Relinquishing Liberty (Second Chances)

by Mayer, Maureen

  “Ah, so is that where you acquired your culinary expertise?”

  “Sort of. I mostly learned from my dad, but he picked up most of his skills from my mom.”

  “That’s awesome. I consider myself a decent cook, but I had to pick it up on my own. My parents weren’t really around much to give me any pointers, but I’d love to learn a thing or two from your parents.”

  “Yeah I’m sure my dad would love to have a woman around the kitchen again.” I could see from the bashful smile on his face that he held a special place in his heart for his dad.

  “What about your mom?”

  I must have struck a nerve bringing up his mother; Shayne didn’t respond and turned back to the stove, finishing up our dinner.

  “Do you mind waiting here while I finish something up?”

  “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

  Shayne plated our food and carried it out of the kitchen. Where was he going? Shit, I really hope I didn’t ruin our night. I wasn’t sure what the deal was with his mother, but it was obvious that it was a sore subject for him. I figured I’d drop it for now until he was ready to talk about it. He came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, minus our delicious food, with a devilish grin on his face that immediately had my heart fluttering. Maybe I hadn’t ruined the night, after all.

  “Close your eyes.” Close my eyes? So that was his plan all along. Get me back to his house, blindfold me and then do God knows what to me before he chopped me up into little pieces and buried me on the beach. My crazy, overreacting mind was starting to get the best of me. I wrinkled my nose and backed away from him.

  “C’mon Liberty, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. Just close your eyes. I have another surprise for you.” He looked at me with pleading eyes. “Please?”

  Why was it so hard to say no to him? I hesitantly complied and closed my eyes. The warm, calloused pads of his fingertips slipped over my delicate eyelids, and he led me out of the room. I heard a door slide open, and he continued to urge me forward.

  “Okay, I need you to take three small steps down. Don’t worry, I got you.”

  I knew we were outside as soon as the warm air blew a few strands of my hair off of my shoulder. I reached out and felt a wooden railing to my right, and I carefully stepped down...one, two, three. My feet slipped into the sand, and I could hear ocean waves crashing not too far in front of us. A few more steps and he slowly removed his hand from shielding my view. I kept my eyes closed, unsure of whether or not he was ready to reveal his surprise.

  “Okay, open them.”

  The sun was on the verge of setting and a row of tiki torches lit a path down to a large plaid blanket laid out on the sand. Tiny tea-light candles were surrounding the blanket, just enough to illuminate the dinner Shayne had prepared for us. The remaining wine was now chilling in a bucket of ice.

  “You did all of this?” I started to get a little teary-eyed. They were definitely happy tears, though. No one had ever done anything so romantic for me. From now on, I needed to trust Maddie’s intuition. Shayne had put so much thought into making tonight special, and he went above and beyond my expectations. He was definitely beginning to prove that he was a keeper.

  “Do you like it?” He asked, taking my hand and leading me closer to the blanket where our feast awaited us.

  “Shayne, this is beautiful! I can’t get over how close your house is to the water, too.”

  “Yeah it’s definitely one of the perks of living here. Please, sit. I don’t want your food to get cold.”

  I sat down, and he refilled my glass of wine. The food smelled delicious while he was cooking, but it tasted even better; my taste buds were pleasantly surprised. That first bite was pure heaven. Damn, my man knows how to cook! My man? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Liberty. First I needed to get the idea that every guy was a psycho axe murder out of my head. I trusted Shayne, I really did. I think I was just making excuses not to get close to him. But I made a promise to myself that I would give Shayne a chance, and I was sticking to it.

  “This is seriously one of the best meals I’ve ever had, Shayne. Even the asparagus is grilled to perfection. My compliments to the chef!”

  “Thank you.” He took my hand, and his lips brushed a light kiss against my knuckles. “Just wait until dessert.”

  “You made dessert, too?” He even thought of dessert. Seriously, could this man be any more perfect?

