Page 41 of The Perfect Deal
My mouth dropped open as I contemplated whether or not to tell her the truth. Most of the other staff members knew about my trip, but I hadn’t mentioned it to her, and most of the other staff members didn’t speak to her. Not because they didn’t like her. At least, I didn’t think that was why. It was more because she was the only one who wasn’t a coach—besides the receptionists, secretaries, and other office workers. Karrie was a manager but not a coach, and that was strange for this company.
I decided there was no reason to be too specific. “I’m going to hang out with my friend Landon,” I told her, hoping that was enough.
“Oh, is he the one that’s getting married?” she asked, unfolding her arms and leaning forward in her chair, her eyes wide.
“Yep, that’s him.” Why was she still here? I had too much to do.
“That’s great. Is he nice?”
I stared at her, reminding myself to be nice, before I said, “Yep. He is my best friend.” Before she could ask another question, I said, “Karrie, I’ve got a lot of work to do right now. Maybe we can catch up later?”
“Right. Sorry. Maybe we can eat lunch together?” She batted her eyelashes at me like there was something stuck in her eye.
I’d planned on eating a sandwich in the breakroom anyway, so I told her, “Sure. See you later.” Again, I pressed a smile to my lips, and when she bounced out of her chair, beaming, I wondered if I’d said something other than what I’d intended to say.
Once she was gone, I let out a deep breath and returned my attention to my list. I checked off the first few items in no time at all, and then I came to the fourth one, something I might’ve been able to address the night before, but I’d been afraid to.
Dinner with Liberty had been great. I’d missed her so much, and even though it was clear she was mad at me when she first saw me sitting on her brother’s couch, by the end of the night, she’d come around.
I still felt bad about the entire situation. Being away from her made my body physically hurt, particularly my heart. But I couldn’t do anything about our situation for now. All I could do was go back to what we’d been doing for years, stealing moments with one another behind his back, and relish the memories of what it had been like to finally claim her if only for a few minutes.
Picking up my phone, I contemplated calling her. I didn’t think she was ready for that yet, so I sent her a text instead. “Are you planning on coming back to camp for session two? A lot of the same kids will be there, and they were asking about you. They hope you will be there.”
It was foolish for me to want to sit there and stare at my phone until she responded. My list wasn’t getting any smaller while I waited. After a few seconds, I set it aside and went to the fifth item on my list, but when my phone buzzed, I nearly fell out of my chair trying to scoop it up.
The text wasn’t from Liberty. It was from my brother, William. All it said was, “Bro night? Your place?”
With my heart pounding in my chest, I shook my head. Of course, I was always down to spend the evening with my brothers. William, Jacob, and Elijah were all younger than me, and I hadn’t seen much of them this summer. William was around a lot more than the other two. Without hesitating, I typed back, “Sounds great,” and hit send, beginning to feel slightly calmer. I knew he wouldn’t ask a bunch of questions about what we’d eat and who would bring the drinks, etc. In fact, I probably wouldn’t hear from him again. He’d just show up, the other two in tow.
That was cool, though. I could use some time with just my brothers.
I went back to my tasks and had just settled into a rhythm when I realized my phone was buzzing again. I’d forgotten that I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Liberty until it registered that it could be her. Once again, my hands were shaking as I reached for it.
“That depends. Do I have to room with Snory McSnorison?”
I laughed aloud as I answered. “Officially? Yes. You’ll be in the same cabin with her. But realistically, I mean, I might be able to pull a few strings and find you another cabin to sleep in.” I might be crossing a line I couldn’t circle back on if she assumed that meant she could sleep in my bed, but there were other bunks in my room, after all.
Landon had spoken the other night about how he needed to relax. Maybe he would. I decided to just go with the flow and see what happened.
“I’m still thinking about it,” she said. “But officially? Probably.”
That response made me smile. Everything was better when Liberty was around.
Later that evening, my brothers and I were sitting around, eating pizza, drinking beer, and shooting the breeze. Elijah kept talking about a girl he’d met recently, and William was lamenting a woman he’d ended up breaking up with when she went off to college in another state. I tried to keep my mouth shut when it came to affairs of the heart. I had a feeling all of my brothers knew who I was in love with. After all, we’d lived together growing up, and they could see me pining for Liberty from afar as well as everyone else. Everyone except for Landon, apparently.
“How was camp?” Jacob asked me. “Anything exciting happen?”
I knew my face was turning red as I started to avoid his question. “For the most part, it was the same as usual,” I replied with a shrug.
Bending down to pick up another slice of cheese, Elijah said, “Didn’t Liberty Johnson go with you this time? To take pictures?”
“That’s right,” I said. “She was there.”
My brothers exchanged knowing grins. “And?” William asked. “How was that?”
“It was great. She’s an amazing photographer, and the kids loved her.” I tried to play it down, but I didn’t think my acting was believable.
“You didn’t get yourself into any trouble?” Jacob probed. “I mean, did anything happen Landon would want to murder you over if he knew about it?”