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I roll my eyes.
“It’s fine. At least you had fun,” Ella jokes with a laugh. Belle’s lovely face reddens. Neal stops in front of us on the other side of the island, his bare chest moving up and down a little too fast. He’s still trying to catch his breath. His chestnut brown hair is messy, but his smile is wide and welcoming.
“Ladies, I didn’t know you guys were coming over today. You hungry? I was going to throw a few steaks on the grill.”
He isn’t even looking at us. His eyes are following Belle’s ass around the kitchen as she pulls snacks out of the pantry. I wish she’d put on some shorts or something. The thong is apparently too distracting for him. As if he can’t help himself, he follows her and grabs a cheek while she cuts a block of cheese into cubes. She smacks his arm with a giggle and tries to shoo him away. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her back against his chest while she works. Her wide, happy smile and Ella’s dreamy eyes and sigh send me over the edge.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I mutter, and cross the room keeping my eyes on the floor. I hear Ella say that she’ll love some grilled steak as I close the door. I stare at myself in the mirror in their small powder room.
Belle is an idiot. I don’t see how she can be so trusting of a man after what dad did to mom. Men are users. They only care about themselves, and they see women as objects. Objects with which to play until they get bored, and then they find a new, shiny object with which to play. It’s only a matter of time before Neal gets bored and breaks Belle’s heart. She’s going to look dumb as fuck when he does. I’ll never look so stupid loving someone just for them to break my heart in the end. Never.
The evening actually ends up being really fun. Belle and Ella gang up on me during our book debate as usual. Last month they voted for our next read to be a romance novel, and I already knew before coming here tonight that they’d be gushing over love. So dumb.
“It’s just crazy how a girl’s low self esteem can make her so blind. He obviously is crazy about her, but she thinks so low of herself that she couldn’t even see it,” Ella is saying. Belle’s nodding along.
“She has low self esteem probably because a man gave her low self esteem,” I say shrugging. I don’t miss the way Belle rolls her eyes.
“A man only has power to change a woman’s perception of herself if she gives him that power. A man can’t give you low self esteem if you don’t let him,” she says.
“Please, men are trained in the cradle how to beat down a woman. It’s just the way it is.”
“Not all men are like that,” Ella says. “The main guy in this book isn’t like that. He shows her how beautiful she is, and she learns to value herself more because of it. I think the character growth and development is the best part about this book.”
“I think it implies that we need men to make us see our value, like if a man doesn’t validate us, we’re not valuable.”
“That’s not it at all, Lil. You’re being ridiculous,” Belle sighs.
“How so? That’s exactly what happened! He told her she’s beautiful, and took her out, spent money on her, and made her feel special. Then she started to open up and believe he could actually really love her. This book is just problematic.”
Belle’s eyes flash into a glare. I can tell by the firm set of her mouth that she’s ready to argue me into the ground. It’s not my fault she’s so blinded by dick that she can’t face reality.
“You really need to get laid, Lil,” Ella laughs.
I scoff. “I get laid. I don’t need anything.”
Neal comes up behind the large sectional couch to stand behind Belle’s back. His hands swallow her small shoulders as he leans over the couch.
“Stefan is going to stop by for a quick meeting. It won’t be long, I promise,” he says.
She nods. “That’s fine, baby. Throw a steak on the grill for him. He can stay for dinner.”
Neal presses a kiss on her cheek before walking off and heading upstairs. Who the hell is Stefan? Belle wastes no time getting back to the debate. She insists that the main girl’s eyes are opened not by what the main guy does for her, but how he makes her feel.
“She feels loved and cherished for the first time in her life. That’s what makes her consider her worth. She realizes that she is strong and powerful. He makes her think about everything that she does and how impressive it is. For the first time, she sees herself through someone else’s eyes.”
“Exactly,” Ella agrees. “She takes stock of all that she’s accomplished and what she’s really capable of. Then she realizes that she’s a prize, and the men she wasted time on before never deserved her.”
“Yea, because a man showed her. It would’ve been more realistic if the writer made her realize those same things by herself instead of because of some man.”
Belle groans and tosses her book on the couch. “I’m done with you. I need to put on some clothes anyway, before Stefan gets here.” She heads into her bedroom and shuts the door.
“Want another glass of wine?” Ella asks, hopping up as well, but going into the kitchen instead.
“Sure,” I say.
Neal bounds down the stairs and down the hall to the front door. His voice is joined by one just as deep and so much smoother. It’s familiar, and my ears perk up to tune into the conversation. My eyes widen when I see who follows him into the kitchen.
“Lily, Ella, this is Stefan Grenalds, my business partner. Stefan, these are my wife’s beautiful sisters.”
