When Sacha got back to the sitting room Rona was sitting on the sofa, Alain was leafing through the D.V.D.s in the box and Mal was trying to explain something to Brent over by the C.D. player.

"You see" said Mal, adjusting the bass on the amplifier, "You hear that?"

"Yeah, I guess so" said Brent, frowning and trying (with no great success) to eat a slice of pizza before it fell apart in his hands.

"Oh, that's just the coolest bass line ever" continued Mal, more to himself than to anyone else. Brent leaned closer to the speaker, trying to hear it clearly.

Hannah came back into the room with a beer in her hand and looked towards the sofa. She slung her legs over the back of it and sat briefly on the top of it, looking down at Rona; Rona looked up at her and Hannah smiled. Then she slid down to the seat and put her arm casually around Rona's shoulder and took a swig of her beer.

The sound of her slumping onto the sofa attracted Alain's attention and he turned around. "Would you like us to give you two some privacy?" he joked.

Neither Hannah nor Rona answered. Instead, Hannah asked: "Why is it that men are so fascinated by lesbianism?"

The all looked at her. "What?" asked Brent.

"You heard me. What is it? Everywhere you look, it's men talking about 'girl-on-girl' or whatever - like it's some kind of a fight! - But, what the fuck is it?." She took a swig of her beer, and continued: "I mean I could understand if it was just me you were all interested in. 'Cause I'm the fucking best thing since sliced bread. Aren't I, sweets?" She looked at Rona, but didn't wait for an answer. "But I don't get it. You!" she said, pointing to Mal. "Talk to me."

Mal sniggered. "Come on!" he said. "It's two girls!"

"Yeah" said Alain. "I mean, what needs explaining here?" He looked around the room for support.

"Speak for yourself!" said Brent from the other side of the room.

Hannah turned to him. "You disagree?"

Brent frowned in thought. "I mean, I assume we're talking about sex here" he said. "Strangely enough, I find the idea of a woman having sex with me much more of a turn on than the thought of her having sex with another woman." He shrugged. "Call me crazy."

Unexpectedly, Sacha spoke up. "Is it just sex we're talking about, though?"

Brent considered this. "Well, I guess if there is anything inherently fascinating about lesbianism, from a male perspective, it's in the sense that it's by definition something that's unknowable for us men. It's something we have no way of getting into. It's a mystery, which I guess makes it interesting." He cleared his throat. "If we're not just talking about sex, that is."

Alain laughed. "Well I was just talking about sex" he said.

"Yeah, me too" grinned Mal.

"Right" said Hannah. "That's strange. I mean, I'm as oversexed as any of you -" she grinned in her familiar teeth-baring manner at Alain - "but the thought of another woman with some guy does nothing for me."

Alain clutched his hands to his chest, laughing. "Oh, you're breaking my heart" he joked, grinning broadly.