My hand slid down my stomach, and I imagined it was his long fingers delving between my legs and slipping over my clit. A shiver ran through me, and I closed my eyes. A quick circle over that bundle of nerves brought back everything that had built up inside me while Eoin and I had been kissing, when his hands had been on me.
I let those feelings, those memories, that pressure, bubble up, fill me with more and more pleasure until I finally exploded, gasping his name as I came. My breath came in ragged gasps, and I leaned my forehead against the wall, waiting for my body to come back to itself.
Maybe I’d actually be able to sleep tonight.
Seven
Aline
I woke up with a smile on my face and lazily stretched my arms above my head. Martina had to open the boutique today, so I already knew that I was the only one in the apartment. She never made demands of me, and she wasn’t a noisy roommate, but the entire time I’d been here, I’d felt the need to be up and moving around if she was. Today, though, I could take my time because I didn’t go back to work until tomorrow.
The only thing I had to do today was call my parents. I’d put it off long enough. I knew staying out of touch was causing them stress, and I hated it, but keeping quiet for the past week was the only way I’d been able to think of to get through to them that I was serious. I’d also needed the time to get my head together and figure out what I wanted to say when I did finally talk to them.
Now, I was as ready as I’d ever be.
Well, I would be, once I had breakfast.
I considered procrastinating a little longer after I’d finished eating, but I forced myself to take care of my dishes and then made the call. I used my old phone since my parents never answered numbers they didn’t recognize, but I deleted all the voicemails and texts I’d gotten while I’d kept it off unheard and unread.
They’d all been from my parents and Freedom, anyway.
“Aline?!” Mom’s voice was frantic, and a stab of guilt shot through me.
I couldn’t let that distract me or make me reconsider what I had to say. “Hi, Mom. Is Dad nearby? I’d like to talk to you both at the same time.”
“Oh, yes, just a minute.”
I could hear her calling for my dad, and then, about half a minute later, Mom put the call on speaker. I imagined they were sitting in the front room, enjoying their usual after-breakfast cups of tea and coffee.
“We’re both here, dear,” Mom said finally.
“What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”
Dad’s questions had me closing my eyes and counting to five. Of course, that would be exactly where his mind went. Another time, I could’ve written it off as completely natural concern, but taken in context, it was just another part of the whole problem.
“I’m not in trouble,” I said calmly. “I needed time to think before we talked, and we need to talk.”
“Is Freedom with you?” Mom asked.
Another count of five.
“No, Mom. I’m staying with Martina, and I haven’t talked to Freedom yet.”
“Martina? Martina Chavez?” Mom sounded surprised.
I wondered if that surprise was because they hadn’t thought to reach out to her or if they hadn’t realized that Martina and I had maintained our friendship this long. They’d always liked her, so it wasn’t an issue of that, but I suspected they’d never really given any thought or consideration to any relationships I’d formed on my own.
“Yes. I’m staying in her guestroom right now.” My stomach churned as I forced myself to bring up the main reason I’d called rather than just sending a text to let them know I was okay. “We need to talk about why I left, and this isn’t easy for me, but it needs to be said.”
There was a long pause, and I imagined them looking at each other in concern. Dad finally broke the silence. “All right. We’re listening.”
My teeth grated together. I wished I could be certain that it was only my imagination that he was speaking with the same indulgent tone he’d used when I was a child, but there was a good chance that it wasn’t in my head.
“I love you both, I want you to know that. You’ve always given me everything I needed, and you’ve always had my best interests at heart.” Emotion threatened to choke me, but I swallowed it down. “But I’ve been suffocating slowly. I thought when I turned eighteen, the same age Freedom was when she went to college, things would change, that you’d start treating me like an adult. And I thought the same thing when I turned twenty-one. Then again when I graduated from college. But all of you still treat me like a child. Like I can’t take care of myself.”
I took a slow breath and released it.
Before either of them could speak, I plowed on. “And part of it is my fault. I never told you how I felt. I just let it happen. Maybe I thought everything would magically straighten out on its own. Maybe a part of me liked not having to think about adult issues. Either way, this isn’t all on any of you.”
“We-we never knew.” Mom’s voice didn’t sound as steady as it normally did. “We just want you to be safe.”
“I know.” I paced over to the window. “And I should’ve brought it up sooner. This never should’ve come out the way it did. That’s on me. But Freedom completely overstepped her bounds when she interfered in my private life.”
I didn’t explain that it wasn’t the first time she’d put herself between Eoin and me. I also didn’t share that she’d gone to him after I’d left to blame him for me walking out. Those were things that I’d need to discuss with her at some point. But not any time soon. I wasn’t even close to being ready for that discussion.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Mom said quietly. “We’ve only ever wanted to protect you. And that’s not an excuse. We should have done better.”
“We will do better,” Dad said. “I just ask that you be patient with us. It’s not an easy thing, letting a child go.”
I swallowed hard around the lump forming in my throat. I’d hoped that the conversation would go well, but I honestly hadn’t known how my parents would react to all I was feeling.
“Of course.” Relief wrapped itself around me like a warm blanket. This was going better than I’d expected. “I know you’ve always had my best interest at heart, and the last thing I want to do is cause you more stress, especially after what I put you through with the kidnapping and–”
“You were not responsible for what happened.” Dad’s voice was sharp. “Do not take that on yourself.”
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat, blinking back some unexpected tears. “Thank you for saying that and for listening to me. Seeing where I’m coming from.”
After a few seconds of silence, Mom asked, “Will you be coming home for Christmas?”
I appreciated that she’d only asked about the holidays, not if I’d come back now that we’d talked, but I wasn’t ready to promise anything yet. “Probably.”
“And your sister?” The hesitation in Dad’s voice was clear.
“I don’t want her to worry. You can tell her that I talked to you and that I’m okay, but I don’t want her knowing where I am.” I hated myself for saying it, but it was the truth. “I don’t know if she’ll respect my wishes to give me space.”