He walked to the window and stared out into the darkness. Where are you, Vanni?

Chapter Six

“Vanni! Wake up, damn it. Get out here!”

Vanni shot upright in her bed when Beth started shouting from the living room. She threw off the covers and dashed to the open doorway. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Her gaze frantically sought and found her friend.

Beth was on her knees in the center of the room between the coffee table and the television. Her friend was pale as she pointed a remote control at the television. Vanni glanced at it, seeing a commercial.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s coming up. I just saw the promo for it.”

“For what? Beth? What the hell?”

Her mouth opened, closed and opened again. “It’s on my morning gossip show.”

“What is?” Vanni stepped out of the bedroom, pushing her messy hair out of her face.

“It’s you and that New Species.”

“What?”

“They showed a video clip of you two from last night.”

Vanni had to be hearing wrong. “What do you mean?”

“Nobody else has that ugly-ass skirt you came home in last night and believe me, it was you. They showed a clip of an upcoming story and it’s about the NSO. It showed a few seconds of you wrapped around a big dude and you were making out.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m being heart-attack serious. It’s coming up after the commercials.”

“You’re wrong. What did they say?”

“I heard NSO on the TV while I was making my oatmeal and looked up. They showed you with your legs wrapped around a big jock type, making out hot and heavy. There’s no mistaking that skirt.”

The commercial ended and the cable show began. Beth turned up the volume as the host couple faced the cameras. The man took the lead.

“I know you’ve heard a lot of stories about the NSO lately but here’s a new one for you. An anonymously submitted video arrived at our station and many others this morning.”

“Usually the stories we bring you regarding the NSO involve them being targeted for hate crimes. Not today.” The woman’s grin spread. “It seems some people are really friendly to New Species.”

Vanni’s knees collapsed under her and she hit the carpet when a grainy video started to play on the screen. It was her and Smiley. The angle was from above and the operator of the video camera zoomed in.

They stood next to each other with Smiley’s hand on her shoulder, the other holding her hip while she straightened. His words couldn’t be heard but Smiley said something. She nodded. His lips moved again. Her hand darted out and clutched a handful of his shirt. It tore open to reveal the bare skin of his upper chest and almost to his navel. She went for his hair too, grabbing a handful behind his neck and used her hold to jerk his face down.

“Oh shit,” Beth gasped.

Vanni watched in horror as she kissed Smiley. She looked desperate and slutty. It got worse when she lifted a leg high enough to hook her calf around the back of his thigh in an obvious attempt to get him to pick her up. He did. That’s when she wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt hiking up to her thighs in the process.

“No,” Vanni whispered. Memory returned and she wasn’t surprised when she started to grind her body against him. It was horrendous to watch though. It reminded her of a dog she’d once had that humped any leg it could get to hold still.

“No, no, no,” she chanted.

Smiley jerked away from her and tried to avoid her mouth. It didn’t stop her. She buried her face in his neck and his eyes closed. He just stood there allowing her to maul him, except his lips moved slightly, as if he were telling her to stop. She couldn’t remember that part but seeing was believing.

Something happened on the other side of him that the camera couldn’t see but he bowed his back and then spun, pinning her against a black SUV. He seemed to try to stop her from humping him and pulling his hair. He pressed against her, pinning her, but then she grabbed his face to plant her lips over his. It was a good shot of most of her face. Her eyes were closed and she was going to town, kissing the hell out of him.

“We have someone on the roof!” an NSO guard yelled—the one positioned at the front of the SUV. He drew his weapon and pointed it at the camera. The person operating it jerked away and the clip ended.

The show returned to the hosts. The woman fanned herself and grinned. “I’d say that was very friendly.”

The man chuckled. “None of my fans ever do that to me. I only get asked for autographs.” He winked. “I’m single.”

“You don’t exactly look like him and she obviously wanted more than his signature. I think you’d better start lifting weights if you want that kind of response from your fans. Did you see the muscles on that New Species?” The woman wiggled her eyebrows at the camera.

“Turn it off,” Vanni whispered.

Beth looked as stunned and dismayed as Vanni felt. “Did you hear what they said? Every station. Oh Vanni. Your parents watch the news and those gossip shows. There’s no way they aren’t going to see this. Even without that skirt on, I knew it was you. Your face showed a few times.”

The phone rang. Both women jumped. Vanni frantically shook her head. “Don’t get it.”

Beth didn’t move. The phone rang four times before their answering machine picked up. It sank in to Vanni that everyone she knew would see that video at some point. That included her friends, family and coworkers. It made her sick to her stomach.

“Vanni?” Her mother’s voice came out of the machine speaker. “Vanni? We saw the news. Was that you? It looked like you. You—”

“Damn it!” her father yelled in the background. “Did you get hold of her? She’s not answering her cell phone. On the news they said it happened at the same hotel where she was staying this weekend.”

“I got the machine,” her mother told him.

“Call Beth. Make sure Vanni is all right!” her father yelled. “Our girl wouldn’t act like that in public unless she was drunk. Do you think she’s all right? What if she went home with him and he won’t let her go? Should we call those New Species people to see if she’s still with him?”

“I’ll call Beth now.” The phone went dead.

Seconds later Beth’s cell phone blared rap music. Vanni stared at her friend. Beth moved. “I’ll tell them you’re safe. They are worried.”

“I can’t talk to them.”

Beth reached into her purse. “Shut up.” She answered. “Hi. Vanni is fine.”

Vanni was going to hyperventilate. The house phone started to ring again. Beth ignored it as she held her cell phone. She met Beth’s gaze.

“She’s here. I went to get her last night. She’s sleeping. She’s fine. Let me have her call you later. The other phone is ringing. I swear she’s safe.” Beth hung up.

The answering machine picked up. “Vanni?”

She groaned. “Carl.”

“Goddamn it, Vanni!” he shouted into the machine. “What in the hell have you done? My father warned me that you were nothing but trash. How the hell could you?” His voice lowered somewhat but his anger was clear. “Do you know what kind of bad press this is going to cause my father? For me? We’re engaged and you screwed one of those creatures in an alley outside the hotel?” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I could kill you. Someone identified you to the reporters. Shit. Another news crew is at the door. This is all your fault!” He slammed the phone down.

The house phone rang immediately. Vanni realized tears were running down her face. Beth turned off the ringer and answering machine. The cell phone blared rap music again. Beth cursed and turned it off.

“Vanni? Look at me.”

She wiped at her tears. “This is a nightmare, right? I’m still in bed?”

Beth sat down on the floor and hugged her. “It’s going to be all right. In a few days this will blow over. Someone else will do something to get their attention.”