Her Secret Thrill by Donna Kauffman

minded.”
    Natalie quickly abandoned her stool and hugged her friend. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Iwouldn’t have teased you like that if I’d known. It’s just that you never get—”
    â€œSerious?” she said, hiccuping through another sob. Her mascara was a mess and her cheeks were splotchy. “Well, I guess we all fall sometime.”
    Natalie instantly thought of Jake, and then shut the picture out. It had just been a reflex reaction, to think of the last man she’d been intimate with. The fact that he was also the next man she planned to be intimate with made no difference. Jake was not a forever man.
    Liza hiccuped again. “I don’t want…to date anymore.” She sniffed, then blew her nose on a cocktail napkin. “It’s not…worth it. I don’t want…to ever…feel like this again.” She wiped her face, still sniffling, and gently pushed Natalie back to her stool.
    â€œI know what you mean, but honestly, Liza, it was bound to happen at some point. It’s surprising it hadn’t happened sooner. Last time I looked, it was a fairly normal reaction between a woman and a man she finds attractive and fun.”
    â€œDon’t forget good in bed,” she added with a watery chuckle.
    Natalie rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks as she recalled just how good in bed Liza had thought Conrad was. After all, she’d heard firsthand.
    â€œBut just because you got stung once doesn’t mean you should give up altogether.”
    â€œI know.” Liza sighed and used another napkin to blot her face. “You’re right.” She downed the rest of her drink, choking a bit as it stung her throat. “Still sucks.”
    Natalie sighed along with her. “I know.”
    Liza turned a considering look to her. “Since when?”
    â€œOh, no, we’re not going there. You know very well that I’ve led the opposite kind of social life from you, so it’s not at all surprising that it hasn’t happened to me.”
    â€œYou sure sounded like the voice of experience.”
    Natalie backpedaled faster. “I was just sympathizing. I mean, look who I date.”
    â€œLawyers, investment bankers and rich idiots your dad and sisters shove at you. I know. Still, who would have thought, with all the hot, amazing men I’ve dated, I’d lose it for a dumb soap stud?”
    Natalie couldn’t help it; she lowered her voice and said, “Well, I can think of one or, well, multiple reasons why you might have.”
    Liza sighed again, but in abject appreciation this time. “Yeah, well, there was that. A lot of that.” She laughed. “Maybe that’s why I’m crying.”
    Natalie snickered, then they both lost it and laughed.
    But Liza wasn’t one to be dissuaded from a mission. The considering look returned as soon as the laughter died.
    Natalie held up her hand. “Please, we’ll do my love life next time.”
    â€œSo.” She folded her arms and leaned forward. “There is a love life. I’ve been wondering. You’re holding something back on me. I could hear it in your voice.” She leaned even closer and peered into Natalie’s face. “It’s in your eyes, too.” She grinned, obviously more than happy to shift the conversational target to her friend. “Spill it.”
    Natalie had debated telling her friend. God knows,they shared everything else. Liza was the one person in her life she could tell anything to, including the fact that she’d heard her and Conrad at the end of that party. So what if she’d sort of omitted the fact that when she’d slipped out for coffee, it had been with Conrad’s childhood buddy, and they’d ended up in bed together?
    It was so unlike anything she’d ever done. And now she’d done it twice. And it was still so amazing, so stunning to