Free Without Boundaries by Cj Azevedo Page B

everything from that night. He flexes his jaw and speaks through his teeth. “Where else? Where else are you bruised? What else did he do to you?”
Because this is the first time it’s been this bad this is also the first time I’ve had someone react so strongly and worry so much about me. Drea tells me how she feels about Hollister but she controls her anger in front of me because she still feels guilty. It makes my heart swell that he seems to care so much even though I just met him. It makes the connection I feel with him even stronger and brings tears to my eyes.
There are the ones up higher on my arms, but I don’t feel like I should mention those right now. I know it won’t solve anything; it will just upset him further, so I lie. “This is all there is,” I whisper to him and a few tears fall down my cheeks. He wipes them away and kisses my forehead before getting up and walking inside the house.
I can’t help but lay here and think how unfair life is to me. I’m not sure what I’ve done to earn such terrible karma, but it must have been a doozy, because the karma staring me down is a bitch. I have been in New York for years, nine to be exact. Not once did I find a guy worthy of an actual relationship, until Hollister that is. Looking back now I can see that moving things so quickly probably wasn’t the best idea. Now I’m stuck by obligation, fear, and my commitment to Hollister while this great guy just waltzes into my life. And there is not a damn thing I can do about it.
After I finish my cup of coffee, I curl up on the chair and cover myself with the lavish mink-like throw. I have so much to be crying for, and I do. Cry. I cry for the life I once had pre-relationship. I cry for my easy slow going life on my dad’s farm and the kind country boys I was raised with. I cry for my mom, because the pain I still feel from missing her immensely is absolutely consuming when I’m sad. I even let myself cry about the fact that I am convinced Talon is my soul mate and I fear I will have to go the rest of my life without getting the opportunity to be loved by him. I am so exhausted, even after the nap in the car; I just don’t feel like I have actually rested in forever. I can feel my eyes start to flutter. I feel the sensation of sleep tugging at me and I welcome it. I’m not sure what woke me, but I sit up to realize the sun is setting. I have been out here for hours. Talon never came back. At that realization I almost start crying again, but think better of it and regain my composure. As I go to collect the tray to clean up I see that it had already been cleared from the table between the chairs. He did come back out. I sighed contentedly at that thought.
Making my way downstairs I hear noises coming from the kitchen so I head that way. Nothing could have prepared me for what I see. Talon. Dressed to a ‘T’ washing the dishes. Sleeves rolled up, dish towel thrown over his shoulder and hands all soapy scrubbing away. Hot.
“Hey beautiful. Did you get enough rest?” And there is that sexy grin again. I can’t help but let the fluttering in my belly begin and my own (what I hope is sexy) grin appear.
“I did. You should have woken me though; I planned on cleaning up after myself. You look very nice by the way.”
“You looked so peaceful out there, there was no way I was waking you. And thank you. Are you hungry? I made dinner reservations for an hour from now if you would like to go.” He will never stop surprising me and I need to stop getting so dang happy about it when he does. This is not a date Bay, so chill out. Two friends having dinner out so we don’t have to cook, that’s all.
“ Sounds good to me, just let me go change and try to tame my hair.” I point to the messy bun on top of my head as I twist my face. I’m scared to look in the mirror after that little nap outside.
That makes him chuckle. “Alright, it’s just up the road so you have plenty of time.” I tell him “ok” and