Relinquishing Liberty (22 page)

I grabbed his arm before giving it a light tug and pulled him down so that only he was within earshot. “Are you sure you can afford a place like this?”

Shayne smiled down at me. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.”

Yeah, easier said than done. It would probably cost me an entire paycheck to eat here. I opened my menu to glance at the prices and almost threw up in my mouth. The cheapest item on the menu was forty dollars! My eyes grew wide, and Shayne reached over to tilt my menu down.

“Liberty, stop worrying about the prices. Order whatever you like.”

Yeah right. I think I’ll just order a leaf of lettuce. What could that possibly cost? Five dollars?

The waitress came over to take our orders, and I felt self-conscious about ordering such an expensive meal. She stood there waiting for me speak, and Shayne nodded his head to let me know it was all right. I ended up deciding on the stuffed roast duck with a balsamic cherry glaze. I had always wanted to try duck and now was as good of time as any, considering I’d probably never let Shayne take me to a restaurant this posh again.

The waitress returned with our drinks, and I savored the earthy cabernet sauvignon she had suggested to pair with the duck. After setting my glass down, Shayne reached for my hand and leaned forward to brush his lips across my knuckles.

“I’m so glad you’re here with me tonight, Liberty. This was such a long week, and I couldn’t imagine spending another second away from you.”

“I know exactly how you feel. Maddie was ready to kick me out of the apartment last night because apparently I was driving her insane. It’s not my fault I couldn’t contain my excitement about going out tonight. I even made a paper chain to countdown the hours until I saw you.”

Shayne threw his head back laughing. “Oh, please tell me you’re not joking.”

I pulled out my cell phone to show him the picture I took as evidence after making it. “Oh I’m not joking. I wouldn’t lie about something as awesome as this.”

Shayne’s laughter was like music to my ears. It was light-hearted and playful, and it warmed my heart to see him so jovial. His father told me that he hadn’t seen him this happy in such a long time, and he attributed that to me being a part of his life.

Suddenly it hit me that there was a real purpose behind me leaving home and coming to Savannah. This wasn’t just a time for self-discovery or a time to heal. This wasn’t just about me. I finally found what had been missing in my life since the moment I took my first breath…my other half.

Shayne’s father told me that love grabs a hold of you when you least expect; that the key was to never let it go. Well come hell or high water, there was no way that I was letting Shayne slip away. I needed him just as much as he needed me. He was it for me.
Now why didn’t that scare me?

Shayne and I made small talk while waiting patiently for our food. I learned that his house had originally belonged to his parents and was used as their cottage in the summer months. After his mom died, his father couldn’t bring himself to go back there, although it housed so many beautiful memories shared with his family. To his father it stood as a painful reminder that his wife was no longer there to build new memories. He planned on selling it since it wasn’t much use just sitting there vacant for years, but Shayne begged and pleaded for him to keep it until he could buy it for himself. Sure enough, by Shayne’s nineteenth birthday, he had saved up enough money to buy the house from his father, but he ended up only charging him about half of what it was worth.

Our food arrived a few moments later, and it looked too pretty to eat. Shayne had ordered the prime rib, and it looked just as heavenly. The portions were enormous, and I knew there was no way we were going to be able to finish it all. We took turns casually picking at each other’s plates like an old married couple. It was probably inappropriate to do so in a restaurant like this, but we paid no attention to the dirty looks that were cast our way.

When we were stuffed beyond our limits, we decided to pass on dessert. I was afraid the zipper on my skirt would split open if I ate another bite, although I was sure Shayne wouldn’t mind.

Shayne asked for the check and slipped our waitress a few hundred-dollar bills, letting her know we were all set. Either our food cost a lot more than I had expected, or he was a very generous tipper. I shouldn’t really be surprised based on the tip he left me at “AJ’s.”

“Ready for the next portion of our date, sweetheart?”

