“Is the Pope Catholic?”
Walking into the kitchen, I ignore the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and reach for a wine glass. “Take your pick,” I say,gesturing to the wine rack. “Only the finest selections from the cheap and cheaper sections of the grocery store.”
A smile plays on her lips as she grabs a bottle of red without hesitation. After I open it and pour her a glass, we head into the living room. I clear the clutter off the couch, and we settle in side by side.
“So,” she prods, “tell me about last night. Did you love staying at The Hermitage Hotel? Isn’t it swanky!”
Wincing, I shoot her a look of apology. I feel guilty for wasting her travel points on a hotel room that went unused, so I explain how my car troubles led me to Tank’s.
Laura’s eyebrows shoot up at my admission as a look of horror washes over her. “Tank’s Motel and Tavern?” With her upper-crust upbringing, I’m confident Laura has never set her Louboutin-clad feet into Tank’s.
“It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but last night, I just needed a break, and I wasn’t picky,” I rationalize. “But I’m sorry I wasted your travel points.”
With an easy-going wave of her hand, Laura replies, “Don’t worry about that at all. I have a ton of points saved up.” Her eyes roll over me, taking in my appearance. “You look more well-rested than you have recently, so maybe it all worked out as it should.” Laura smiles at me.
“I didn’t get a ton of sleep last night, but when I finally fell asleep, I slept like a rock. I haven’t slept that well since… well, you know.”
Since Kyle.
But I don’t want to discuss Kyle tonight.
I feel like all I’ve done for the last few months is talk about Kyle. Think about Kyle. Dissect my marriage to Kyle.
With Hayes fresh on my mind, I’d rather focus on him, and one surefire way to redirect Laura’s attention away from Kyle is to tell her about Hayes.
So, I blurt out, “I had a one-night stand last night!” I cover my face with my hands, not wanting to see any judgment on my best friend’s face.
“Oh my God, Anna! Tell me more!” Her excited tone catches me off guard. I peel my hands from my eyes to get a better read on her. For a split second, Laura looks downright giddy. But that is quickly replaced with incredulity. “Wait! Was it someone you met at Tank’s Tavern? You practiced safe sex, right?”
“Yes, of course we did. And it… he… it wasn’t like that,” I stammer.
“It wasn’t someone from Tank’s?”
“No, it was, but…” Attempting to string together words to capture Hayes’ essence and my incredible attraction to him doesn’t seem possible, but I try my best to describe how the night unfolded.
As the story spills from my mouth, Laura’s salacious smile grows. “I’m proud of you, Anna. You got back in the saddle! Was it good? Are you going to see him again? What does he do for a living? Why was he at Tank’s?”
Holding up my hand to stop her deluge of questions, I say, “Whoa, slow down! No plans for any future dates. We agreed ahead of time that it was one night of sex, and then we were going our separate ways. No complications, no future.”
“What? Why would you do that? You sound like you had a good time with him.” Her disappointment mirrors my own.
“I did, but I have so much baggage that I could open a luggage store, Laura. My marriage imploded. My life’s a mess,” I start, my eyes darting around the room. I meant mess figuratively, but I see that it’s also a literal problem. I’ve been juggling so many responsibilities and emotions that I’ve dropped the ball on tasks like cleaning.“While I was married, I was a stay-at-home mom, butnow… now, I’m just an unemployed, single woman with two kids. I’m not exactly a prize catch.”
“Do not do that to yourself, Anna Morris!” Laura snaps. “You have so much to offer the right man. Yes, the timing may not be perfect, but I don’t think you need to see forever with the guy to go on a second date with him.”
“No use crying over spilled milk.” Exhaling a heavy sigh, I wave my hand through the air. “It’s already done. We left without exchanging contact info.”
Laura is uncharacteristically quiet for a moment. “That’s okay. You put yourself out there for the first time since Kyle, and you had a good time. That’s what matters. The right person will come along when it’s meant to be. And the right guy… he’ll be worth the wait, Anna.” She pats my knee, flashing a sweet smile that transforms into a wicked grin a beat later. “Now tell me all the juicy details. Was he good in bed?”
My cheeks heat as I blush. During my marriage to Kyle, I never spoke about our sex life to Laura. I told myself it was out of respect for Kyle, but truthfully, I avoided the topic because I knew there was something wrong. What young, happily married couple only has sex once, maybe twice, a year?
A young,unhappilymarried couple—that’s who.
If I had voiced those concerns aloud, Laura would have validated my fears, and I wasn’t ready to face the reality of my floundering marriage.
But now, after a one-night stand with a stranger, I cannot wait to divulge every single sleazy detail.
“First off, he was hot. His name is Hayes.”
