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Glancing away, I wipe my mouth with my napkin. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Please.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “Fair enough.”
Biting my tongue, I ease myself out of the chair. “I’ll do the dishes. It’s the least I can do to help.”
“Not on my watch.” He stands and clears his plate. Brushing past me, lifting my empty plate as he moves away. “You need to rest.”
Seriously, what’s with this man?
Folding my arms, I watch him stack the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. “I’m fine.”
“Say it till you believe it.”
I smile. “How original.”
He shuts the door and moves to the sink to wash his hands.
I stare at him, noticing his practical meticulousness. Everything he does is done with purpose and skillful efficiency. No form of dilly-dallying and what-not.
He tosses the paper napkin in the trash on his way out. “What’d you want to do, then?”
I shrug. “Whatever you want to do.”
He chuckles. “Whatever I want to do?”
“Yeah, I’d like to know what you do for fun.”
His lips twist into a lopsided curve. “I see. Ever heard of virtual reality?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m twenty-three, not seventy. Of course I’ve heard of VR. I’ve never used them before, though.”
He turns away and I follow him to the lounge. “Well, that’s how I unwind.”
“With VR?”
“Yeah.” He reaches for a cardboard box and places it on the coffee table. I sit next to him on the couch, fascinated. “I used to have an extra set of glasses but not anymore. An old friend of mine asked me to keep them and I gave them to him.” He pulls out a medium-sized aviator-looking pair of glasses. “So, this is the perfect thing for you.”
“Why’s that?”
“It temporarily distorts reality, and God knows you really need that right now.”
Well, he’s not wrong.
“What’s your dream country?”
“Uh… Fiji.”
“Beaches, hmm. That’s a good choice. Now, I’m going to turn it on and it’s going to load for a while. See, this little button here? That’s your little ticket to your island, princess.”
I giggle.
“Like to surf?”
“Oh, yes!” I clap my hands in glee. “I do, I do. I really do.”
He slips the glasses on my face and presses a button. It instantly brightens and I recoil at the brand-new view. I’m no longer in Maverick’s house. I’m running on the beach, with a surfboard in hand.
“Oh my God! This is fucking amazing!”
