted.
    'I'm not sure exactly.' Michelle unfolded the dollar bill and put her finger to the grainy powder. 'Blah, that tastes bitter.'
    Carmen took a feisty swig of her drink. 'Hey, you don't know what that crap is.'
    'Don't worry. Scott said it's used by marriage counsellors in California. I told him about Terence and everything, and he suggested Terence and I take some together.'
    'I can't believe that scuzz bucket actually hit you. Look at your damn eye, 'chelle. The next time I see him – '
    'Screw Terence. Anyway, Scott said that – '
    'So how much did he hit you for it?'
    'Nothing. He gave it to me, Carmen. He was an okay dude. He was, you know, like, educated. He drove a new-model Saab.'
    'Uh-huh, one only has to look at your limited track record to know you can't see past mens' charms.' Carmen didn't even grace her friend with a challenging look. She simply bowed her head and moved her heaped spoon from one nostril to the other.
    Michelle was taken aback by her highly strung friend all but shovelling cocaine up her nose. Carmen must have partied hard in the Caribbean. Michelle's heart sagged. God, please don't let her become an all-out junkie ...
    But Michelle's time with Goldman came to mind and lifted her spirits. She remembered what he'd told her about the crystalline powder in her hands. It was used by marriage counsellors, something like that. So it would probably make her feel good. God knew she needed something to get her through this bust-up with Terence – and Carmen wasn’t proving any help. She took a deep breath and made up her mind there and then. 'Well, I'm going to try this stuff.'
    Carmen looked up from her drug paraphernalia on the coffee table. The long-standing friends stared at each other in a contest of wills. Michelle trusted her impression of Goldman and had faith in what he'd given her on gratis. She was about to put that trust and faith to the test. 'So you want to try some with me?'
    Carmen shook