Chapter 24
LIZA
Istudied myself in the mirror before work, my eyes widening in shock. My skin looked better than ever. I leaned in closer, peering at my complexion. There wasn’t a blemish or pore or spot of red chafed or dry skin in sight.
It had been two days since I’d lost my virginity, and the effects had been incredible.
Had I known it would be like this, I would’ve done it sooner.
I’d felt different from the morning after.
Not just the cliché mental shift of welcome to womanhood, but a peculiar sensation, like my body was strengthening and healing whatever was wrong.
I liked it. It was a sensation I wouldn’t have minded getting used to.
Physically and emotionally, something inside of me had shifted. I felt amazing. My skin practically glowed, and my eyes were brighter.
As I walked into my client’s house, I experienced a boost of confidence that could only have been a result of my night with Ty. Nothing else in my life had changed. Even my spine felt straighter as I held my head high and entered the extravagant home.
“Good morning!” I almost didn’t recognize the sing-song voice that left my mouth when I greeted my kitchen staff.
Cassidy poked her head around the stainless-steel refrigerator door and stared at me as I walked by and snapped her ass with a dish towel.
She chuckled. “You sure have a lot of pep in your step for such an early hour.”
“It’s early? I didn’t notice.” Grinning, I tied an apron around my waist. “A lot of pep, huh? Oh, yeah. Maybe I do.”
She shut the door and looked me up and down, smirking at me. “Something is different about you.”
I hadn’t thought anyone would be able to tell, but I supposed if I could see it, they would, too. I stopped tying the apron strings and hoped she wouldn’t somehow pick up on the fact that Ty and I had fucked.
She was an employee, and I was the boss. We had our roles to play and jobs to do, and I didn’t want to discuss all of the details with her. Besides, I wanted to keep those intimate moments between Ty and me.
Cassidy smiled warmly. “I can’t put my finger on it, but whatever it is, you should do it more often. It looks good on you.”
Do it more often. I giggled. “Maybe my happy disposition will rub off on everyone else.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the staff who were chopping and dicing. “Doubtful.”
The morning flew by as we prepped ingredients and cooked a delicious breakfast for my clients. Cassidy and I chatted while we worked, and by the time I was finished, I had a feeling that something good and pure had come into my life.
Thanks to Ty, I felt womanlier than ever before, and it showed in the way I carried myself at work and how I interacted with others. His touch had given me a newfound sense of confidence and power, but also something else I couldn’t quite place.
On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up ingredients for a client later in the week. One of the spices I needed was hard to find, so I’d popped into multiple stores in hopes of finding it.
I snatched a basket from the floor and scoured the seasoning aisle. An elderly couple stopped next to me, their cart clearing me by only an inch.
“Hello, dear.” The woman smiled kindly, and her husband nodded.
I racked my brain, trying to place their faces, but after a few minutes, I gave up, confident I’d never seen them before in my life.
“Good afternoon.” I smiled and went back to searching for the specific spice as the couple moved on.
They didn’t speak to anyone else. Odd. I’d taken them to be one of those lonely couples who used their time at the grocery store to socialize, but they didn’t say a word to the other patrons in the store.
It was a bust. The specific spice I needed was nowhere to be found.
Not wanting the trip to be a waste, I decided to grab a few non-perishable items I needed at home.
Each person I passed went out of their way to make eye contact with me and smile.
Some said hello while others nodded in my direction.
Taking a deep breath, I lifted my chin and smiled back at them. All of a sudden, I was approachable, and it certainly hadn’t always been this way. It was almost like I had an aura of light around me that drew people in.
Was this the power of love and intimacy? Or had I simply discovered something new about myself?
Either way, it was nice to be considered a friendly face.
After exchanging pleasantries with the teenage cashier, I carried my groceries to the car.
I stowed everything in my trunk and glanced at my watch.
It was still early enough to visit my parents.
I hadn’t seen them since our dinner with Ty, and I might have been going through a little Mom-withdrawal.
In any case, I wanted to check in on them.