  “Sort of…you’ll see.” Ughhh, that smile! He was beaming with a playful boyish grin, showing off that dimple I was beginning to love so much.

  When we finished eating (and might I add, I practically licked the plate clean…it was that good), he cleared up all of our dishes and headed back towards the house. I waited on the blanket, watching the flicker of the tiki torches reflect against the waves. Shayne had set up a small bonfire on the beach that was now crackling to life; the night air had a bit of a chill, and I was grateful for the radiating warmth. I barely heard Shayne’s footsteps as he approached, and I noticed his hands were hiding something behind his back.

  “What do you have there?”

  His lips curled up into a sneaky grin as his arms came out from behind him. He was holding marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey bars… Oh, he knew the way straight to my heart!

  “How did you know I love s’mores?”

  “Who doesn’t love s’mores?” Good answer.

  Shayne only had one stick to roast the marshmallows, so he took the honors of going first. As soon as the marshmallow was aflame, he blew it out and assembled his s’more. I was about to grab the stick to make my own, when he held his s’more about an inch away from my lips.

  “Take a bite, sweetheart. I need to make sure my culinary skills are still up to par.” It was kind of hard to mess up s’mores, but I obliged his request.

  I leaned forward and took a huge bite, leaving a trail of marshmallow across my mouth.

  “Mmm, thish ish so gooood!” I moaned with my mouth full of the gooey concoction.

  Maybe I should have held back on the moaning because when I looked over at Shayne next to the fire, his face radiated with pure lust. I had never seen his beautiful emerald eyes burn with so much passion before, and I was afraid to imagine what sinful thoughts were going through his head.

  Shayne’s hand reached forward, wiping the excess marshmallow from my mouth. His thumb spread the sticky melted sugar across my lips before he placed it in his mouth, sucking off the remnants.

  “Your right, this is pretty damn good, but I think I missed some.”

  He repositioned himself so that he was mere inches from my face. His hand reached up to cup my cheek as he stared into my eyes, and all I could see was my face reflecting in his gaze. I kept my eyes open right until the very last second before he pressed his soft lips against mine, at which point I completely lost all inhibitions. His tongue slipped past his lips to lick the marshmallow from mine. I let a small moan escape, and he took that as invitation part my lips with his greedy tongue.

  His kiss was different from anything I had ever experienced. Our mouths moved together in unison, and when his velvety tongue swirled with mine in some sort of sensual tango, I finally understood what it meant to feel completely consumed by someone. I’m not sure if it was the wine or my hormones going into overdrive, but soon I was feeling an uncontrollable desire to take charge.

  Without breaking our kiss, I pushed Shayne over on the blanket so he was lying on his back. I used the momentum to straddle him before I could change my mind. His mouth moved against mine with more intensity, and warmth began to pool in my belly, moving further south. I could feel his arousal grow beneath me as his erection pressed against my mound. I was surprised to find him just as turned on as I was. Taking the initiative to go further, I slowly rolled my hips back and forth against him. I thought I heard a low growl slip past his lips as he reciprocated my thrusts. He buried his hand in the tangles of my hair, while the other rested near the dimples of my lower back pulling me i
n closer. I couldn’t get enough of him and I was quickly losing control.

  Something building up inside of me was on the verge of bursting. The intense sensations grew higher and higher until I couldn’t hold back anymore. My release resulted in me shouting Shayne’s name loud enough for anyone that might be out on the beach to hear. When the tremors coursing through my body finally subsided, I opened my eyes to find Shayne staring back at me petrified. Oh God, what have I done? Clearly I had caused the look of horror on his face.

  I jumped off of Shayne’s lap and quickly made my way back towards his house. I had to get out of there before I fucked the rest of this date up. Everything about tonight had been absolutely perfect until I decided to grind up on Shayne like a sex-deprived teenager. How could I be so stupid? I tripped in the sand about halfway back to the house. Shayne kneeled down beside me and placed his hands on either side of my face, preventing me from looking away.

