Page 151 of Perfect
“Fuck, I wish I’d known that,” he says, looking up at the ceiling. “I honestly just thought you were being stubborn or something about the gifts. Fuck, I’m so sorry, honey.” I wrap my arms around his waist, lying my head against his arm.
“It’s okay. I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you to know me. Now I do.” He kisses the top of my head.
“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Theo’s voice is cold and venomous, like nothing I’ve heard from him before, and it sends a chill down my spine. I frown down at the chicken he’s preparing.
“Please don’t go back to prison. I just started thinking you should be out.” He laughs.
“Oh, I’mnevergoing to go back to prison. I’d starve myself to death, I hate the food so fucking much.” He slips butter under the skin of the chicken he’s preparing, rubbing gently.
Oh.
“Isthatwhy you’re weird about food?”
“I don’t think liking to eat well counts as being weird about food, but not really. My parents were bad about keeping food in the house when I was a kid, so I had to just eat whatever I could find, and it usually sucked.” I hold him tightly. “Whenever I visited my grandparents, there wasalwaysfood, and it was alwaysgood. When they adopted me, Nana taught me how to cook, and I got super into it. Maybe Iwent a little overboard about it after I got out of prison, but again, I don’t think I’m weird about food.” I hum, pulling him closer and kissing his shoulder.
“Well, either way, you’re a good cook, and Ihatecooking.” He looks down at me, curious.
“Whydoyou hate cooking so much?” I take a large sip of wine before looking at my feet.
“My dad taught me how to cook when I was a kid, and I was fine at it, but I wasn’t great. After the first year of being married, Danny stopped being as nice to me and started listing out his expectations of a wife. He expected me to be his personal fucking chef and learning how to cook the way he liked came with a lot of yelling and somegifts. Remember Thanksgiving?” Theo stills, taking a long, deep breath.
“The first Thanksgiving we hosted was the first one I ever cooked. I’d never even had turkey for Thanksgiving, and the one I made was both rawandburned, somehow. We had to throw it out, and his family gave him so much shit for it,especiallyhis aunt Tricia. He got drunk and told me I humiliated him, and he shoved me so hard that I broke my arm when I fell. I got a brand-new wedding ring a week later with abigfucking diamond, and he was super nice to me for six months.” I can tell Theo’s trying hard not to react, but he’s so livid that he’s shaking a little as he leans over and kisses my forehead softly.
“Okay,” he says slowly, his voice strained. “We’reneverdoing Thanksgiving again, and I’m going to break every bone in his fucking body.” I pull his face down and kiss him before I lean against the counter, refilling my wine glass to the brim. I shoot him a forced, flirty smile.
“So, the Yachats house?” Theo eyes my glass of wine and takes a deep breath before rolling his eyes.
“Fine. Nana once drunkenly told me that Boss bought it for her after she ‘put out’ for the first time. She was very drunk, and there weredetails,” he says, shuddering. “He was married at the time, so this was where they came every weekend until his divorce was finalized. That part of the story also came with details, unfortunately.” He raises his eyebrows at the chicken. “They got married here the weekend after his divorce went through,” he says softly, smiling a little and shooting me a quick look.
“That’s sweet, but you’re telling me this has always been a weekend sex house?” He grimaces and nods. “So, who else haveyoubrought here?” He shrugs as he puts the chicken in the oven.
“Besides Ashley, I don’t remember.” I raise my eyebrows.
“You don’tremember?” He gives me an amused look as he washes his hands.
“Honey, I came here alotin college. High school, too, a little bit.” I stare at him for a second, thinking.
“Theo, how many people have you slept with?” He laughs, shaking his head.
“I don’t know. You’re the only one that counts, though, since you’re the only person I plan on fucking ever again.” I blush, my whole body feeling warm as I look down into my wine and set it on the counter.
“I like the sound of that.” I keep my voice almost inaudible, but I know he hears me because he freezes for a moment before he grabs me around the waist and hauls me into the living room.He’s inside of me immediately, fucking me hard, but his eyes are soft every time they meet mine.
***
Theo’s in the kitchen finishing dinner, and I’m stretched out on the couch, blissful and hazy, when one of the floodlights goes off. Theo walks through the living room quickly, his face and body tense, and he shakes his head at me as I sit up.
“Stay there, sweetheart.” He peers out of the window next to the door before he opens the hall closet and grabs a shotgun and two rounds. I sit up, frowning at him.
“Have you always had a gun?” Theo shrugs.
“I have a few, but I keep them here since I’m on parole. Pass me the laptop?” I grab it from under the couch and hand it to him as he sits beside me. He pulls up the camera feed and watches it, frowning.
“I don’t fucking likethat,” he mutters, cracking open the shotgun and loading it.
“What is it?” Theo turns the laptop towards me and replays the video. There’s some quick movement in the trees, but the cameras are old, and the image is too dark and grainy to make out precisely what it is. The floodlights flare on, and the screen is white for a second as the camera adjusts. Then, it shows the front of the house and the edge of the woods lit up, but there’s nothing there. I pass the laptop back and run my hand down the back of his neck.
“Baby, it’s nothing. Animals always set those lights off, so it was probably just a deer who got spooked by the lights.” Theo makes a displeased noise and watches the video again.
