I took a swig of wine. “I’m sure they did it having sex. She probably waited outside for me to leave and then came in as soon as I was gone. They probably couldn’t wait to tear each other’s clothes off.”
Liz wasn’t buying it. “When have you ever destroyed the living room while getting it on with Robert?”
“It wasn’t exactlydestroyed, but that only goes to prove my point. Robert thought I was boring in the sack because we didn’t have wild tornado sex. ButSerena’swild, isn’t she? That lamp-knocking, vampire skank!”
Too lazy (drunk) to go all the way to the bathroom for tissues, I staggered into the kitchen and grabbed a roll of paper towels. I honked my nose into a fistful of them as I sat back down at the kitchen table. Tears and snot were all over my face. What a prize. No wonder Robert dumped me.
“The pathetic thing is how oblivious I was,” I told Liz. “Robert and Serena probably started screwing right after we got back from Scotland.”
“He never gave you any signs that something was off?” she asked, sounding as bewildered as I felt. “You really had no idea?”
“Not a clue. I’m telling you, Liz, I’ve been completely blindsided, though I guess some part of me was always waiting for something like this to happen. Robert is gorgeous. And worldly. And filthy rich. But who am I? Some broke girl from Florida.”
“Crazy is what you are. He was the lucky one to have you, and don’t you dare try to convince yourself otherwise.”
“You’re only saying that because you have to,” I said with a flap of a hand. “What did I think was going to happen? I can’t even turn into a vampire. We tried to change me when Robert and I were in Bali, and it didn’t take. It’s not like he would have forgotten. It’s probably been on his mind ever since.”
“I thought you said he didn’t care about all that—that you guys could work around you not being vampire.”
I shrugged. “Maybe he’s reconsidered. Robert wouldn’t be the first man in history to change his mind. It’s not like we signed a contract. He’s allowed to stop loving me. What I can’t get over is him screwing Serena. I can’t believe he’d do that to me, especially when he knew how devastated I was over Nick’s cheating. Why didn’t he just leave me? Why did he have to go and cheat?”
Liz sipped her blood, then said, “Men are bastards.”
“It makes sense, though, doesn’t it? She’s rich, beautiful, and a va-va-vampire.”
Liz rubbed my back as I broke into a fresh round of sobs.
“I can’t blame him for not wanting to stick around to watch me wither and die.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “You’re in your twenties.”
“NowI am. But what will things be like decades from now?”
I took a sip of wine and winced, feeling queasy. A hangoverwas no longer a possibility but a certainty. I decided that I didn’t care. Maybe feeling like shit would distract me from the fact that I’d been dumped and would soon be homeless.
“Maybe slow down on the wine there, champ,” Liz said, reaching for the bottle. She went into the kitchen and got me a glass of water, which I chugged down.
“Itwouldbe kind of gross,” I prattled on. “Imagine me old and frail, getting it on with Robert. Put yourself in his position. He’d probably be worried about breaking my hip the whole time. Not sexy.”
Liz grimaced and I realized my faux pas. Me and my big mouth. Liz’s love life mirrored mine. She, a vampire, was the Robert in the situation, and her human husband, David, was me. However, unlike me, David had flat-out refused to even consider changing over. I suspected he might even detest all vampires beyond his wife.
Liz and I had never discussed how she felt about David’s refusal to change. The topic had never come up in conversation, and I hadn’t wanted to upset her by broaching it. I had no idea if Lizhadever deliberated on what would happen to her marriage as David aged. I certainly didn’t want to be the one to put the idea in her head if it hadn’t crossed her mind, as unlikely as that seemed.
“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” I said. “I’m so caught up in my own drama that I haven’t asked how you’re doing.”
She waved the apology away. “Don’t worry about it. Funny thing is that I was going to call you tonight to talk about things.”
“Oh?”
She sighed. “Maybe now isn’t the right time. You’ve got a lot going on. You don’t need me unloading on you about my problems.”
“Honestly? I’d be happy for the distraction,” I said withsincerity. “But, first, can we move to the sofa? I can’t feel my right butt cheek.”
Once we moved into the living room and had gotten comfortable, Liz said, “I can sum everything up with this.” She held up her left hand—herbareleft hand.
How hadn’t I noticed it before? “Where’s your ring?”
She provided me a sad smile.
