Steve smiled.
"She was better! The best!"
"You banged two lesbians, fuck me. You're the envy of every Howard Stern worshipping dude in America."
"Remember… I'll beat you senseless."
"You're God!" he continued.
"With a stick," I reiterated.
Steve never said a word. He kept silent. Recently I've wondered how long he could have kept my secret. As events played out - I betrayed myself.
When Shannie and Genise returned I ordered another bottle of wine. The conversation resumed its earlier pitch. We seemed like two happy couples. Unknown to us, somewhere nearby, fate lurked, silently preparing its hand.
"You're into photography, right Genise?" Steve questioned.
"Sure am," "Do you got your camera on you?"
"Sure don't," Genise answered.
"Damn, what a shame. I was hoping you could take a picture for me" Steve put his arm around me and pulled me towards him. "If this guy had a vagina, I'd ask him to marry me. I wanted a picture of my proposal."
"Why let a little thing like a vagina stop you?" Shannie questioned.
"If I had a vagina I'd still hate your guts." I shoved Steve. "If I had a vagina I'd ask Shannie to marry me." I wrapped an arm around her.
"Only if I could wear the pants in the family," Shannie retorted.
Steve said, "If I had a vagina I'd spread my legs as wide as airplane wings and have Genise come in for a landing."
Laughing, Shannie gibed, "That's disgusting!"
"I can imagine worse," Genise added.
"I've seen worse," I commented.
"Worse than Steve's pussy? I can't imagine anything that horrid." Shannie laughed.
"I've seen worse," I said. "In one of you shots."
Genise shook her head. "No," she mouthed silently.
"Oh yeah?" Shannie asked. "I love her work, which one?" Shannie babbled slipping an arm around Genise.
"You know, the one with the hag spitting on the old man's face. It's such an incredible picture. How the loogie just hangs in front of his face. The old man's eyes. The shocked expression. The drama." Shannie's expression imitated the pictures.
"How do you know about that picture?" Shannie questioned.
"Ah," I stammered. Across the table Genise recoiled.
"How does he know about that picture?" Shannie turned to Genise, grilling her lover.
"James," Shannie said leaning forward in her seat. "How the fuck do you know about that picture?" Shannie's eyes were ablaze, her mind piecing together the details. Genise leapt up and made her way towards the front door.