« EDITED BY S HT AUO £V SUSI^ MICJIT: Susie Brights Sexual Reality Susie Sexpert's Lesbian Sex World Editor, BestAmerican Erotica 1993 and BestAmerican Erotica 1994 Editor, Herotica, Herotica 2, and Herotica 3 m m mm Edited by Susie Bright A TOUCHSTONE BOOK Published by Simon & Schuster NewYork London Toronto Sydney I ppore 7K TOUCHSTONE Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 1995 by Susie Bright All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Touchstone and colophon are registered trademarks ofSimon & Schuster Inc. Designed by Irving Perkins Associates Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica 10 9 8 7 6 5 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available. ISBN 0-684-80163-9 (ONTOT Acknowledgments 7 Introduction 9 Lisa Palac Low-Cut 15 James Williams Daddy 25 Al Lujan Indio 34 Scarlett Fever Dating for Dollars 38 Paul Reed Cheaper by the Pair 45 Raye Sharpe 30 51 Robert Olen Butler Boy Born with Tattoo of Elvis 61 Anne Wallace Miranda Thinks She Is Starving for Love 72 Corwin Ericson Diana the Courier 74 Tsaurah Litzky In the Sacred and Profane Country of the Flesh 84 Annie Regrets Developer 87 Tom Caffrey Absolution 94 Susan St. Aubin Marian's Ears 105 Mary Malmros For Love or Money 121 Le Shaun wide open 143 Trac Vu Pre-Dahmer 147 Jay Michaelson From The Spirit That Denies 148 Susan Musgrave Valentine's Day in Jail 168 Renee M. Charles Cinnamon Roses 186 Contents Anna Nymus The Wager 206 Nicholson Baker From The Fermata 111 Contributors 243 Reader's Directory 247 Credits 249 JKUHOWIEDGIKNK This anthology of erotic writing could not have been re- searched and collected without the patience, enthusi- asm, and discriminating appreciation of my Reading Assistant, Jon Bailiff. Bethany Clement, my Editorial Assistant (and the only copy editor in the world who carries a red pencil in her purse "just in case") was relentlessly diplomatic and ef- ficient from day one of our task until the very end. Thanks also to my father, Bill Bright, for proofreading and higher editorial wisdom. Thank you to my managers Jo-Lynne Worley and Joani Shoemaker for all your guidance and support. This 1995 volume of BestAmerican Erotica is dedicated to Barbara Winslow on the occasion of her fiftieth birth- day.