Page 63 of Deliverance

I smile at that. Bridgette hated horror movies. She put up with them for me, but she always ended up rolling her eyes at the dumb ones or burying herself into my neck for the scary ones. So obviously, I turned them on at every chance?—

Shit. No. We are not going down that road. We are not going to reminisce about her when I have a beautiful half naked woman in my bed.

“Me too.” I smile as I take a bite of my food.

Maryia does the same, her eyes going wide with shock.

“Holy fuck!”

“What?” I frown.

“This is amazing! Are you kidding me? You just made this? My god, you can hand out orgasms like it’s nothingandcook? I think I’m in love.” She laughs.

I snicker and shrug, brushing imaginary dust off my shoulder as we fall into a comfortable silence.

“So, tell me something,” Maryia says.

“Like what?”

She shrugs. “Anything.”

“Well, I’m a Gemini, so that should tell you everything you need to know about me.” I laugh.

“Yeah? I’m a Pisces!”

I’m not overly into the zodiac, but I know enough to know that Pisces can be a…complex sign.

“What else?” She smiles.

“I don’t know. What is there about me that you don’t already know?” I laugh. “No blood siblings, two stepsiblings. Mom’s a bitch, dad is dead. I make candles in my spare time, love horror movies. Uhm, yeah.” I shrug.

She gives me a sympathetic look.

“I’m sorry about your dad. That was recent, right?”

I wince and nod. “Not even a year.”

She reaches a hand out, resting her hand on my thigh sympathetically.

“That must have been so hard. Then for your mom to move on so quickly…”

Scoffing, I shake my head. “Yeah, she’s nothing if not opportunistic.”

“Did he leave anything behind for you?” she asks.

I tilt my head to the side as she explains.

“When my grandpa passed, he left me a few letters. They are my most prized possessions. When I miss him, I read them and I feel like I’m close to him.”

“I love that you have that.” I smile sadly. “No, though. He died of a heart attack in his sleep. It was very unexpected. I don’t have much left of him,” I say, wincing in memory of the tie my mother burned. “Just an inheritance I have no intention of touching.” I laugh bitterly.

Maryia nods sympathetically. “I get that. Like if you did, it’s like you’re monetizing his death.”

“Yeah, exactly,” I say, feeling truly seen for the first time in a long time.

I’m suddenly feeling so raw, so exposed, and she can clearly tell. Taking pity on me, she changes the subject and begins telling me all about her twin brothers, who are seven and apparently absolute hellions.

After we finish breakfast, we end up staying in bed watching the entire movie before moving on to the sequel. We don’t fuck around at all, which is a little surprising at first, but actually kinda nice. It’s nice just to be here with her, hanging out, and that she clearly doesn’t just want something from me. The whole thing just has me feeling…good, and I haven’t felt good in so long. She’s like a little ray of sunshine I didn’t know I needed.