As soon as I walked through the door, Mom took me by both hands. Her brow furrowed when she leaned in, staring at my face from every angle. Without her saying a word, I could tell she was worried about something.
Dad popped his head out from the newspaper he’d been reading and scowled. The newspaper slipped out of his hands as he stared at me.
What the hell? Why were they acting like that?
“Something’s different about you, Aliza.” Dad took up position next to Mom.
Shit. Everyone in the world knew that when a parent used their child’s full name, it meant the child was in trouble.
I forced myself to smile. No way did I want to tell them why things had changed. “I’m glad you noticed because I feel different, but not in a bad way.” I pulled my hands out of my mother’s death grip.
“In what way?” Mom asked, worry etched on her forehead, the corner of her eyes, and around her mouth.
“Free. I feel free, Mom.” I took a step back and reached over my head, stretching languidly.
My parents shared a look of concern, but neither of them pushed for more information, instead turning the conversation to more mundane things.
I smiled to myself as Mom and Dad chattered on and on about the new flowers they’d planted in the garden beds.
The strain from earlier had disappeared, and my parents even seemed glad that I’d found happiness, no matter the reason.
I wasn’t exactly sure what had caused the sensations of peace and confidence, although I had a feeling it had a lot to do with Ty.
“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Mom’s question broke through my train of thought. “I’ve got a roast cooking in the crockpot, and you could help me bake those rolls you love with the garlic and cheddar seasoning.”
“That sounds delicious, Mom.” Some of my best recipes came from her.
“But I’m pretty tired. I still need to stop by the gas station and fill my car up.
” I turned to Dad. “The flowers look fantastic, by the way. I noticed them as soon as I pulled into the driveway.” I sighed.
“I mostly just wanted to stop by and check in with you. Make sure you’re doing okay. ”
Dad beamed with pride over his garden and squeezed my shoulder. “Take care of yourself, okay?”
As I made to open the door, Mom stopped me. “Liza? If there was something going on, you would tell us, right?”
“Of course.” It wasn’t often that I didn’t tell my mother the truth, but this was a lie. Only in the sense that there were some things I would never be able to talk about with my parents.
No way in hell was I ever going to tell them I’d finally lost my virginity and that the sex had been pretty fucking extraordinary.
However, if I had concerns about the other areas of my life, I would come to them in a heartbeat.
Right now, though, my life seemed to be moving in a positive trajectory.
I smiled back at her. This wasn’t a lie that would hurt anyone. Not that I knew of, anyway.
After filling my tank at the gas station, I went inside to pay. I handed the cashier the exact change.
“Thank you so much, Miss. Have a wonderful evening.” It seemed as if everyone in town was in a better mood because I’d got laid. I laughed aloud at the thought and shook my head as I walked out of the station toward my car.
I stopped in the middle of the parking lot.
Stone Black stood at the rear of my car, his hip resting against the trunk, arms crossed over the wide expanse of his chest. I hesitated, not sure whether I should approach him after the scene at the ice cream shop.
Although, I couldn’t just stand here all day, and I couldn’t get home by ignoring him.
Ty hadn’t told me what happened between him and Stone, and I hadn’t felt like it was my place to ask about it. I assumed that, as the future alpha, he’d dealt with all kinds of high-stress situations in the past. I figured Stone’s issues were business-related since they’d talked in private.
But now he was leaning against my car. It was very odd for us to constantly be running into each other.
I couldn’t see a reason for it. If he had business with Ty, I wasn’t a part of it, but he had no business with me, and it begged the question of whether or not he had followed me here.
I couldn’t imagine what he wanted with me.
“Hello, Liza.” Stone stood up straight and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. A slow smile slid across his face. He was handsome enough, but not my type. I had Ty. “You’re waking up.”
I cocked my head to the side. I really hated people who talked in riddles and assumed the rest of the world was either on the same page or beneath them because they didn’t understand. I sighed. “Excuse me?”
“I hate that it took someone like Tyson Keller to make it happen, but I can look past that.” He took a step closer to me, and I backed up a step. I didn’t want him near me.
I stared at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”