Shayne stood to pull out my chair and took my hand in the crook of his arm. We made our way down a narrow hallway that lead to the other half of the building where the club was located. Shayne held the door open for me, and we were blasted with loud music and flashing lights. The room was packed with bodies pressed up against each other and swaying to the beat of the music.

Shayne said something to me, but I couldn’t hear over the noise. He placed his hand on my hip, drawing me closer to him and leaned in towards my ear. His breath was warm and tickled my neck, causing my body to shudder.

“Do you want to get a drink first?” I turned to face him and our noses were only about an inch apart. The close proximity caught me off guard and my words escaped me. I gave him a slight nod in response and the tips of our noses brushed against each other. Shayne placed his hand on my lower back and led me over to the bar on the far side of the room.

When we approached the bar, I felt Shayne hesitate a bit. I looked up, and the huge smile that he had been wearing all night had retreated for a split second, but it quickly resumed its position on his beautiful face when his eyes settled on mine. I became so entranced by his bewitching gaze. The colorful lights swirling around the room made his emerald eyes sparkle and come to life. I could stare into those heavenly green orbs all day.

A tall, slender, raven-haired woman came sauntering over and leaned against the counter, causing her already low-cut shirt to dip dangerously lower and threatened to expose her overly-abundant rack that must have cost her a fortune. It wasn’t until I witnessed the look she shot at Shayne, that I realized this was the reason his smiled had faltered a moment ago.

“Haven’t seen you around in a while, Shayne. Where have you been hiding your sexy ass?”

Who the hell does this bitch think she is talking to him like that? Does she not see me standing here?
Oh I already knew I wasn’t going to like her. She looked like she was ready to jump over the bar and pounce on Shayne. Her tongue traced over her lips seductively, and she never took her come-hither stare off of him.
Okay, Liberty, time to step up your game!

I pressed my body into Shayne’s side and ran my fingers up his arm until my hand slinked around his neck and burrowed into his soft, silky hair. I gave him a gentle tug, pulling him down to meet my lips and seizing his mouth possessively. Normally I wasn’t big on PDA, but with Shayne I just couldn’t help myself. Not to mention I was trying to get my point across to Ms. Tits McGee.

After disengaging from our lustful kiss, Shayne was beaming with an irresistibly sexy grin, and I knew that I had won this round. I looked over at the skank who was now smirking at me with her arms crossed over her chest, pushing up her fake-ass tits that were somehow attempting to defy gravity. Apparently she found my little display of affection amusing.

“So who’s your friend, baby?” I didn’t usually use endearing names with Shayne, but this bitch didn’t know that.

“This is Vanessa; we’re…old friends.” He rolled his eyes at his own declaration.

“Yeah…
friends
.” I didn’t like Vanessa’s snarky tone one bit. Something was telling me that they had been more than just
friends
. “So is this your new flavor of the week, Shayne?”

She gave me a quick once over and snickered.

“No, Vanessa.” Shayne wrapped his arm around my waist, gripping my hip securely.
Now who was showing their possessive side?
“I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Liberty.”

As Shayne spoke to Vanessa, he focused all of his attention on me, his eyes never leaving mine. I figured I’d be the bigger man…or woman in this case…and extended my hand to shake hers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Vanessa.” I hissed her name through my teeth.

Vanessa threw her head back, roaring in laughter, while trying to grip the bar to keep herself from falling over. “Oh, this is just fucking precious. Shayne-fucking-Thompson has a girlfriend. So what happened? Did you knock her up? How did she manage to lock you down?”

My mouth gaped wide at her insinuation.
Oh no, she didn’t!

“Vanessa, I don’t want any trouble tonight. Can you please just get us our drinks, and we’ll get out of your way?”

I hadn’t the slightest idea how Shayne was able to keep his composure. My blood was literally boiling. I was ready to tackle her to the ground and rip that trampy-ass weave straight out of her scalp. I didn’t know what the hell Shayne could have ever possibly seen in her, even if she was just a friend.

I shook my head and walked over to an empty table that was as far from Vanessa as possible. That gave me a chance to cool off while Shayne ordered our drinks. He looked like he was arguing with her, but I didn’t want to get in the middle of it.
Trust me, it would not have ended well.
Shayne returned with a beer in one hand and a martini in the other.

