Relinquishing Liberty (31 page)

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, and 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.

“Do think Brett will ever come around and realize that I am in fact in a serious relationship, and he can’t control what happens between me and—”

Maddie cut me off before I could finish, but I wasn’t expecting her to say what came out next. “He’s in love with you.”

She said it so nonchalantly. Like everyone just knew, and I was the only one who couldn’t see it. She continued to pick at the breadsticks in front of us, not even noticing that my mouth was hanging wide open, completely baffled by what she just divulged to me.

“No, he’s not.”
Is he?
“He can’t be. He just has some weird infatuation with me that he refuses to let go of. I’ve explained to him time and time again that nothing can happen between us. He’s like my brother! That would just be gross, Maddie!”

“Doesn’t matter.” She bit off a piece of the breadstick and continued to talk while she noisily chewed away. “You can’t just change the way he feels. I can only remember one other time that my brother was hung up on a girl this bad, and that was back in high school. I’m telling you, Liberty. He’s definitely in love with you.”

“Well…fuck!” I looked around to make sure no one else around us had heard me, and lowered my voice. “Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do? I can’t sit by and watch him pine over me for the rest of my life.”

“Well, unless you marry lover-boy, I doubt Brett will back off. Actually…I can’t even guarantee that he’ll back off then. He’s pretty stubborn; kind of like a woman in that respect.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’m starting to notice that.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’ll just have to get over it eventually. Besides, you can’t let others dictate your life, Liberty. You have to live it for you and no one else.”

I sat there soaking in what she said. “Wow. Maddie, I think that is the best advice anyone has ever given me. Screw getting you sober. I think we need to get you some wine, and see what other advice you can spew out!”

“Cheers to that!”

We clinked our glasses together, sloshing water over the sides, and giggled throughout the rest of our lunch. When we were stuffed beyond our limits, I think we both started showing signs of anxiety because we knew where out next stop was. Maddie was practically shaking like a lamb on the way there, but there was no way I was going to let her back down. She has been waiting so long to get this tattoo, and she was finally going to get it, even if I had to sit on her and hold her down the entire time.