  “Liberty, please don’t leave. I’m sorry about the way I reacted. I just wasn’t expecting that to happen. I promise, you didn’t do anything wrong, sweetheart.”

  “I’m sorry too. I don’t know what came over me. I think I had too much wine.”

  Shayne laughed as his gently caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. “Babe, you only had two glasses. I don’t think it was the wine.”

  Shayne could see the wheels turning in my head. He knew I was trying to find something to blame my behavior on, other than the obvious. Luckily, Shayne took care of that for me.

  “We’re obviously both attracted to each other. It’s natural for us to want to take things further. I just don’t want you to ever feel pressured to do something you’re not ready for.”

  That is why he reacted the way he had. He thought he pressured me to hump the shit out of him. We wouldn’t even being having this issue had I not revealed my virginal status to him. I knew my V-card would come back to haunt me.

  “Look, Shayne, you didn’t pressure me to do anything I didn’t want to do. I wasn’t expecting that to happen either, but I don’t regret it. I-I actually really enjoyed it.” I felt a little timid admitting that to him.

  “Oh, well, in that case…how was it?” The devilish grin returned to his face, and I could tell he was enjoying this way too much.

  “Well, for my first…ya know…it was very…um…,” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Intense?”

  “Whoa, wait. You mean to tell me that’s the first time you’ve had an orgasm!? And it was with me? Shit, sweetheart, I think you just made my fucking night!”

  Oh, God. I’m sure that just helped boost his player ego even more. I huffed as I briskly walked back towards his house again. I should’ve known he was too good to be true. He had been a perfect gentleman the entire night up until this moment.

  I didn’t get very far, as he reached out and entwined his fingers with mine, pulling me back to him. I struggled to release his hold on me, but it was no use. He was determined to make me stay and hear him out.

  “Liberty, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you. Shit, I’m not very good at this, am I?” Roughly running his fingers through his hair, I could see he was fighting to find the right thing to say.

  “Look, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been in a serious relationship. I’ve got to be honest with you: I’ve been with a lot of girls, but I’m not proud of it. I was a stupid horny bastard back in high school and thought I was the shit because I got with all of the girls. When everyone else went off to college, and I stayed here to work for my dad, I didn’t have time for chasing girls anymore. It was a huge wake-up call for me, and from then on I made my job and my family my priority. Now, I’m not saying I’ve been celibate since high school, but I’ve been trying to bury this reputation I so naively built up for myself.”

  Shayne took my hand and turned it over, placing a delicate kiss in the center of my palm. “I’ve just never felt anything more than a physical attraction to girls. But with you, it’s different. I don’t know what it is, but I feel this energy pulling me towards you, and it makes me never want to let you go.” He paused, still struggling to find the right words. “That’s…that’s never happened to me before. Normally, when I’m done with a girl, I can’t get her out of my bed fast enough.”

  I cringed at his words.

  “Sorry, I know that sounds kind of harsh, but it’s true. Liberty, I want to give this…us…a chance. I don’t want my past mistakes to ruin my chances of having a normal, happy relationship. Now, I don’t know the first thing about having a normal relationship, but I’ve painted this picture in my head of what that might be, and that’s what I see myself having with you.”

  The promise I had made to myself earlier echoed through brain. I promised to give him a chance. Maybe I was going against my better judgment, but I didn’t want to give up on the possibility of there being an us either. Deep down, I knew there was more to this man than just his insatiable libido.

  “Okay,” I whispered, just barely audible.

  “Okay?” He looked at me with his brows pinched together, not sure of what I was agreeing to.

  I reached up, lightly pressing my thumbs against his forehead to brush away the creases. “Okay, I’ll give this a chance.”

  His eyes softened, and he swept me up in his arms, swinging me around as he rained kisses all over my face; this, of course, caused me to fall into a fit of giggles. He smiled against my skin as he pressed one last kiss to my neck.

  “Thank you. I promise we’ll take things slow as you want.”

