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Brazen
“How long is your lease at the house?” It’s something that’s been on my mind.
Noah adjusts her bikini bottom as she takes her last step out of the pool and squeezes the water from her hair before she answers me, “It’s month to month, but we haven’t talked about it since I moved in. Everything just kind of worked and fit after I got there. So, I think we’ve all just assumed I would stick around.”
I sit on a lounge chair by my pool in my backyard, and Noah walks toward me. She pinches the top of my knee before she sits to rest between my legs.
“I’ll have interesting tan lines from this position,” I tell her with a laugh.
“I’m okay with that.” She relaxes back and enjoys the sun against her face.
“Me, too.” I play with her wet hair, which still smells like cake mix even though she just got out of the pool. “You didn’t tell Sunday about the flowers, did you?”
“No, Madison and I agreed not to tell her, which Benson was okay with, too.” She looks at me, squinting against the harsh light. “Are you worried about her?”
“No, not really.” Why am I lying? “Okay, maybe yeah, but Sunday has that fighter quality. I’m more worried about her losing that over anything else. Other than the business, Sunday has been coasting for a long time. It’s all she’s been able to do. I just want her to find that free spirit she used to have.”
“You’re sweet when you worry,” she says, biting her lip. “I’m lucky to have found you.”
“Yeah? Back at ya.”
She really has no idea how true that is. Everything is about to change. I never saw this coming. The rest of my life will be totally different than I imagined it without Sunday being part of it.
“Can I talk to you about something?”
“Of course.”
Noah grabs the sunscreen from the table beside us, and I take it from her hands. I need the distraction, and rubbing lotion onto her skin will help me get through this conversation.
“This can’t leave my house. If Matt found out, it would ruin everything.”
“Your secrets are mine.”
I do already know that.
“In this case, Sunday’s secrets are ours.”
Some sort of understanding washes over her, and she grows more serious. Carefully, she turns on the lounger, settles her legs over my thighs, and faces me. “I’m listening.”
“Sunday is leaving. She’s found someone to help her start a new life. She’s going to disappear, and we won’t know where she is.”
“Oh, Brazen. I’m sorry.” Noah takes both my hands in hers. “Is Sunday okay?”
“She has mixed feelings about it. I don’t think she’s happy that things have come to this. She has to leave the business she’s helped build, me, us, my mom, and everything she’s ever known, but I think she has some relief, knowing she’s going to escape her ex.”
“And are you okay?” Her fingers squeeze mine.
“I can’t take this decision away from her. As much as I don’t want her to go, I can’t ask her to stay. She can’t truly live her life here the way she wants to with Matt always looming over her.”
“What about their divorce? Won’t Sunday always be connected to him, no matter what?”
“With her new identity, Sunday will probably never be able to marry someone again since she’s still married to Matt, but at this point, that sacrifice outweighs the way things are for her now. Here, she can’t do anything, and once she leaves, there will still be sacrifices, but she’ll have her safety. Even if she can’t ever make it legal, I hope she finds someone who loves her. It just sucks that we won’t be part of it when she does.”
“It’ll be okay. I’m here for you, for both of you. Whatever you need.”
I know she is, and I can’t keep how I feel inside any longer.
This woman deserves all of me.
