Page 81 of Crash

“I am, I’ve come to realize. I want all of this to myself,” she says running her hand all over my body.

“It’s all yours, love,” I say as I pull her on top of me. “No one else has ever mattered.”

“Yeah? There’s Zoey, Tori, and that group of girls from the wedding.”

“Tori was a long time ago, and I don’t give a shit about her anymore. I only got with Zoey because I was sick of thinking about you. The girls from the wedding were only there because I knew you were watching, and I only knew you were watching because I couldn’t stop watching you. You looked so beautiful in that pink dress. I couldn’t take my eyes off you during the ceremony.” I don’t give her time to respond. I capture her lips in a kiss and run my hands over her body as I moan into her mouth.

“I love you,” she says against my mouth.

“I love you, too. Let me show you.”

“Sit down! I’ll be right back!” Vivi runs to her bedroom, and I sit in one of the chairs in the kitchen as I wait for her to come back.

It’s been a month since she decided to give her mother a chance, and it’s been great. They have their first therapy session later this week, but we go to dinner at her house once a week and she joins us for lunch whenever she can. Vivienne invited her to the office this week. Instead of meeting and going offsite for lunch, she brought us a homemade meal, which we, unfortunately, had to share with Troy. Luckily, Jake and the creator weren’t in the building.

This morning when I was too tired to get out of bed, she met her mother for the 8 a.m. yoga class without me. Each day, things with us get better. We fall deeper in love, and I learn something new and strange about her. Like her fear of heights or her weird theory that cats are evil and should be avoided at all costs. I found out about it completely by random when a stray cat ran across my parents’ driveway. Vivi let out a blood-curdling scream as she jumped on my back, making me slip on the ice. She also loves black licorice but will only eat chocolate if it’s mixed with something else. She will tolerate a romantic comedy, but much prefers an action movie, preferably from the eighties or nineties.

Last week when we babysat for Troy and Tracy, Rosie had two diaper explosions and I pretended to be busy with the other kids both times. Although I didn’t miss her smirk, she didn’t flinch when it came cleaning Rosie up. In fact, she never complains about anything at all. If something doesn’t go as expected, she simply readjusts.

I’ve only had a few girlfriends before her, but each of them were spoiled and selfish in their own way, but this girl is the opposite of everything I knew. The only thing she’s ever asked me for is my time, and in return she’s filled my world with unconditional love.

During the time I was with Tori, I came down with a cold. For that entire week, she wouldn’t come to see me, worried about catching what I had. No visits. No calls. Only a few random texts until I was well enough to take her away for a weekend.

Two weeks ago, when I came down with a cold, Vivi spent the entire weekend with me. From homemade chicken soup, to hot toddies, and making sure I showered, she was with me through it all. She even changed the sheets and did my laundry, despite me telling her she didn’t have to do it. She gave zero fucks about getting sick and stayed in bed with me for the entire weekend as we watched all theDie Hardmovies. I was sick, and I never wanted to get better.

“Do you realize you’ve taken care of me all weekend?” I asked her late Sunday night. “You cooked for me, brought me medicine, made sure I showered, and you even changed my sheets and did my laundry.”

She rolled her eyes at me as she pulled out work clothes from her overnight bag.

“I love you, and you needed me. You would have done the same for me. End of story. Plus, you were sweaty and gross. I was doing the world a favor when I forced you into that shower.”

I smile at the memory. I continue to smile as I hear her footsteps approach. “I can’t believe you’re still in the same clothes you slept in,” she says, running a hand through my bedhead before leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“At least I brushed my teeth,” I respond, shrugging my shoulders. “And these are different sweatpants. The other ones got wet from the snow when I took the dogs out. His royal highness is still in bed,” I say about my brother Jake. “He’s going to miss me when I get my own place.”

She only laughs at me. Every time I mention moving, my mother tears up and my dad reminds me of our deal.

“What did your dad offer you this time?” she asks, with her back turned to me. I crane my neck to see what she’s doing, but she’s completely blocking me.

“A new BMW. Well, he told me last year that he was giving me the house, so Troy and Jake can suck it. He sweetened the deal, though. The house won’t be mine until I’m twenty-five, but he said you can move in now.” I see her body go completely rigid at that statement.

“Yeah, right,” she says, laughing it off.

“I’m dead serious. You may get the key to my mansion after all, love. What do you say? The old folks are hardly ever home.”

“Whatever.” She doesn’t say anything else on the subject, and I let it drop. I know what she wants. She wants to graduate, find a job, and be able to live on her own. What I don’t tell her, is that the living on her own portion of her plans will never happen.

“Close your eyes,” she orders. “I have a surprise for you.”

I close my eyes, my pulse racing at the surprise.

“I got this for you for Valentine’s Day, but I couldn’t wait to give it to you. And who cares about a commercialized holiday anyway, right?” I hear Jake and Sandy’s fancy coffee machine roar to life, and I know she’s making me a cappuccino.

“Yeah, love. Who cares? Commercialized holidays suck big donkey balls. By the way, I totally went over the twenty-dollar budget you set for gifts. By like a lot.”

The machine quiets down.

“Why do you always do that?”

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