Page 22 of Liberty

Maybe it would work out. Maybe she’d figure it out and we could try again.

I could hope, anyway.

Chapter Nine

Libby

When I got back to the room, still in clothes from last night, Kylee was awake. She sat at the table on the balcony, eating French toast from the room service. She smiled when she saw me, but her grin faded fast. “Libby? Are you okay?”

I shrugged, going to sit with her. “I dunno.”

“What’s wrong?”

I sighed. “Last night was great, but now I’m not sure it was smart.”

I told her what had happened. Not in detail, but still—the connection we’d had, the conversation, the wine. The sex. I knew I was blushing as I talked about that, but she just listened, didn’t comment or even smile.

“I just feel stupid,” I finished. “And I said I wasn’t going to do it, but I did.”

She hesitated, then reached across the table to take my hand. “Libby, are you, like…having feelings?”

Shit.

She’d said it.

And she was right.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and sniffled.

“Oh—oh, honey, no.” Kylee got up and came around the table, hugging me. “Okay. Okay. Maybe it’s time to pull back. Maybe I was wrong to push you.”

“I just…I really like him. He’s smart and fun and handsome. And he wants to teach me how to surf, and I really like him!”

“Okay, but Libby, you don’t need to bounce from Ryan to a new relationship.”

But I wanted to.

“I’m not the kind of girl who can do flings, Kylee. I can’t do something like this with no emotions.”

She nodded and hugged me tighter. “Okay, then we’ll make the rest of the trip girl-time, all right? No boys allowed. We can go to the spa later. Massages and facials and all that.”

I nodded. That sounded good. “But I want a nap now.”

“Okay. You go nap. I’m gonna go down to the pool for a while, but I’ll be close. Are you okay alone?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” She smiled and hugged me one more time. “Cry it out. You’ll feel better if you do.”

She was right. I’d feel better if I cried. But I was so tired of crying over men. I was tired of feeling heartbroken and lost and miserable.

I just wanted to be loved.

That didn’t seem like an unreasonable thing to want.

* * * * *

It took me a full day to get my thoughts together. I spent that time reading on the balcony, mostly, although Kylee and I did take our spa day. I felt amazing after that, relaxed and radiant.

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