The Grifters

lingered on. Lilly wanted him to. The doctors passively encouraged him to, seeing little to be gained by his protracted convalescence but a broad margin of safety in it.

The ruptured vessels of his stomach could open up again, under just the right circumstances. They could be re-ruptured. Thus, if he wished to remain completely inactive and beyond reach of the smallest risk, it was quite agreeable with the doctors.

Aside from Lilly and the matter of his health, Roy had another reason for staying on. A guilty reason, and one he tried not to admit to. She, Carol Roberg, was in the kitchen now, cleaning up their luncheon dishes and doubtless preparing a dessert for them. He didn't want any himself-he had gained almost seven pounds in the past two weeks-but he knew that she did. And not for the world would he have interfered.

Carol was very dainty about her eating, as she was about everything. But he had never seen anyone who could stow away so much food so quickly.

He wondered about that, her insatiable appetite, when he was not wondering about her in a different way. Most women he knew seemed hardly to eat anything. Moira, for example…

Moira…

He squirmed uneasily as he recalled her visit this morning. He had told her yesterday in a subdued telephone conversation that Lilly was leaving the apartment early today, and suggested that she drop by. So she had come, pulling up startled when she saw Carol, then giving him a quick, questioning look.

Carol sat down in the living room with them. She apparently felt that it was only polite to do so, and she tried to make conversation about the weather and the usual routine topics. When, after what was probably the longest half-hour on record, she had finally excused herself and gone into the kitchen, Moira turned on him, tightmouthed.

'I tried to send her out,' Roy said helplessly. 'I told her to take off a few hours.'

'Tried to? If it were me, you'd just said to beat it.'

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I wanted to be alone as much as you did.'

He glanced quickly over his shoulder, then went down beside her chair and took her into his arms. She submitted to a kiss, but there was no response to it. He kissed her again, letting his hands rove over her body, probing the soft, sweet-scented curves. After weeks of enforced continence, and the constant temptation which Carol represented, he had never wanted Moira as much as he did at that moment. But abruptly she had pulled away from him.

'Just how much longer do you plan on staying here, Roy?' she asked. 'When are you moving back to the hotel?'

'Well. I don't know exactly. Pretty soon, I imagine.'

'You're not in much of a hurry, are you? You like it here.'

Roy said awkwardly that he had no complaints. He was being well taken care of-much better than he could be in a hotel-and Lilly was anxious to have him stay.

'Mmm, I'll bet she is, and I'll bet you're darned well taken care of, too!'

'What do you mean?'

'Are you kidding? I've seen the way you looked at that simpering little simp of a nurse! Either you're losing your grip, or you think she's too good to tumble. She is, but I'm not!'

'Oh, for God's sake…' He reddened. 'Look, I'm sorry about today. If there was any way I could get rid of her without hurting her feelings…'

'Naturally, you couldn't do that. Oh, no!'

'Let's just say that I wouldn't do it then,' he said, tiring of apology.

'Well, forget it.' She picked up her gloves, and stood up. 'If it suits you, it suits me.'

He followed her out into the hallway, trying to smooth over the rift without unbending too far. Liking her, desiring her more than he ever had, yet wary as always of any tightening of her hold upon him.

'I'll be out of here any day, now,' he assured her. 'I'm probably a hell of a lot more anxious than you are.

'Well…' She smiled tentatively, the dark eyes searching his face. 'I'm not so sure of that.'

'You'll see. Maybe we can go to La Jolla this weekend.'

'Just maybe?'

'I'm practically sure of it,' he said. 'I'll give you a ring, hmm?'

So he had got things straightened out, for a time, at least, and after a fashion. But he had gotten nothing in return, nothing but the status quo, and unsatisfied desire squirmed in him relentlessly. Something was going to have to give, he told himself. With Moira's presence still lingering with him, with Carol so readily accessible

Carol. He wondered just what he should do about her anyway. Or whether he should do anything about her. She looked completely virginal, and if she was, that was that. She'd remain that way, as far as he was concerned. But looks could be deceptive; and sometimes, when she consented to a kiss and she clung to him for a moment, well, he wasn't so sure about her status. Was, in fact, almost positive that he had judged it wrongly.

And in that case, of course…

She came in from the kitchen, bearing two creamtopped parfait glasses. He accepted one of them, and she sat down with the other. Smiling, he watched as she dipped into it, wanting to sweep her up in his arms and give her a hearty squeeze.

'Good?' he said.

'Wonderful!' she exclaimed enthusiastically. Then, looking up at him, pinking with self- consciousness. 'All the time here, I am eating! You think I am such a pig, yes?'

Roy laughed. 'If they made pigs like you, I'd start raising them. How about eating mine, too?'

'But it is yours. More I could not possibly eat!'

'Sure you can,' he said, swinging his legs off the bed. 'Will you come into the bedroom when you're through?'

'I will come now. You want your rubdown, yes?'

'No, no,' he said quickly. 'There's no hurry. Finish your ice cream first.'

He crossed the deeply carpeted living room and entered the bedroom. Entering the bedroom, he hesitated for a long moment, almost deciding to stop now while he could. Then, swiftly, before he could change his mind, he flung off the robe and his pajama top and stretched out on the bed.

Carol came in a minute or two later. She started to get the alcohol bottle from the bathroom, and he held out his hand to her.

'Come here, Carol. I want to ask you something.'

She nodded, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He drew her closer, bringing her face down to his; and, then, as their lips met, he began to draw her prone.

Nervously her body suddenly stiffening, she tried to pull away. 'Oh, no! Please, Roy. I- I-'

'It's all right. I want to ask you something, Carol. Will you tell me the truth?'

'Well'-she tried to muster a smile. 'It is so important to you? Or perhaps you are teasing me again, yes?'

'It's very important to me,' he said. 'Are you a virgin, Carol?'

The smile washed abruptly from her face, and for a moment it was something completely blank. Then, a trace of color came back into it and her eyes fell, and almost imperceptibly she shook her head.

'No, I am not a virgin.'

'You're not?' He was vaguely disappointed.