Shane grinned at Dana’s consternation. She had inflated the list a bit. Charlie was the only guy Alice had slept with aside from Paul, her high school boyfriend.

A new voice sounded behind them and Dana recognized it from earlier. "Shane, Shane, Shane. What am I going to do with you? I leave you alone for a few weeks and suddenly you’re out defaming my character and blackening my name to every pretty girl you meet."

Dana spun around as Shane replied, "Well, when it’s untrue, go ahead and sue me for slander."

Alice laughed good-naturedly and said, "Point taken, Yoda."

Turning to Dana she said, "I’m Alice. And I’m not the love- em and leave- em artist that Shane here paints me out to be."

Dana smiled, utterly charmed even though she highly suspected that both Shane and Alice were telling at least some part of the truth. Nervously, Dana took Alice’s hand and shook it enthusiastically. "You’re just a dirty bisexual."

Shane’s eyebrows shot up but Alice only laughed and said, "Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it, honey."

Dana’s face was blushing furiously and she started apologizing profusely, "Oh my God, I don’t know where that came from! I didn’t mean to insult you, I swear. You were so wonderful tonight. Really fantastic and amazing. And now I’ve insulted you!"

Alice’s face split into a grin as she watched Dana muddle through an apology while Shane looked on laughing.

Alice put her hand under Dana’s chin, lifting it up so that their eyes met. Reassuringly, she said, "It’s okay. You can’t be my friend until you’ve insulted me. Ask Shane."

Shane put in, "It’s true. I called her a fatass bitch when we first met."

Dana looked at Shane, absolutely agog. The fact that anyone spoke to Alice in such a manner, let alone Shane, made her truly angry.

Alice saw Dana’s face transform into one of indignation and she said, "I did hit her car first. Kind of hard."

Shane grinned, as if recalling a time gone by.

Dana asked in confusion, "So how did you become friends?"

Alice smiled and said, "We smoked a joint on the hood of my car and realized we were best friends, separated at birth."

Dana’s eyes widened. "You smoked a joint? Where were the police?"

Alice shrugged. "We never called them."

Shane said quietly, "No need. The truck was a piece anyway. My older brother’s. A hand me down."

Alice laughed quietly, "It was yellow."

Shane scowled, saying in a dignified tone, "It was gold-ish."

Alice saw Roger tapping his watch at them from the bar and she said, "Listen, there’s an after party at me and Helena’s, you guys should come."

Dana looked at Shane and surprised them both when she said, "Yes. We’ll come, I mean, if it’s cool with you, Shane?"

 Shane looked between the two, pounded her last shot, and said agreeably, "It’s cool with me."