Relinquishing Liberty (Second Chances)

by Mayer, Maureen

  “Hey, sweetheart! How’s my lovely lady and soon-to-be roommate doing?”

  I skipped the hello and got straight to the point. “Ohmigod, Shayne, why did you let me have sex with you this morning!?” That probably came out a little harsher than I had intended it to.

  “Um…I’m sorry?” He laughed into the phone. “Why? A little sore, are we?” His voice was dripping with sarcasm. I’m glad he was finding this funny.

  “You could say that. And Brett totally noticed too. He said I’ve been walking funny all night.” I let out a loud “hmph” in frustration.

  “Hey, I tried to warn you, sweetheart.” Shayne continued to laugh while I shot him an evil glare through the phone. “In all seriousness though, I am sorry you’re sore, babe. I hate to see you in any pain. I really should have stopped things before we got too far this morning, but I couldn’t help myself. You’re just so damn sexy.” Okay, now he was just trying to butter me up, and lucky for him it was working.

  “I wish I was there to make you feel better, babe. Why don’t you take a nice hot bath, pour a little Epsom salt in there and pop a few more ibuprofen when you get home? It’ll help sooth your muscles, and I guarantee you’ll feel like a million bucks when you wake up tomorrow.”

  “Shayne, how is it you know so much about this stuff?”

  “Well you see…” He let out a soft laugh. “While you were busy perusing Playboy, I was stealing the latest issue of Cosmo from the girls’ lunch table in high school. Where do you think I picked up all of my mind-blowing techniques, babe?”

  Oh God, is he for real? I couldn’t hold back, I was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down my face. I kept picturing him sitting there reading Cosmopolitan and diligently taking down notes. “Ohmigod you are too fucking much! After a night like tonight, I really needed that, Shayne. Thank you.”

  “Anything to hear that beautiful laugh, sweetheart.” From the tone of his voice, I knew he was smiling on the other end of the phone. “So are the customers busting your balls tonight? ‘Cause I won’t hesitate coming in there kicking anyone’s ass for making my woman upset.”

  “Shayne, I’m pretty sure you know by now that my female anatomy is lacking in the balls department.” I giggled. “And no, it’s Brett that’s been giving me a hard time. I broke the news to him that we were moving in together, and let’s just say he was far from thrilled.”

  “Fuck him. It’s none of his business anyway, so why should his opinion matter?”

  “That’s exactly what I said! I told him I don’t give a fuck what he thinks anymore. I’m sick and tired of dealing with his bipolar attitude towards our relationship, so I decided I’m just not going to deal with it anymore. If he doesn’t like us being together, that’s his problem, not mine.”

  “That’s my girl!” My girl. I loved hearing him say that.

  “Well, my Cosmo-reading Casanova…I need to get back to work.”

  I started to walk back inside, and Brett was watching my every move yet again.

  “Alright, sweetheart. If you’re not too tired when you get home, feel free to call me, but make sure you get some rest tonight, okay? I love you, baby.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. I don’t think I will ever get sick of hearing those words come out of his mouth. “I love you, too, Shayne.”

  That earned me a disgusted look from Brett. No surprise there. I started to walk towards the back to throw my phone in my purse, but Brett came around the bar and grabbed my arm before I got very far.

  “Liberty, hang on a second.”

  I let out a long sigh. “Look, Brett, if this is about what you just heard—”

  “No, this isn’t about that. I could give two shits about what’s going on between you and Shayne.” My mouth fell open as I gaped at him for his brutal honesty. One minute he was tearing into me about how stupid I was for agreeing to move in with Shayne and the next, he says he doesn’t give two-shits about us.

  “Look, some guy came in here a few minutes ago looking for you. He said he recognized you out front, but he didn’t want to interrupt you while you were on the phone. Now, I don’t know who the fuck this guy was, but he seemed kind of shady to me.”

  Now that I think about it, I did notice someone stop a few feet away from me when I was outside, but I didn’t pay attention to who it was. Who the hell would be looking for me anyway? Other than Shayne, Brett, Travis and Corey, I didn’t know any other guys around here…at least none that would recognize me. “Oh, uh, is he still here?”

