Лорен Донер - Smiley

A flashback struck her—Smiley pinning her against the SUV and his hands cupping her ass while he’d ground his pelvis against hers. “I just want to forget this night.”

Beth returned the mirror to the vanity and took a seat on the counter. “This was your first one-night stand.”

“Thanks for the reminder. Did you not hear me? I want to finish my shower, go to bed and just pretend none of this ever happened.”

“You won’t. I know you too well. You aren’t going to tell Carl about having sex with this other guy, are you?”

Vanni hesitated. “I owe him that much.”

“Bad idea. He’s a prick, hon. You were attracted to this Smiley, drugged or not. I listened to you really closely since I was in stun mode and couldn’t talk at first. You should be more upset.”

“I am.”

Beth was quiet while Vanni showered. She turned off the water and grabbed a towel to wrap her wet hair and another to dry her body.

“You like Smiley.”

Vanni paused and met her friend’s concerned gaze. “He was nice.”

“The sex was great, wasn’t it?”

“It was the drugs. You have no idea what they did to us.”

“Want to tell me?”

“Not really.”

“You’re not the casual-sex type. Something more happened than the two of you just getting it on. You felt something for him.”

“I felt a lot of things and most of them weren’t good. That drug is awful. I don’t think I ever want to have kids. I can imagine what labor feels like now. It was that bad.”

“He was that big? Are you sure he wasn’t a horse instead of a primate?”

“Shut up.” Vanni wrapped the towel around her middle and limped out of the bathroom to the bedroom they shared. “I’m talking about the pain I felt when we weren’t…you know.”

“Getting it on?” Beth followed her.

“Yes, if you want to use that crude term.” She tugged on a nightgown and climbed into bed. “I’m so tired and I don’t want to face tomorrow.”

Beth took a seat on the edge of the mattress. “You could just mail the ring back to Carl and avoid him completely. That’s what I suggest.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that but thanks. It just reminded me that we sent out wedding invitations. I’ll have to contact everyone to tell them it’s off.”

“It’s not a bad thing. Carl was a jerk, hon. I’m kind of glad this happened.”

Vanni gaped at her.

“I didn’t mean the drugging and having sex with a New Species. Carl wasn’t right for you. He just filled your ideal-husband checklist.”

“I didn’t know I had one.”

“He has a stable job and he wanted kids. He’s so damn boring that you know he wouldn’t be playing hide-the-brief with his office staff.” Beth smiled. “That was a lawyer joke. I’m trying to make you laugh.”

“There’s nothing funny about this. My life is destroyed.”

Beth shook her head. “It’s not. It’s just different now. You hated Carl’s father and everything his church stands for. We couldn’t even get through five minutes of his televised show. He was a blowhard. You’re not going to have to pretend to like him anymore when he shows up for visits or worry about Carl making you attend any of his sermons when you visit him.”

“I got to see one earlier in person. Once was more than enough.”

“Well, that’s a good thing since you and Carl are done.”

Vanni couldn’t argue with that.

“And you finally got laid.”

“That’s not funny.”

Beth teared up. “Sorry. You know I handle stress with humor.”

Vanni crawled across the bed and clasped her hand. “Don’t you dare cry or I’ll start.”

“Are you okay? Don’t bullshit me. I hate when you act all tough and in turn, I try to act just as tough. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through. We’re both avoiding the ‘R’ word but that’s kind of what it was.”

“He was drugged too. We were both victims in this.”

“Are you sure? I mean, how do you know he didn’t spike your drink?”

“The NSO thinks I did it.”

Beth paled. “What?”

“I guess I was the only one who sat next to him.”

“That’s insane. You’d never drug a guy to have sex. What is wrong with them? You were drugged too.”

“I know.”

“I’ll call them tomorrow myself and set them straight.”

“Don’t.” She was instantly fearful. “They were taking me to Homeland when I slipped away.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if they were just going to get me medical treatment or arrest me. Smiley seemed to believe me when I said I didn’t do it but I’m not sure about the guys with him. I overheard two of them talking when I woke up in the backseat. It scared me.”

“We’ll hire a lawyer.”

“They don’t know who I am. I mean, I left my purse in the hotel room and only told them my name was Vanni. The room was in Mable’s name. That’s Gregory’s assistant. I couldn’t even sign for coffee this morning. I was just a guest in her room.”

“That’s good. Maybe we should go to the police and tell them what happened.”

“No!” Vanni was horrified at the idea. “I just want to forget.”

“Your shit is still at the hotel. Does Carl even know you’re gone?”

“Crap. No. He might raise hell in the morning when I don’t show up for breakfast.”

Beth released her and stood. She walked to the dresser and lifted her cell phone. “I’ve always got your back.” She called a number and put her finger over her lip to motion Vanni to silence.

“Hi, Carl. It’s Beth. I just wanted to let you know I picked up Vanni and she’s home with me now.” She paused. “She ate something and got a bad case of food poisoning. She didn’t want to bother you since she knows this was an important weekend for your father.” She paused again, listening, and stared at Vanni.

Vanni was grateful. She did worry when her best friend gritted her teeth.

“Just have her things packed up and get someone to drop them off at our apartment tomorrow. She’s sleeping now that she puked her guts up. Thanks for being so concerned for her health and not obsessed about some stupid breakfast she’ll miss.” Beth hung up.

“He took it that badly?” Vanni suspected he would.

“It’s official. He’s a total asshole. He didn’t even ask how you were but ranted about some press photos you were supposed to take with him at breakfast. He said it’s going to make him and his father look bad. I just threw that in at the end so he felt like an ass, if that’s even possible. You dodged a bullet with that loser.”

Vanni nodded.

“It’s going to work out.”

She really wanted to believe that.

“Don’t look so sad. Carl isn’t worth it. I don’t think you ever really loved him. It was just the idea of the white picket fence.” Beth glanced around. “Bright side, we’ll save a lot of money on this new place since we downgraded to a one-bedroom so I wouldn’t be stuck paying for that two-bedroom after you moved out. Maybe we can use the spare money and finally take a trip to Hawaii. That would be cool.”

“I’m so sorry, Beth.”

Her best friend sat on the other bed a few feet away. “For what? I’m the one who got to pick this place. I love it. It’s cozy. I like sharing a room with you. It’s like summer camp every night.” She crossed her legs and leaned back against a fluffy pillow. “Remember? We’d stay up all night and drive those camp counselors insane with our giggling.”

It lightened Vanni’s mood. Those were some of her fondest memories. “We don’t have to share a bathroom with eighteen other girls. I hated those hikes in the middle of the night just to pee.”

“Or the mosquito bites on our asses from those suckers hiding in the toilet.”