5. 5
5
Chastity’s rainbow-striped hair was a matted mess against her pillow. The faint memory of all that had been done to tangle it the night before brought a smile to her sleepy face.
Her body ached, remembering the stranger from the bar she’d gone home with, the man with abs you could scrub a load of laundry on. The man with the perfect jawline and the effortless tan who knew the perfect way to curl his fingers to get her to scream his name.
She remembered the faint taste of bourbon on his tongue, the feel of his calloused fingers manipulating her barbells, the sharp sting of his spankings…
She sat up and grabbed her laptop, wiping sleep from her eyes as it booted. Moments later, her fingertips hammered away at the keys, mind whirling with questions.
Now that she wasn’t in college, could she stay here in Jackson Hole, where so many people knew she was an Erikson?
Could she start fresh somewhere new, somewhere no one suspected she was a pastor’s daughter?
At the sound of the door opening, she tore her eyes away from the screen. The door cracked a few inches, and her mother silhouetted in the searing beam of light pouring in from the hall. Chastity looked at the time and grimaced.
1:03 p.m.
Fuck.
“Chastity? Honey, are you decent?” Maggie asked through the crack.
Chastity set the laptop aside. “Debatable.”
Maggie stepped in and smoothed her dress. “Honey, your father and I heard you sneak in at four in the morning. Got a great shot of you doing it on the Ring camera, too, in case you would like to try to deny it.”
“No need.” Chastity shrugged. “I thought I was an adult. I didn’t realize I had an imposed curfew.”
“You do. Same as before you went off to college.” Maggie stood in silence for a moment. “You must’ve been exhausted, seeing how you slept through both of today’s services.”
Chastity snorted and wiped her eye with the heel of her hand, smearing last night’s eye makeup to her temple. “Oh darn. Did I miss another ‘pray away the gay’ sermon? Or was Dad too busy telling horny teenagers to practice celibacy? Newsflash: kids in junior high are banging each other like bunnies.”
Maggie cocked her hip. “Stop talking about banging .”
“Speaking of banging, ” Chastity mocked, adding more emphasis to the word than needed, “You just walked in like that? What if I had a guy in here? Or better yet, a girl. ”
Pinching her eyes closed, trying to block out the mental picture her daughter had just gifted her, Maggie sneered, “Why do you say things like that? To upset me? Look around you, Chastity.”
Chastity scanned her messy room. Across from her bed were several shelves crowded with cluttered piles of books. All around them were medals, trophies, and framed awards, some for sports, others for clubs, Dean’s Lists, Honor Roll...
An animal encyclopedia sat on her nightstand, an award ribbon tucked inside to hold her place.
“Well, what do you see?” Maggie asked sharply.
With brutal honesty and a hint of sarcasm, Chastity shrugged. “An overachiever with a low self-esteem? A try-hard? A perfectionist burnout? Or were you looking for just one word? If so, the word is sad .”
Maggie probed her tongue against her cheek. “Sad? What do you have to be sad about?”
Chastity rolled her eyes and snatched up her laptop, returning her focus to the screen. “You’re right, Mother. You’re always right. Consider me one of God’s greatest tribulations for you. You know how He just loves to give people challenges. Poor you. Go commiserate with your buddy, Job.”
“When you’re done with your little pity party, and you’re ready to join the rest of civilized society, feel free to join us for our prayer meeting in the study.”
“Hard pass,” Chastity grumbled, scrolling through a search of available apartments.
Clenching her jaw, Maggie gripped the handle on the door. “I love you, Sweetheart, even if you are hellbent on making that as difficult as possible.”
She dragged the door closed. Chastity fumed in silence. She wanted to be in a different world . One less complicated and demanding.
She was ready to minimize the search, ready to escape into some trash reality TV show where the biggest problems people had were which SPF to wear sunbathing , but her fingers paused, and her eyes scanned the listing for a luxury apartment -- one she couldn’t afford -- on the opposite side of town. She wasn’t sure how she would make rent in such an expensive town, but staying in her childhood bedroom was not a viable option. Even if it seemed unattainable, she had to find a way to escape.