So was she. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“You’re shitting me.” Skepticism dripped from her best friend’s voice.
“No! Is it that hard to believe that he would be interested in me?” Geez. She had a hard time believing it, but it would be nice if at least her friend thought it could be possible.
“That’s not what I meant! I absolutely believe he could be interested in you. You’re gorgeous, you’re single, you’re intelligent . . . it’s just that you are not exactly Miss One-Night Stand. Were you loaded?”
“No, I was only a little tipsy. And I have no idea what came over me, but the way he was looking at me, Suz. Oh, my God, it was so hot. And then he kissed me and the next thing I know, I’m naked,” she whispered, glancing around again for anyone in ear-shot.
Suzanne’s voice was full of awe. “Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit . . . you had hot sex with Elec Monroe?”
She had.
And she was already wondering when she could do it again.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUZANNE continued talking before Tamara could even respond. Her friend sounded downright gleeful. “Wow. Wow. I am so happy for you. He’s so cute and buff . . . damn, I bet it was good. It was good, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah.” No hesitation on that one.
Suzanne laughed. “That’s a big old fat yes. Though I’m not surprised, he does seem to get around a bit.”
Tamara stiffened. “What does that mean?”
“Just that he doesn’t really lack for company. Those are the best kind to have a one-night stand with, because they know exactly what they’re doing, and they understand you both plan to walk away whistling, no strings attached. Good choice, Tam.”
There were about a thousand things about what Suzanne said that stopped Tamara cold.
Elec had a string of women he was always with? He was a player? That just seemed so out of character for him that she was disappointed. And she was annoyed with herself for assuming she knew anything about him when she didn’t, and for assuming that she could read him after just a few hours. She was irritated with herself that she had believed him when he said he wanted to see her again. Not to mention ticked off for wanting to see him again, even when she had known all along it was impractical.
Ugh. She wasn’t sure what she had wanted from him, exactly, other than what she had gotten, but she didn’t think she’d been quite ready to give up the possibility that she might get to do that all over again. Nor did she like thinking she was anything more than a handy opportunity for a piece of booty dropped into his lap. Which was ridiculous. Why should she think anything else, and where did she get off being offended when she had essentially taken advantage of that very same thing herself? When he had kissed her between the thighs, she hadn’t been thinking, “Gee, let’s see where this relationship can go emotionally.” She had been thinking, “Bring it on, baby.” There had been no thought of the future or even the next morning, and she had just been really, really happy to discover that she could actually still have rocking good sex.
So why was she standing in the hallway in Elec’s golf shirt and jeans with grimy teeth, feeling deflated and disappointed?
Dang, she was such a girl.
“Tammy? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
She forced herself to focus on the conversation at hand. “Sorry, someone walked past and I was trying to be discreet.” Yeah, like that had really been her priority in the last twenty-four hours.
But Suzanne knew her too well. “Shit, I hurt your feelings, didn’t I? I didn’t mean that to sound insulting . . . I meant it as a positive thing, that Elec is experienced. You don’t want your first post-marriage sexual encounter to be with some dud.”
“It already was,” she said, suddenly feeling all sorts of miserable. “It was Geoffrey.”
“Oh, Lord,” was Suzanne’s opinion on that. “Honey, then you deserved a man who knows his way around a clitoris.”
Were truer words ever spoken?
Suzanne went on. “And you should be feeling pretty satisfied with him and yourself this morning. Think of this as your reentry into the real world of adult sex.”
Why did Suzanne make it sound like a p**n o? “It’s fine. It’s all good.” Maybe. And maybe that sick feeling in her gut was the result of the acidic fruit she’d eaten on a thoroughly empty stomach. But she suddenly had the image of Crystal, the naked wonder from Elec’s text messages, pop into her head.
“Uh-oh. You don’t sound good. How did he leave things between you?”
“He asked me to dinner for tomorrow night. I said no. Then he asked me for Tuesday and I said no. Then he informed me we’re going out next Monday.” She hadn’t dreamt his tenacity. He had been determined to see her again.
“Really?”
Suzanne’s shock was not helping her ego. “Yes. Do you think he was lying?”
“Why would he lie?”
The total lack of conviction in her friend’s voice had her stomach churning again. “I don’t know. It seems stupid to lie about wanting to see me when we already had sex. It’s not like he had anything to gain by it.”
“True.”
Tamara rolled her eyes. “Alright, I need to go. I need to spend some time with my children and try not to let everyone in the room know I’m a poster child for the morning after.”
“Don’t regret this, Tammy, you needed to do this. Think of it as fun, and enjoy the memory.”
“But don’t get attached to him because he can’t truly be interested in dating me.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you mean.”
“I mean that you’re looking to have fun, not a serious relationship. Don’t confuse the two.”
“I won’t.” Tamara gritted her teeth. “I’m not sixteen. I didn’t sleep with him to win his heart.”
“Oh, shit, you’re pissed at me. I’m sorry, I’m screwing this conversation up. I’m really, really glad you had fun. I just don’t want you getting hurt. You’re much nicer than I am, and that makes you more susceptible to hurt feelings.”
“Okay. I appreciate that you worry because you care. I do. But I really am going to go before Beth sends Johnny to look for me.”
“Alright, but call me later! I want details. Love you.”