“He had beautiful eyes.” She turned around and stepped into the shower.
“Shit!”
Beth scared her and Vanni spun, almost slipping in the wet tub. “What?”
“I thought you said he didn’t hurt you.”
“He didn’t.”
Beth stepped into the bathroom and grabbed their small makeup mirror off the vanity. She approached and offered it. “It’s a good thing you are calling it off with Carl or he’d know some other guy nailed you. Check out the bruises on your ass. He has big hands.”
Vanni grabbed the mirror and twisted, getting a look at her butt. Bruises were forming on both cheeks in the shape of handprints. “It doesn’t hurt.”
Her friend accepted the mirror back. “Let me guess. He nailed you standing up, grabbing your ass. That takes skill.”
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.”