"I suppose it would," I said, a little sourly.
I pried myself loose from her and went into the john to tidy myself up.
When I came out, Bonnie was sitting up, rearranging her coiffeur.
She smiled again. "I did it four times, darling," she reported
blandly, as though telling me about her boy's latest report card.
I didn't have any handy response to make. I just grinned foolishly. I
began to get the notion that this Bonnie was quite a character. _Quite._
We headed for the mess hall. Everyone else had long since gone up, and
the grounds and road lay empty and quiet in the noonday sun. Bonnie
said, "I hope you aren't shocked by my behavior."
"It's a pleasant way to be shocked," I said.
"I have an uncontrollable sex urge," she confided. "I had to have
a divorce because my husband couldn't satisfy me. I went to a
psychoanalyst to see if he could reduce my sex drive, but that ended in
a fiasco when I seduced him. I'm really not a healthy woman, Al."
"You're healthy enough."
"Yes, but it's not _right_. I'm shameless. This morning at breakfast
I knew I had to have you before the day was out. I could feel the
throbbing that had to be stilled, the fire that had to be quenched--"
I began to form a pretty clear picture of Bonnie Carter. She was a
spoiled, self-indulgent rich bitch with a hopped-up metabolism and an
insatiable hunger for men, which she apologized for afterwards. There
had been nothing very personal in her seduction of me. She felt a
throbbing, so she walked into my bedroom. Most likely a candle would
have served her just as well.
We reached the mess hall and walked in. A few people looked up at us as
we came in, but most of the colonists had the decency not to make a
fuss about the fact that Bonnie and I were arriving twenty minutes late
for lunch together.
I practically collided with Lorraine as she came out of the kitchen,
toting a tray. She carried the tray hugged up against her midsection
so that her breasts actually rested on it. It made a neat effect, as
though she were serving them for lunch. She smiled at me, but it was
a guilty smile, and she reddened. She blushed all the way down to the
tray.
I took a seat next to Meehan and Joanie. Bonnie found a seat at the far
end of the table. I was sitting next to Don Riemann, the calisthenics
lad, and we introduced ourselves. Lorraine came over and took my order
for lunch. She was polite but distant. I imagined Riccio had given her
a good talking-to.
I ate quickly, catching up with the others. After lunch, Joanie stood
up and made an announcement. "Attention, everybody. Don Riemann wants
me to tell you that he'll be conducting a class in advanced tumbling
this afternoon at two. Anybody who's interested, meet with Don at the
mats near the tennis court."
That little chore over, Joanie dismissed the group. I wandered outside
with Meehan. The moment we were alone, Jack said, "It took you a long
time to get to lunch today."
"Yeah. Didn't it?"
"I saw the Carter woman go back into the cabin, but I figured it wasn't
my business."
I chuckled. "She's a regular hellion. I can tell you that there's at
least one woman around this place who isn't a lesbian."
"Wild, huh?"
"The works. And all in fifteen minutes," I said.
Jack frowned. "She looks like the clinging type. You may be in for more
bother than you're bargaining for."
"I'm not bargaining for anything," I told him. "She's a nympho. When
she uses me up, she'll start on you. Be prepared, man. Like I mean,
_ready_."
"It's my motto," he grinned. "I'd much rather be chased by that Baker
girl, though."
"Queer or no?"