The Rules of Attraction

LAUREN End up with Noel tonight. Cute, long-haired post-punk, neo-hippie whose girlfriend Janet is in New York for the weekend and who’s really seeing Mary, this girl from Indiana. I had seen Janet’s old boyfriend Neal for a little while before Noel, who was Neal’s best friend, started seeing Janet. After driving to a Chinese restaurant in town in the snow in Noel’s dark blue Saab, and after ordering food with all MSG removed and after checking out a bad party in Fels we go to Noel’s room, where he puts 2001 on the VCR that sits on a milk crate at the foot of his futon. Then we split a hit of Blue Dragon and watch the movie, waiting to trip. All I can think of is the night last term when Victor and I made out in Tishman while they were changing reels for the movie, and how it snowed so hard for April and we were drunk on sake and “The Unforgettable Fire” was playing and he smelled like Chap-stick…. But Noel gets excited and won’t stop leaving me alone, and I want to watch the movie which I can’t really concentrate on anyway — it’s too long and slow and scenes and shots go on forever. I need something clear and fast, and I’m not even sure if the acid is taking effect. Don’t understand what’s going on. Noel’s kissing my neck and rubbing the inside of my thigh and even though I have this urinary tract infection and have been taking horse pills to get rid of it, I let him do what he wants. When the movie snaps off, and he rolls over to put music on, I say, “But I hate the Beatles.”

He looks at me and he takes his Grateful Dead T-shirt off revealing a beautiful body I cannot resist, and pulling off his Reebok tennis shoes, says, “Hey, I hate the Beatles too.”