“This is hard for me to say. I don’t want you to think I’m some slut from New Jersey.”
Dusty giggled. “Are there a lot of sluts in New Jersey?”
“More than a few.”
“I think you can say that about anywhere. But you’re not a slut, Annie. I assume it went pretty far then?”
“You could say that.”
“Last weekend?”
“Yeah.” She took another sip of wine. “He stayed with me Friday night, just holding me. I actually intended to sleep with him. It was heading in that direction, but we started talking about our divorces, and…”
“Yeah?”
“Well, let’s just say the thought of my ex kills the mood for me.”
“I see.”
“But I didn’t want to be alone. I was feeling kind of needy and pathetic. So he stayed. He held me in his arms all night. Then he brought me herb tea in the morning.”
“Dallas? Really?” Dusty shook her head. “I always knew he was a nice guy, but that’s really sweet.”
“Yeah, it was. He took me back to his place that evening, and guess who showed up?”
“Who?”
“His ex-wife.”
“Chelsea? You’re kidding. Dallas paid her a mint to get rid of her.”
“So I’ve heard. Anyway, after he got rid of her, we had our dinner and then… Well, I don’t need to spell it out for you.”
“How was it?” Dusty giggled, her eyebrows arched.
“Amazing. The best. We couldn’t get enough of each other.”
“So what happened?”
“That’s what I can’t figure out. Everything was great. We made plans to see each other the next night. Then all of a sudden, he backs out.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It didn’t to me either.”
“Maybe he’s a little skittish because of the divorce.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Everything seemed fine until I asked him for my pocketbook.”
“What for?”
“To take my birth control pill.” Annie widened her eyes, recalling the conversation. “That was it. The pills.”
“What about them?”
“He asked about my marriage, whether we wanted kids. I said my ex did, and so did I, but not with him, so I had stayed on the pill.”
“Without his knowledge?”