"Deal." Vanessa stuck out her hand, and I shook it.
It felt like I was making a deal with the devil, but what choice did I have? I would take what I could, at the moment, until I could build her trust.
Vanessa started to gather up our plates and the leftover food, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Let me get that. You just focus on relaxing."
I picked up the stack she made and walked back to the kitchen. "What do you think about watching a movie tonight?" I hollered as I loaded the dishwasher.
"That depends," Vanessa was quick to answer. "Do I get to choose the movie?"
I snickered at the thought of her choosing what we were going to watch. I was interested to see what kind of movies she liked.
"I suppose I could be convinced to allow that."
Walking back into the living room, I found Vanessa tucked into the corner of the couch with pillows all around her.
"What did you have in mind?" I took a seat on the opposite end.
"Nothing romantic if that's what you're worried about. I was thinking more along the lines of a comedy."
"I can handle a comedy, but are you sure that's a good idea with your ribs?"
Vanessa looked like someone had kicked her dog. "Never mind. I have a tendency to laugh too much when I watch movies, and that definitely wouldn't be a good idea."
I hated that I was the one to put that sad look on her face. I much preferred when she smiled.
"Okay, so no comedy. What other kinds of movies do you like?"
"Action, for sure."
I really expected her to say romance as her second option, so color me surprised that it was something I could easily get into.
"Not at all what I expected you to say."
"Why’s that?" She tilted her head at me.
"I don't know. The comedy I can understand because who doesn't like a good laugh, but I guess I immediately thought the second choice would be something romantic."
"Do you remember me saying I haven't had sex in five years? That goes for anything romantic as well. Why would I want to watch something lovey dovey when I'm not experiencing it myself?"
I guess that made sense. "I never thought of it like that. I just assumed all women liked romantic movies."
"Talk about stereotyping an entire gender." I knew she was joking based on the upturn of her lips.
"You're right. I absolutely was."
"That's okay. Most women do love them, and honestly I'm a sucker for a Christmas romance movie. There's just something magical about that time of the year. It's the rest of the time that it annoys me."
"Feel free to tell me to bugger off, but why has it been five years for you?"
Vanessa was gorgeous with her porcelain skin and strawberry-blonde hair. Bright blues eyes that any man would find hard to resist. I know I certainly did.
When she sighed, I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what she had to say. "It's a little hard to focus on your life when you're too busy taking care of a sister who can't stay clean for very long. I swear every time I would even consider going out with someone or tried to get past the first date, Hannah would relapse, and I was stuck dealing with the mess. After awhile, it just didn't seem worth the hassle."
I wanted to strangle her sister for putting Vanessa through that. No one should have to put their life on hold for someone else.
Isn't that what you've been doing your whole life?
I pushed the little voice back down and completely ignored it.
