I called these guys my friends, and they were; in part these were simple relationships: I liked them and they liked me back. But what I also liked was the notion of being around them, perhaps more than I did actually talking about their art or playing poker. If you have convinced yourself, like I did, that what men like are the smartest and most interesting things to like, then being allowed to hang around them—being one of the guys—is heady. I felt intelligent and edgy when I was with them, in no danger of being just another empty-headed girl.