“Here you go, sweetheart. I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I went on a whim and got you a s’mores martini.” He winked at me knowing I would love it. I brought it up to my lips, but paused second-guessing the contents of my drink.

“She didn’t spit in it, did she?” I scrunched my nose up in disgust.

“No. I thought of that, so I kept my eye on her while she was making it. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t let any part of that nasty bitch come into contact with you.”

I smiled at him before taking a sip. It really was delicious. By the time I had drained it, my bladder was on the verge of bursting. I hated using public bathrooms; it had always been a weird phobia of mine. But after two glasses of wine with dinner and now the martini, I didn’t have much of a choice.

“I’m just going to head to the little girls room. I’ll be right back.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” He pushed back his chair to stand and came around to my side of the table. I could see the concern in his eyes, like he was afraid for me to go anywhere alone…like I was going to disappear on him.

I chuckled at the thought of Shayne coming into the ladies room with me and holding my hand like a little kid while I went. Now if we were going in there for another reason…well, that would have been a whole different story.
Hmm, it was a pretty tempting idea...

“I’m pretty sure I can manage on my own, Shayne.” I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. The restrooms were all the way in the back, so I had to maneuver through the crowded dance floor. There was no one in the restroom, and I was so thankful because I tend to get bladder shy. Somehow I always end up with a Chatty Kathy in the stall next to me, forcing me to leave the bathroom before I even had a chance to go.

When I came out of my stall, there was someone at the only sink available, so I waited for her to finish up. When she turned around, I saw that it was Vanessa and immediately regretted coming to the bathroom alone.
Was this why Shayne seemed so worried about me going off on my own? Did he know that she would try to corner me?

I moved around her to get to the sink and decided it was safer to just ignore her and not say anything at all. I kept my eyes down, knowing that if I made eye contact with her it would just enrage me even more. I was usually a pretty accepting person, but I couldn’t stand girls like her…always catty and so quick to judge. And heaven forbid you were dating the guy that they were interested in; that automatically made you public enemy number one.

“So…” I knew I wouldn’t get out of here without her trying to say
something
to me.

“I think it’s sweet that Shayne and you are dating.” She paused, checking herself in the mirror and adding another layer of lip-gloss. “Oh, and sorry about the whole ‘did he knock you up’ comment. I just couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that he was
actually
in a relationship. Figured you had to have done something drastic to sink your claws in him. I mean, come on. Shayne Thompson doesn’t do relationships. Like, ever.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her. “I’m quite aware of Shayne’s history. He’s been completely up front and honest with me from the very beginning. I know all about his past hookups.” I moved in a little closer to her so she knew I meant business. “You see, that is what happens when you have a relationship based on trust and honesty. But I’m sure you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Oh honey, you don’t have a fucking clue, do you? That’s because you’re too naïve to see that Shayne hasn’t been honest with you at all. I’ve known him for years, and what I’ve learned is that Shayne will lie through his teeth to get what he wants, especially if he’s trying to score a little pussy.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because Shayne and I have a little…understanding. When Shayne and I first got together, I knew he wasn’t looking for anything serious. I wasn’t either. Why bother when you know you’re just going to get your heart broken in the end? Look, you seem like a sweet girl. I just thought, from one girl to another, that I should warn you about him. I guarantee he will break your heart. It’s not a question of
if
, but
when
.”

“Obviously you have yourself so convinced that our relationship is going to crash and burn. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that is
not
going to happen. We both really care about each other and want to make this work. Besides, Shayne has done a complete 180 since high school. He’s not sleeping with a different girl every night—”

Vanessa cut me off before I could finish. “I know, sweetie…that’s because he’s been sleeping with me. We never stopped. Usually we’ll hook up for a few weeks on and off, but no matter what, he always comes crawling back. He enjoys a good fuck just as much as I do. Like I said, we have an
understanding
.”