Free Without Boundaries by Cj Azevedo Page A

smirking. I wonder if he really thought he had to bribe me to sit out on a balcony, alone, with him, while looking out at a magnificent view. So I smile coyly to play along.
“Well, since you brought my coffee…” I let my voice trail off as I walk outside. My eyes widen as I take in all that he has done in the short time I was in that shower. He has throw blankets draped over the back of Adirondack chairs next to one another. There is a round white wood table in between the two chairs with a tray of two mugs of coffee, grapes, small squares of cheese, some wheat crackers, and a kitchen timer. He has a fire burning in a wrought iron fire pit situated just at the end of our chairs. The railing at the end of the balcony is low so you can see the water while lying in the chairs. It is amazing.
Talon is chuckling behind me as I make my way to a chair and one of those coffees.
“I set the timer so you can check your bread when it’s ready.” He gestures for me to sit as he does the same.
“Thank you. Talon, I can’t believe you did all of this, you really didn’t have to. I would have been good with just the coffee.”
“I’m sure you would have been, but you look like you could use something extra today.”
“I don’t know even know what to say to that. It’s so thoughtful, I don’t deserve this.” I know as soon as it comes out of my mouth that I shouldn’t have said it but it is too late to take back now. I can see his whole demeanor change. Dammit. He takes a long deep breath and then spins around to face me.
“Bailey, you deserve way more than you realize.” He removes his eyes from me but I can tell he’s not done so I stay silent. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to hear what’s coming next, but I did intrude on his alone time so the least I can do is hear out this beautiful man. “I know you don’t want to talk about what happened to you, but I need you to tell me. I was going to try and let it go, but I can’t. I can’t do that. Please trust me Bay, I want to help you in any way that I can.” He looks so stressed. This is exactly why I chose not to confide in anyone about my and Hollister’s relationship. I hate to think that I could bring any type of upset into the lives of the people I care about.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just don’t want to bring you into my life that I don’t even understand. I can’t explain it, any of it. So there just isn’t much to tell.” I suck down as much coffee as I can, like it’s my life preserver.
“What do you mean you don’t even understand your life? Does this happen all the time?” He’s angry. His brow is furrowed and he’s running his hand through his hair repeatedly. I don’t know what makes me do it, but I need to tell him all about me. Things I haven’t told even Cheyenne or Drea.
“Yes and no. What you see today is a first. My relationship with Hollister was pretty perfect in the beginning, but as soon as I moved in with him I realized that he has issues. He was able to keep them from me before I was with him all of the time. Now I’m just confused and am not sure what to do. I know how stupid and naïve I must look to you by not having left him yet, but it’s more complicated than just packing a bag.”
“No, it’s not; it’s not more complicated than that Bay. Either you pack or you don’t, but the end result should be you not ever going back there.” He’s pacing behind me and I choose to keep looking out at the water, I don’t want to see what this is doing to him. I know he can’t possibly understand where I’m coming from because he would never even think about laying a hand on a woman.
“Jesus, Bailey,” he says exasperated and panicked looking, squatting down in front of me as he moves back the sleeve to my hoodie. I guess he saw the bruise around my wrist when I reached up to fix my hair. I’m not even sure how the bruises got around my wrists. I know who put them there, but I can’t remember