Joan's pride keeps her from taking that offer wholesale. If the other person doesn't get off, it means she's ugly, it means she's unsexy, it means she's all the things others have said before. She bites the inside of her mouth, warding off bad memories with an old scar.

"After," she says, "after I-" An idea lights in her mind. She reaches out to Peony, pokes her shoulder. "Does it count if it's through your clothes?"