  “No, but he left this for you.”

  Brett handed me a crumpled up napkin with something scribbled on it. I smoothed it out, and just by the handwriting alone I knew it was from my Uncle Steve. Somehow, it had completely slipped my mind that he lived just a few miles outside of Savannah. He was a chiropractor and opened a private practice down here a few years back, and the last time he came up to Buffalo for a visit was to attend AJ’s funeral. In typical doctor fashion, his handwriting was virtually illegible, but over the years I had gotten pretty good at interpreting it from the birthday and Christmas cards he always remembered to send me.

  The only thing he wrote down was his name and phone number and to “call him”. Now I understood why Brett thought he looked so shady. He must have assumed he was some middle-aged creeper trying to pick me up. At least Brett cared enough to show some concern.

  “It’s okay, Brett. It’s just from my uncle. I forgot he lived nearby. I honestly wasn’t expecting to run into him here though.”

  His eyebrow slowly perked up. “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

  “I’m not really sure yet.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess it depends on whether or not he spills the beans and lets my parents know I’m here.”

  “Wait, are you telling me your family doesn’t even know where you are!?”

  “Brett…” I let out a heavy sigh. “I left home to get away from my parents. I threw four years of my life down the drain trying to help them pick up the pieces after AJ died, but it turned out they weren’t willing to make any effort themselves. I lost all of my friends. I had to drop out of college after my first year. I was a teenager, yet I had to take on the role of the parent, while my mother and father continued in a downward spiral. I let it go on for far too long, and I knew nothing would change unless I finally severed ties with them. I had to leave and start over fresh.”

  I knew Brett and Maddie were close with their parents, so I was surprised to find him to be so understanding. “I don’t blame you for wanting to leave, Liberty. No one should have to take on that kind of responsibility when they’re still just a kid themselves. You didn’t deserve to have to carry that burden for so long. For your sake, I hope your uncle keeps his mouth shut.”

  I took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thanks, Brett. You and me both.”

  I finally got him to crack a smile. “Why don’t you finish up with that table over there, and I’ll cover the rest. Things seemed to have slowed down, and I think Brittany can handle the bar herself.”

  “Seriously? You’re a lifesaver, Brett. I’m dying for a nice relaxing bath right now.”

  “Well don’t enjoy yourself too much.” He winked at me while beaming a wicked grin. He just had to bring that up again, didn’t he? I buried my face in my hands, and he chuckled loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear, further embarrassing me. I grabbed my purse and booked it out of the restaurant before he could say anything else. I didn’t need him telling the whole world about the time I played DJ Diddles to the image of Shayne.

  When I got home from work, I found Maddie lying on the couch with her eyes glued to my Kindle. I smiled and shook my head, making a mental note to buy her one of her own for her birthday. I silently kicked my shoes off and tiptoed over to the table to set my keys and purse down, but with Maddie’s supersonic hearing, it must have sounded like a gun going off. She slowly lowered the Kindle just enough so that I could see her evil glare shooting daggers in my direction. She
stared for a moment, the wheels clearly turning in her head, and within seconds her eyebrows shot up and she dropped my Kindle in her lap.

  “Ohmigod you had sex!”

  How the hell… “What!? Maddie, what are you smoking?”

  “Ohhh, no. Don’t you give me that, Liberty. It’s written all over that gorgeous, sexified face of yours. I know that face. That’s the face of someone who’s no longer a virgin!”

  “How the hell do you do that, Maddie?”

  “It’s a gift.” She shrugged, brushing it off like it was no big deal.

  “Well, I guess there’s no point in trying to keep it a secret. Yes, we had sex.”

  Maddie squealed and jumped off the couch, pulling me in for a tight hug. “Oh, Liberty, I’m so happy! I was really beginning to think it would never happen.”

  “Gee, thanks for the bout of confidence.”

  “You know what I mean. 20-year-old virgins are almost unheard of these days. They’re like a rare commodity. So…” She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “How was it?”

  I bit my lip trying to cover up my smile. “Which time?”

