Page 59 of Reckless Vow

“Fine by me.” Baldo shrugs. “It was his idea, anyway.”

“Of course it was. Don’t ever put me in the same room with him.”

Baldo rolls his eyes. “Enjoy your day, ladies.”

“What was that about?” Celeste frowns.

“His business partner is an asshole. Never mind. We’re here for this girl.” She wraps me in a hug, and I sniffle.

“Oh no, chérie, let’s make you a cup of tea,” Celeste suggests, and they usher me to the kitchen while my husband’s Maserati revs its engine outside.

I need something enjoyable in my life. Especially since I’m stuck here for a year.

Stuck with me.

Chapter17

Brook

“So he gave you the best orgasm of your life. With his tongue. And instead of begging for more—and there is nothing wrong with demanding what you need—you ran away?” Celeste leans back on the sofa and crosses her arms over her chest.

“I guess I just didn’t expect it. I don’t usually… Never mind. I guess it’s the past, and what we could have been that came rushing back.”

“But wasn’t he your first?” Saar moves into a downward dog.

She missed her yoga practice for this emergency meeting, so she’s adding poses into the conversation.

“He was my first kiss, and he’d have been my first everything, but—”

I watch my hands. I’ve never confided this to anyone else, and maybe that’s part of the problem. Keeping things locked inside doesn’t allow them to move away.

Saar collapses to the floor, understanding the gravity of the moment. She crosses her legs. “You can tell us, sweetie.”

Celeste rubs my back. “Whatever you feel comfortable with.”

“We are the youngest of the bunch, and we were very close growing up. Like us against the world, we bonded over hating how we were always babied or ignored, or… you know, silly sibling stuff. It grew into something bigger, and I guess along with raging teenage hormones, we couldn’t fight the attraction anymore. But it was weird at the same time because we were brother and sister.

“So we started sneaking around. I mean we’re not blood relatives, but still… we knew everyone would judge us. One night, Baldo came to my room and we weren’t careful, and my dad caught us. We were just kissing, but all hell broke loose, and our parents were so upset.

“But we couldn’t stop. I loved him so much and he loved me, so we made a plan to run away. Baldo turned eighteen six months before me and he was able to access some of his trust fund then, so we decided to leave together.”

“Chérie, that is so romantic,” Celeste sighs.

“Hold your verdict, there is no happy ending.” I chuckle humorlessly and then tell them the rest of the story.

How horribly our escape night went and how Baldo ran away without me, and I was left dealing with trauma no girl or woman should ever experience.

Somehow I get through the story without crying, and with every word I feel more liberated. Like my attachment to the unfortunate events is getting looser with every word.

I told the story once to my therapist, but that felt clinical, just giving the facts so she could fix me.

There is no judgment. No pity from the two women here. They just keep a safe place for me to share.

In sharing with my friends, something sets me free. Like the shackles of the past have been broken, not yet fully redeeming me, but disconnecting from me.

And I’m reminded that my past doesn’t have to define me.

And there is one thing I know beyond any doubt, I need to tell the story one more time.

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