Page 10 of Longing for Liberty
Jeremy stiffened next to me as I nodded.
“Yeah, it was a long day.”
“Let me rub your feet,” she insisted. “Free massage! You can’t pass that up. And Stanley, will you grab the cake?” He immediately stood.
“Oh, no, Rebecca, please. You worked all day, too. Just relax.” I tried to wave her off, but she was already pulling her chair in front of me.
“Just enjoy it, Libby,” Stanley said, setting the cake down on the table. “It’s heavenly.” Jeremy gave me a grin and nodded. I sighed in light annoyance at their tactics.
Rebecca was a certified massage therapist, and she often came to my work building to set up at the homes of the elite.
As far as I knew, she’d never had to massage one of the major government players, though.
I reached down for my shoes, slipping them off and dropping them beside me before sitting back.
“Just for a minute,” I told her, feeling guilty.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said.
The moment she applied pressure to the heel of my foot, an accidental moan rose from my throat, and my head fell back.
“Right?” Rebecca said as Jeremy chuckled, and Stanley let out a snort and high-pitched laugh. It was the gayest sound he’d ever made in front of us.
Rebecca’s hands stilled on my foot as she shot a glare at Stanley, whose face suddenly flushed with what appeared to be horror.
I wanted so badly to say, “It’s okay!” But the thought of audio bugs lived in the back of my mind.
We all went momentarily still. We’d never once voiced our suspicions about their sexuality for so many reasons, not even while outdoors away from possible audio bugs.
But I always wondered…if I could sense it, could others?
Leave it to Jeremy to save the day. “Man,” he said.
“Your laugh reminds me of my dad’s. He was a twenty-four-year Marine veteran, a quiet man, but when he laughed, it sounded like a crazy loud bark.
Used to scare us all to death. And the bark sound was always followed by these little yips .
Scariest man I knew, but his laugh…whew. ”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, smiling at the memory. “Gosh, I miss him. He taught me to make biscuits and gravy.”
Jeremy had grown up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia. His daddy was born and raised Appalachian and used to call me a Yank, even though Maryland never felt like true north to me.
Rebecca and Stanley seemed to relax again as Jeremy and I shared anecdotes.
“Well,” Stanley said, his voice seeming an octave lower than normal. “We better try this cake before it gets dark.”
I would be certain to hold back any moaning now, no matter how good the cake was.
“I feel so spoiled.” I ate cake while Rebecca massaged my feet and calves. Honestly, it felt beyond good. And the cake was just as amazing. “So good.” I nodded at Stanley, who nodded back. “I don’t condone your gambling, but…yeah.”
Everyone laughed, Stanley’s sounding much more masculine this time.
As I savored the taste of sugar and cream, I watched Rebecca concentrating, running her fingertips down the side of my tibia just hard enough to press into the muscle and release the tension.
Her movements were controlled and sensual, in the way humans got when they were in their element, showcasing their talent and just…
lost in it. I suddenly felt so fucking sad for Rebecca.
I worked hard to keep my hatred and rage tamped deep down inside of me, like a pile of phoenix ashes, but I felt it gaining a heartbeat right then as I thought about people having to pretend to be something they weren’t.
No. I quickly squashed the anger.
Those who gave in to their emotions were killed, along with anyone who’d associated closely with them. I’d long ago extinguished the flame of that phoenix to protect Jeremy.
All four of our phones suddenly blared, causing me to jump and yank my foot back from Rebecca. After a second, I realized it was just a government alert, and my heart started to calm.
“Time for some news,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound as annoyed as I felt. The other three looked just as thrilled.
We all picked up our phones and clicked the alerts.
President Roan’s baby face filled the screen, his perfect head of straight, dark blond hair combed to the side. I gritted my teeth, hating the sight of that fake boy-next-door grin, which had fooled us all for far too long.
“Hello, dear Statizens!” And his happy voice, ugh.
“I come to you this evening with the very best of news. We are officially one year crime-free in the worker neighborhoods of Community One! That’s right.
Gone are the days of needing to lock your doors for fear that vagrants will steal your hard-earned possessions or hurt your beautiful wives.
You, our people, together with this Tri-government and the strongest military in the world, have finally achieved what had once been impossible.
The State continues to be the strongest entity in the world!
Keep up the good work. Rest well, my people. And God bless.”
“God bless,” the rest of us whispered, shutting off our phones.
We sat there, all staring at different places, but not looking at one another. Stanley finally broke the tension.
“I just got really tired all of a sudden.” He stretched his long arms up high, and we all stood. I slipped my shoes back on.
“Thank you for coming over, brother,” Jeremy said, holding out his hand for a shake.
I patted Rebecca’s shoulder, earning myself a nod from her, and we saw them to the door.
Before Jeremy opened it, he said, “Oh. I almost forgot to tell you. Libby’s been given a new position. A major promotion.” My stomach sank as I thought about it, and the other two raised their eyebrows as Jeremy went on. “She’ll be serving our great Secretary Amos Fitzhugh.”
Their eyebrows both stayed up high as they froze, almost comically, before giving each other a look, and then blinking out of their shock.
“Wow! That’s wonderful, Libby,” Rebecca said stiffly. “Your hard work will be put to good use.”
“Oh, yes, definitely,” I said, flashing her a quick smile.
“Truly,” Stanley said in a soft voice. “What an honor.”
I caught Rebecca sharing a heavily laden glance with Jeremy that I couldn’t decipher.
“Yes, well. Good night, then,” Jeremy said, opening the door.
I watched them leave, and I wondered what that look was all about.
Were they just worried about me? I considered asking Jeremy to go back out to the garden, but that might appear suspicious, and it was already dusk.
Exhaustion hit me anyway, and all I wanted was to black out and not think for another second about what the future held.