Free Atonement by J. H. Cardwell Page A

like I had to tiptoe so I wouldn’t slide up. I was quickly regretting my decision of a cute little dress though. I’m sure the rest of the girls were too…except Chloe.
    “I feel like I need to fasten a clothes pin between my legs,” I said out loud…really loud since the music was blasting, although very tastefully.
    “Got one?” asked Maura. “I don’t know about this. We might need to find a corner and sit still.”
    “I mean this place is awesome, but this mirror floor is really freaking me out, you know. Maybe if we stay in a tight circle, and where it’s dark, we’ll be okay” I said laughing a little.
    “You girls are ridiculous. Let your hair down and forget what’s under your feet. I mean shit…you’ve got underwear on, don’t you! It’s no different than a bathing suit.” Chloe was crazy but truthful.
    We did, we forgot all about the floor, and had an amazing time. We literally danced the night away until 3am. Then we hung out at a corner bar and threw darts with a fun group of guys until 4am. Luckily, we had informed Mr. Kline that we wouldn’t need his services until a little bit ago, so he had only been waiting an hour. I felt bad about that, but my friends insisted he got paid a stealthy amount if John was in charge. I guess they were right.

    Morning, that is 9 am, came early. Luckily, I felt a little more refreshed and ready for coffee and for the day. Chloe was walking around dazed. “Oh, why does the sun have to come up so early?” she said sinking into the couch.
    We each had on a tank top and cotton short shorts, and hair in loose buns on top of our heads. It was the typical lazy look for sure. Thankfully, the rooms each came with an assortment of cereals and packaged muffins as well as milk cartons and sodas in the mini fridge. That was plenty for us.
    “Well, I didn’t tell y’all this yet, but John and his friends are here. It was supposed to be a secret…”
    “What?” Maura butted in. “I knew Harrison was acting funny. I can’t believe they’re here.” Maura jumped up and down squealing. She was so taken with Harrison. Her excitement was bittersweet for me.
    “Shit, you mean…Brett is coming too? I’m going to SO jump his bones,” seethed Chloe. I couldn’t decide if she was mad, or completely turned on.
    “I should have told you two, but he made me promise not to say anything. He likes a little element of surprise.” I was remembering the spa day and goodie bag he surprised me…us with last summer. Not to mention the late night visit to the hospital when I was recovering from being shot last year. He certainly kept things alive.
    “Well, you girls have fun…looks like I’ll be left out again. But I’m okay with that (she was remembering last year at Emerald Isle). I’ll just be on the phone more than normal…if I can keep up with the time change, to talk with Finn.” Elle was a little disappointed, but I think she was more jealous, not being able to spend time with her man.

told them John was coming alone this morning. He said he wanted to spend some alone time with me for a couple of hours before getting us all together. They seemed cool with that, although they all gave me the raised eyebrows for what that meant. I wasn’t sure either, I just knew, like I said, he liked surprises. He seemed very romantic. I was just hoping he would keep it toned down. I wasn’t ready for anything over the top in that area yet.
    Those thoughts of course sent me in the direction of Tate. I was still in a state of shock. I loved him so much. I felt like he threw us… our future away. Why? I couldn’t go there. I would get sucked in to that dark tunnel, and may not be able to come out this time. It was never ending despair for me. I needed a reprieve, or else, I didn’t think I would make it. God help me, I couldn’t believe I was here again.
    My rescue came at 10 AM in the form of a loud, engine revving Harley Davidson Street Glide. Oh boy…John! He pulled up