Page 20 of Protecting Talia

When they sat to eat, the joy on her face was payment enough. After a few bites, her smile came easier.

“What do you want to do this weekend?”

Her eyebrows rose as she cut him a glance before turning back to her food. “Your friends potentially knowing about me hasn’t scared you off and you still want to see me.”

“Of course, I want to see you. I enjoy spending time with you.”

She took another bite, chewing thoughtfully. “I don’t have a lot of money, so whatever we do, it needs to be cheap.”

“How about a hike and then a picnic?”

“That sounds like fun.”

He didn’t want to bring up what had happened to her while working, but he did wonder if she wanted to do something else. People who had few choices in life usually didn’t have time to think about the future. Maybe she was happy with her job. He needed to get to know her better.

She insisted on helping him clean up the kitchen after they finished eating. He welcomed her help, enjoying spending time with her.

After drying his hands, Zip turned to face Talia. “Do you want to watch something on TV?”

“Funny enough, I don’t have a TV, so I haven’t watched anything in ages. I wouldn’t even know what to pick.”

“I mindlessly watch in the evenings. Sometimes, I mute the TV while I’m reading an article and forget it’s on. It’s a bad habit.”

“What movies have you liked recently?”

He shrugged. “A new Deadpool came out.”

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Deadpool?”

“I take it you never saw the first one.”

“Nope. Never heard of it.”

“Would you like to start it?” He checked the time and shrugged. “I have three hours before I have to be in bed.”

“Okay. Sure.”

He grabbed a beer and poured her another glass of wine. He was happy when she sat close to him. Usually, he moved fast with women, but he was enjoying the slow burn developing between them.

The anticipation brewing inside was more exciting than picking up a woman at the clubs had ever been. Maybe he really was ready for a change.

* * *

Sitting beside Zip was nice.The movie started, and it wasn’t at all what she was expecting. The opening scene was a little too fast, and a lot happened. She almost wanted to watch it again but didn’t stop the movie since she was watching it with Zip.

When they got to the sex stuff, she felt a little uncomfortable because it made her aware of just how much she wanted to be with Zip. By the end, she realized she’d missed so much of popular culture just trying to stay alive.

The credits rolled, and she sat in stunned silence. Her life had been held together with gum and crappy hair bands. Jail, homelessness, being forced into porn, all of it had made it nearly impossible to live.

“Hey.”

She jerked her head up and met Zip’s confused gaze. He’d been trying to show her a good time, and now she was sitting on his couch almost in tears after watching a movie that was supposed to be fun.

“Are you okay? We shouldn’t have watched that movie.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s not the movie. It’s…” She stood and paced the length of the room, then turned back to him, noticing he was standing now, but she hadn’t heard him move.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

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