  “Ohmigod, Liberty! You’ve finally embraced your inner slut! I’m so proud of you. Oh, God.” She fanned her face dramatically with her hand. “I think I’m going to cry.” She wiped away a fake tear, and I shoved her lightheartedly, making us both laugh.

  “Come on, seriously…is he good in bed or what?”

  I couldn’t hold back my excitement any longer. “Ohmigod, Maddie, it was…it was…” I let out a dreamy sigh. “Perfect.”

  “That’s all I get? Perfect? Jesus, woman, throw me a friggin’ bone here! I need more than that! Size? Girth? Stamina? Did he go down on you? Did you go down on him? Spill it!”

  “Geez, don’t you think that’s kind of personal, Maddie?”

  She stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. Jesus Christ, that girl. I don’t even know why I bother trying to keep stuff from her. She’ll get it out of me one way or the other.

  I held my hands up in surrender. “All right, all right! Well he’s…um…big. Very big. Okay, that’s an understatement. Maddie, he’s fucking huge! I kind of had a mini panic attack when I first saw it because I had no fucking clue how it was supposed to fit inside me! But he was so gentle and took his time. He really wanted to make my first time special, and I couldn’t imagine it being any better than that. Honestly, I don’t know how else to describe it other than perfect!”

  “So…did he make you come?” A devilish grin spread across Maddie’s face, and I think the huge smile plastered across my own face was enough of an answer for her.

  Maddie giggled. “That good, huh?”

  I sank down on the couch, replaying in my mind just how good it really was. “Ohmigod, you have no idea.”

  “Oh, I have a pretty good idea. Just because my first time sucked and had a shitty outcome doesn’t mean I haven’t had great sex since.”

  “Yeah, you tell me about it all the time. Sometimes in a little too much detail.” I wrinkled my nose just thinking about it.

  “Well, someone needs to give you a healthy serving of Sex 101. Might as well be me!”

  “Thanks, but I think I’ll leave that up to my man from now on.”

  “Suit yourself. But when you need advice on the really kinky shit, you know where to find me.”

  “Um, thanks, Maddie. I’m glad I can always count on you for the important things in life.” I rolled my eyes and laughed.

  Maddie sat next to me on the couch, staring at me awkwardly. What was up with everyone staring at me tonight? She grabbed my chin, turning my face from side to side, studying me intently through narrowed eyes. Then her eyes slowly widened and mouth fell open in complete shock.

  “Holy shitballs! You told him you love him!”

  I smiled and shook my head at her in disbelief. “Okay, seriously do you have a sixth sense or something?”

  “Liberty, this is huge. I can’t believe this all happened over the last two days. Is there anything else I haven’t picked up on because I feel like there is, I just can’t quite put my finger on it.” She tapped her finger on her chin, contemplating what it could be.

  “Well…”

  “Oh please don’t tell me he knocked you up already!”

  “No!” I paused for a moment before dropping the bomb. “He…he asked me to move in with him.”

  “And I’m assuming you said yes because I’m going to have to punch you in the tit if you told him no.”

  I was surprised to see that Maddie was actually on board with this. I was expecting her to want to castrate Shayne for stealing me away from her. “Wait, so you’re okay with me moving out?”

  “Let me guess: you’re worried that things are moving too fast and that moving in with him might be a mistake.”

  “The thought may have crossed my mind…”

  Maddie took my hands and gave them a firm, reassuring squeeze. “Liberty, I know that I haven’t met your mystery hunk yet, but from that glowing smile on your face and the way you speak so adoringly of him, I can tell that you’re really and truly in love with him. Sure it’s only been a few weeks, but when you know, you know. And of course I’m sad that you won’t be my roomie anymore, but who am I to stand in the way of true love?”

  “Maddie, I think those books you’ve been reading are starting to get to you. You’ve turned you into a romantic softy.”

  She smacked me with a throw pillow, and we both fell over in a fit of laughter.

  “What do you say we have a girls’ day tomorrow. Just you and me. One last hoorah before I move out and have to live with a dirty, stinky boy.” I stuck out my bottom lip.

