Page 3 of Liberty

“Oh, same.” She laughed, starting down the aisle again.

We found a spot close to the beach. We grabbed some towels from the back seat and carried them down to the shore. There were a few boats out on the water, likely fishing; gulls swarmed over them, diving into the water and swooping back up.

The sky started to lighten.

I leaned back on my towel with a sigh.

It was comfortably cool out still, and there was nobody else on the beach.

I wished it would stay this quiet the whole time, but there was no way. It was the week of the Fourth; people would be packing the beach and partying all night.

But it would all be distracting.

Maybe Kylee was right. Maybe this would be good for me.

We didn’t talk for a while, just enjoying the quiet, the cool sand, the colors of the sky over the ocean. I don’t know how much time passed. It was almost meditative, listening to the waves and the birds.

It was so relaxing that it took me a second to realize Kylee was talking to me.

“What?” I looked toward her.

“There’s some people surfing, look.” She pointed toward the water.

I followed her gesture. A group of guys, five of them, were taking turns paddling out into the water to catch waves back in toward the shore. I’d never actually seen people surf before, only on TV, and I found myself watching with interest.

They all looked like they were good at it. Not that I really knew, but still. It was fun to watch, different from anything I’d seen before.

As the sun came up, they all started to pick up their boards, walking up the beach. Kylee sat up a little straighter, playing with her hair.

She was definitely on the lookout for a fling.

I just glanced toward them, still in my hoodie and leggings from traveling, and tried to be as invisible as possible.

But one of the guys paused. He looked at us, smiling.

He was tall, tan, and dark-haired. Kind of rugged-looking. Strong.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His board shorts fit him snugly, accentuating his firm ass, and apparently a pretty big package up front. I bit my bottom lip as he locked eyes with me, smiled, nodded his head, then kept walking.

Kylee turned to me. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “He was checking you out.”

“What? No. He was just being nice.”

“He was looking, Libby. Maybe he’s your fling.”

“I’m not—I don’t—I don’t know.”

She sighed and shook her head. “C’mon. Let’s go get checked in. I called ahead for early check-in while you were sleeping, so it should be ready.”

“Perfect.”

* * * * *

Our room was stunning. Kylee had gotten us a view of the ocean, and we were up pretty high. I felt like I could see for miles over the Gulf. The water was clear and blue, and the beach looked gorgeous.

“We should go lie in the sun!” Kylee smiled, dropping her suitcase on one of the queen-sized beds.

I smiled. “That sounds good.” But then I paused, looking around. “Can you turn the air on, it’s a bit hot in here.”

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