  Shayne took both of my hands in his and led me back to the blanket, carefully walking backwards so he couldn’t remove his lustrous gaze from mine. I nestled myself between his legs, and he wrapped his arms across my chest while we watched the waves come crashing in with the tide. Exhaustion consumed me, causing my body to relax into Shayne. Being here with him felt right, and I wondered what might’ve happened had I never made the rash decision to leave home and come to Savannah. I closed my eyes as I relished in the thought that maybe fate had intervened that day on the beach, throwing me straight into the arms of this beautiful man.

  I woke the next morning after having the best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages. I stretched my arms over my head and turned to check the time. It was only seven, but it felt so much later. The sun had already risen and was piercing through the blinds. The crushing sound of waves broke through my drowsiness, and it wasn’t until I smelled cologne mixed with the saltiness of the ocean air that I realized I wasn’t in my bed. Where the fuck am I? I knew that scent though; it was unmistakable.

  “Dear God, please tell me I didn’t sleep with Shayne?” I wiped my hands over my face hoping I could wake myself up from what was soon becoming a recurring nightmare. How had I found myself in this situation again? At least when I woke up in Brett’s bed, he was there to reassure me we hadn’t slept together. The other side of the bed was cold and empty, leaving an unsettling feeling in my stomach. I slowly dragged myself out of bed and noticed I was wearing the same dress from the night before. Well that was a good sign.

  I opened the bedroom door and peeked out into the hallway. The house was quiet; almost too quiet. I guess there was the possibility that he left, but why would he leave me alone in his house? I grabbed my sandals that were neatly placed beside the bed and tiptoed down the hall to the front door. Just as I pulled the door open, Shayne was standing there with two cups of coffee and a Dunkin Donuts bag.

  “Mornin’, sleeping beauty. You weren’t leaving just yet, were you?”

  Even at the ass-crack of dawn he looked absolutely delish. He was dressed in a baby blue V-neck shirt that looked like it was clinging to his body for dear life, with khaki cargo shorts. His hair was slicked back, still damp from having recently showered.

  I knew I must’ve looked atrocious. I didn’t have a chance to look in a mirror before attempting to escape. Holding up a finger to let him know I needed a minute, I ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. J
ust as I suspected, I was a hot mess. Half of my hair was matted and tangled, mascara was smeared around my eyes, and my morning breath was definitely not something to brag about. I ran my fingers through my hair and scrubbed away my raccoon eyes. After searching through the medicine cabinet, I was thankful to find a bottle of mouthwash. I’m sure Shayne wouldn’t mind if I snagged a little; hell, it was for his benefit!

  Shayne was sitting at the kitchen table sipping his coffee when I entered the room. His smile was beaming off of his face in an adorable child-like fashion.

  “All better?” He stood and held a steaming cup of coffee up to me, and I snatched it from him greedily.

  “Yeah, I’m a sight for sore eyes first thing in the morning.”

  “Impossible. But I must say, I like you better without all of that stuff painted on your face. You have natural beauty that shouldn’t be covered up, sweetheart.”

  I could feel my face flush at his words. He lightly brushed over my cheek with the back his finger. “I love that even more, when your cheeks are all rosy and sweet. God, you’re so beautiful, Liberty.”

  I was pretty sure my blush had just turned bright Elmo-red as he uttered those words.

  “Yeah, well you’re not so bad looking yourself. I see you cleaned up already. You must have woken up pretty early if you had time to shower and get breakfast.”

  Taking his seat at the table, I followed suit. He placed an assortment of muffins in front of me, taking a blueberry one for himself while I decided on banana-nut.

  “Yeah, I’m usually up by six every morning.”

  “Oh. I was little worried when I got up and saw you weren’t here.”

  He gave me an incredulous look. “Did you really think I’d just ditch you at my house?”

  “Well, after you told me about your history…” I started to look away before he grasped my chin, carefully returning my attention to him.

  “Liberty, I would never do that to you.” He stared at me intently making sure I understood the truth behind his words.