"No. Anyhow, I don't care to think about it. I never won anything by thinking. Kiss me again."
She ignored his demand, with her shadowy smile. "I deliberately traded on my looks; I put myself up for a price, and you paid that price regardless of everything except your desires. We muddled things dreadfully and got our deserts. I didn't love you, I don't love you now any more than you love me; but I think we're coming to respect each other, and that is a beginning. You have longings to be something different and better; so have I. Let's try together. I have it in me to succeed, but I'm not sure about you."
"Thanks for the good cheer."
"You're afraid you can't make a living for us—I KNOW you can. I'm merely afraid you won't."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I don't believe the liquor will let you."
"Nonsense. Any man can cut down."
"'Cutting down' won't do for us, Bob." He thrilled anew at her intimate use of his name. "The chemistry of your body demands the stuff—you couldn't be temperate in anything. You'll have to quit."
"All right. I'll quit. I divorce the demon rum; lovers once, but strangers now. I'll quit gambling, too."
Lorelei laughed. "That won't strain your will-power in the least, for half my salary goes up Amsterdam Avenue, and the rest will about run this flat."