  “That sounds fan-fucking-tastic! And don’t pout. You know deep down you’re uber-excited to live with lover-boy.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. It’s a huge step for us, but I know it’s the right one. I just hate not being able to see him every day. It literally hurts being away from him for so long.”

  “I guess that’s when you know it’s love…or you just have a sick obsession with him.”

  Maddie jumped off the couch giggling and ran down the hall to her room before she could get hit by the pillow I tossed her way.

  “G’night, Maddie!” I shouted as I walked to the bathroom.

  I could still hear her giggling behind her bedroom door. “Night, Liberty! Sweet dreams…of lover-boy!”

  I took my soothing hot bath, as prescribed by Shayne, and nearly fell asleep in the tub. After drying off and getting ready for bed, I pulled my suitcases out of the closet and set them next to the plastic tubs I picked up before work. Tomorrow I would begin packing everything to be moved over to Shayne’s. It was a bittersweet feeling. I loved Maddie like a sister, and I was going to miss living with her, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to miss waking up to her grumpy ass every morning.

  This was exactly what we needed today. Maddie and I sat in the shiatsu massage chairs at the nail salon, sipping on our complimentary mimosas. Had I known we’d be pampered like this, I would have started coming here weeks ago. With that being said, Maddie and I made a pact that we would come here at least twice a month for a girls’ day; just the two of us.

  We had already gotten our manicures, and now the nail technicians were working on scrubbing and buffing our dainty feet. Even though we couldn’t understand a word they were saying and just assumed that they were probably talking shit about us in their foreign tongue, we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The way she was kneading the arches of my feet and rubbing the muscles in my calves… God, it was worth every damn penny in my bank account. I had to bite back a moan because it felt so fucking good. This was right up there with sex; definitely a close second. I guarantee she’ll be getting a generous tip when she’s finished.

  I think the mimosas were starting to affect Maddie because the more ideas she rambled off for the rest of our girls’ day, the crazier they got. Somehow bungee jumping and skydiving got thrown into the mix, a
nd that’s when I told them to cut her off. There was something I had always wanted to do, but never had the guts to actually go through with. It wasn’t as thrill seeking as bungee jumping or skydiving, but it would be a pretty spontaneous thing for us to do on our girls’ day.

  “Hey Maddie, have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?”

  I chewed on my lip nervously hoping that she’d go along with my idea, and I was relieved to see her eyes light up enthusiastically in agreement. “I like where you’re going with this…and yes, I’ve been dying to get some song lyrics on my ribs. I picked them out ages ago, but every time I made an appointment to get the tattoo I chickened out at the last minute and ran out of there. I’m not exactly big on needles.”

  Maddie cringed and her body shook just as she said the word “needles”. Hell, I wasn’t a big fan of them, either, but I was willing to suck it up just this once for the tattoo that I had in mind.

  “I think we should do it. Come on, we need to do something balls to the wall, and what better way than to do something that will face our fears. Plus, we don’t have to worry about whether or not we’ll come back in one piece because we won’t be plummeting to our deaths.” Maddie giggled when I mentioned her ludicrous suggestions. Seriously, that girl was willing to try skydiving and bungee jumping, but she was too afraid to get a tattoo?

  “I’ll even sit there and hold your hand the whole time. What do ya say? Pleeeease.” I held my hands up under my chin and fluttered my eyelashes at her.

  Finally, she relented and let out a breathy sigh. “All right. But we’ll need to find a tattoo shop on the other side of town. I think by now they all know me by name over at Inked.” She lowered her head in embarrassment.

  I laughed and shook my head. Poor Maddie. I wonder how many times she actually ran out of there.

  After our brightly lacquered toes finished drying, we stopped at Alessandro’s to grab some lunch. By then we were both starving, but more importantly, I had to get my partner-in-crime sobered up before she got a tattoo. I doubt they’d let her anywhere near a needle with the way she was slurring her speech. We sat there waiting for our waitress, and it was then I realized that I hadn’t been here since my disastrous “date” with Brett and that gloomy cloud of regret hovered over me once again. I hated the fact that Brett took all of the excitement out of me moving in with Shayne. He was really starting to become a huge buzz kill in mine and Shayne’s relationship.