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.
