EXTRACT FOR
Marilyn in the Middle
(Giselle Renarde)

"You really want to go blonde?" I asked, picking up the empty box.  "Most people would kill for your natural colour."



Innes sauntered from the bathroom and plucked a ratty towel from the linen closet.  "Blondes have more fun," she reasoned.  "Anyway, it's my ode to Marilyn.  If I can't be with her, I want to be her.  Is that crazy?"



When Innes reappeared at the bathroom door, all her clothes were gone.  The only thing she had on now was a threadbare robe, torn at the shoulder.  The thin pink fabric covered her knees, but it hung dangerously low across her chest, giving me a better view of her nearly naked breasts than I could rightly handle.



"What..."  My voice felt trapped in my throat.  "What are you wearing?"



She gazed down at the V of her robe, and absently tightened the belt.  "Don't want to ruin my clothes.  That's bleach, you know."



I looked at the bottles on the counter, and then back at Innes, utterly lost for words.  We were not the kinds of friends who paraded around each other's apartments in our panties.  Her nudity under that robe inspired a thick pulse between my thighs.  I wasn't sure how long I could go without jumping her.