Page 21 of Liberty

There. That was good.

I glanced back at her one more time, then headed out to start my day with the sun.

* * * * *

I came in from my morning surf. Libby was down in the lobby of the resort, sitting at a table beside the little cafe.

I smiled at her.

She didn’t smile back.

I approached. “Hey. Morning. How’re you?”

She looked up from her coffee and muffin, then back down. “Well, I didn’t expect to wake up alone this morning.”

Shit.

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

There was no way for me to get out of this except to apologize.

“Libby, um, I’m sorry.” I smiled weakly. “I should’ve stayed, you’re right. I’m kind of a creature of habit, and I didn’t think about it.”

She did it again—glanced up, then back down.

And then she sighed.

“I just, I dunno. Maybe last night was a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “I’m getting over a breakup. A pretty rough one. And Kylee kept saying I should have some fun, have a fling, but I’m not a fling kind of girl. And I was drunk, and…”

And she regretted it.

I hadn’t expected that to sting so much.

“Okay, so what do you need? From me?” I sat down at the table across from her.

Libby shrugged. “Space, I guess? Time? I just need to think about whether this is smart or not.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “I can do that. Like, no contact kind of space?”

“For now?” She bit her lip nervously, still avoiding my eye. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Whatever you need. I get it.”

“Okay.” She sniffled softly. “I’ll see you later.”

“You know where to find me.”

She nodded and grabbed her muffin and cup. I watched her go, taking her breakfast with her.

As she walked away, it hit me.

I was already falling for her.

And I might already be losing her.

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