Page 15 of Trashy Foreplay

“There was some turbulence.”

And a lot of hand-holding, not to mention an almost-kiss that was panty-melting. God, what would it have felt like to have those lips on mine? I’ll never see my sexy stranger again, so there’s no chance of ever finding out.

“Okay, I’ll be good and slow down,” she says, conceding with an exaggerated sigh. “But only because I know how much you hated every minute of that flight.” As Lesley eases up on the accelerator, she shoots me a questioning look. “So…you gonna tell me what happened back in Shit Town?”

She hates Whiskey Flats. She hates Chris even more.

“Promise no ragging on Chris?”

A shrug of her shoulder is all the promise I’m getting. “What happened, Jules?”

For the next ten minutes, I tell her why I fled Oklahoma. Keeping her eyes on the road, she chews over every word as the windshield wipers swish back and forth on the glass.

“I can’t believe that motherfucker walked out on you like that.”

“Can you blame him? I slept with another man.”

“Yes, Jules. I can blame him. In fact, I think he had it coming. He neglected you. He fucking messed with your head every chance he got. The jerk made you feel like a nag for wanting what any girl wants from her man.”

“He’s not a bad guy,” I say, wringing my hands. “Maybe we just weren’t meant to be.”

“I’msoglad to hear you say that. Finally.” Swiping her dark bangs back from her face, she shoots me a pointed look. “Because a real man puts his woman first. Chris didn’t. He cared more about drinking and goofing off with his buddies. He never fucking grew up, Jules.”

“Still, that’s no excuse for what I did.”

“Okay, so you made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world. But knowing you the way I do, you think it is, and you’ll punish yourself over it forever. Trust me, Chris isn’t worth it.” Lesley is accelerating again, her irritation with my ex dumping lead into her foot.

“Les, you’re speeding.”

“I always speed.”

“Well, I’d rather you not do it while you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry. I’m…outraged on your behalf.”

I bite back a snort. How ironic, considering I’m the one in the wrong. But Lesley won’t ever see things the way I do. After all, she’s the one who caught Chris kissing another girl at a party once when he was shit-faced. He’d groveled the next morning, and I’d forgiven him. Truth is, I’d been too scared to stand on my own without him, so I’d convinced myself it was only a bump in the road.

But Lesley is stronger than me, and she would call it game over if anyone ever treated her like that.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she says after the silence stretches too long. “Chris is a dumbass. And Perry’s a sleaze. Why him? I’m just curious.”

“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. But my gut is burning with shame. “The worst part is, I don’t even remember it.”

She reduces speed before taking an exit and heading down a tree-lined street. “You don’t remember fucking your boss?”

“I don’t remember, Les. Nothing. It’s a complete blank.”

“How much did you drink that night?”

“Too much, apparently.”

Lesley makes a right turn then pulls into a driveway overrun with three other parked vehicles. She comes to a stop behind a pickup, nearly kissing the bumper. “I’ve never even seen you drunk, let alone blackout wasted.”

The night is eerily quiet after she shuts off the ignition, and her words seem to echo in the dark between us. Soft rain pitter-patters on the roof of the car, but not even that drowns out the roar in my ears. The fact that Idon’tremember unsettles me more than I want to think about.

“Chris and I had a huge argument.” I don’t mention how it was over money, or how his drinking escalated the past few months. He’s never carried his weight since we moved in together, and that’s just one more reason Lesley hates him. “We both said some really hurtful things, and after he took off…”

“You decided to bury your heartache in a glass?”

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