Page 42 of Freedom to Love

Chapter Eleven

Brynn hurried around the house, carrying the ironing board, wearing her good jeans and a black lace bra. She entered her room and set up the ironing board and placed the already steaming iron on the end. Her wet hair was wound up in a towel, and music blared from an old handheld radio she’d found in the basement. Thankfully, she had music and her favorite shirt was still in the back of her closet. It was a lavender button-up, and everyone loved how it looked against her hair.

She ironed the shirt and wiped the sweat from her brow. She left the board to stand in front of the box fan. The AC was working, but they really needed two units to cool the entire house. But that was a problem for another day. Tonight was hers. She was in bad need of a break, and she’d decided she was going out, come hell or high water. She had called Holly after her visit to the hospital and they’d decided to drive to Charlottetown and hit a bar. Holly was still upset about her missing car, but she knew it wasn’t Brynn’s fault. She’d actually been excited in hearing from her, and she’d been more than willing to go to the city for the night. Brynn knew she was probably hoping for more than a drink and a dance, but Brynn didn’t care. She wasn’t going to worry about it. The woman she wanted she couldn’t have, and there was no sense in crying over it. It was just the way things were. A cop and a Williams just didn’t go together. Everyone seemed to believe that but her. Even her own family and neighbors had commented on the cop who had dropped her off. They didn’t want them around, and Brynn had to assure them it wasn’t going to be a regular thing.

She plugged in her hair dryer and stood in front of her floor-length mirror to do her hair. She decided to wear it down and, pleased with how it looked, she started in on her makeup. She didn’t wear a lot. Just enough to accent her eyes and accentuate her lips. She was blessed with a good complexion and didn’t need much foundation either. When she finished, she sprayed on a unisex cologne, and slipped into her shirt, leaving it unbuttoned low enough to see winks of her bra. Then she stepped into her leather ankle boots and laced them up. She switched off her radio, turned off the iron and light, and breezed by Billy in the living room on the way out.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said, having already discussed her night out with him.

“Okay.” He waved at her, never taking his eyes off the television. “Have fun.”

“I will!” She was determined to, and she smiled as she pushed out the screen door and hurried down the steps to Holly who sat waiting in her old Nova.

“Come on, girl, let’s get outta here!” She revved the engine and laughed as Brynn climbed in. “Mm, you smell yummy.” She leaned over to kiss her, and Brynn pushed her away, causing more laughter. “Aw, come on, a kiss for the ride?” She backed up and drove up the dirt road.

“We’ll see,” Brynn said, buckling her lap belt. She smiled at Holly. “You look nice.”

“Why, thank you.” She smoothed down her black v-neck tee. Her blond hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her jeans were faded blue, almost white and skinny fit. She gave her a wink. “You look hot. I always liked that shirt.”

“Thanks. It’s about the only nice thing I’ve got left.”

“Well, girl, you sure can wear it. And hopefully not for long.”

Brynn laughed. “From your lips to God’s ears.” She needed to get a little wild, have crazy passionate sex with a like-minded woman. She could already imagine the release, over and over again.

She settled back and closed her eyes as Holly pulled on the highway. The car was loud and she could smell the gasoline. She loved it and ran her hands over the black vinyl seats. Holly had had the car since high school, and they’d made out more than once in the backseat.

“Thinking about old times?” Holly asked.

“Mm.”

Holly looked in the rearview mirror and changed lanes. “Why didn’t we ever get serious? We get along so well, and the sex, it wasn’t half bad.”

“We deserve better than half bad.”

Holly looked over at her. “I just worry I’m never gonna find anyone.”

“No one is better than someone who’s wrong. We’ve both learned that lesson.”

“Don’t you ever wonder if you’ll find the one?”

Brynn stared out the window into the twilight. “I think I already did.”

“What? Who?”

Brynn shook her head. “No one you know.”

“So why aren’t you with her? She in prison?”

Brynn laughed. “No. She…she’s a cop.”

Brynn watched as Holly’s jaw dropped. “Say what? No way. Not Brynn Williams. Jesus, ya’ll all hate the police. And after you went down for Bea, I thought you’d hate the whole lot of them.”

“I’ve never really had anything against the police,” Brynn said. “I got upset when they came around because they were usually bringing me a stoned Bea or a shoplifting Billy. I was never pissed at the cops.”

“Have you told anyone else? Because they’re gonna shit.”

Brynn looked down at her hands in defeat. She suddenly felt hollow inside, and the thought of having fun began to dissipate. “Her friend sort of let me know he didn’t approve either.”

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