Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
I process the purchases. “Did Nancy say anything?”
Eliza nods. “She screamed. It was bad. She asked me if I was ‘on drugs,’ if I was seeing some gross old man.” She laughs harshly, the sound like broken glass. “She said, ‘Who’s this for? No one buys underwear like this unless it’s for a man.’ I tried to tell her it was for a friend’s bachelorette party but she didn’t believe me. She said I was lying. Said she was disappointed in me and then actually threatened to throw me out.”
I put an arm around her shoulders and pull her close. Eliza lets herself be folded in, shivering. Her hair is soft and smells like coconut shampoo, and the makeup smeared on her cheeks gives her a haunted look.
“She said I’m not allowed to go out this weekend. Said if I try to leave she’ll call the cops.”
I blink. “Jesus.”
Eliza nods, wiping her nose. “So I left. I grabbed some stuff and just came here.”
We sit for a while. She keeps her head on my shoulder, squeezing my hand with a death grip. I listen to her breathing slow. Out the window, the world is black and still.
After a bit, I say, “Maybe we need to tell them about us.”
She jerks upright, eyes wide. “No. No way, Jack. You can’t. If you do, it’ll ruin everything! My dad—he’ll never speak to you again. You’ll never find a civilian job, and I know you’ve been looking recently. But you’ll be branded a “creep” who takes advantage of young girls.” Her voice breaks. “Please don’t.”
I shake my head, but I’m not sure if I mean yes or no. I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t care what happens to me. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
She smiles, faint, like a ghost. “I’m not the one in danger, Jack. It’s you.”
I almost laugh at that. “Not the first time, probably not the last.”
The curvy blonde curls into me, the blanket slipping from her shoulders. “I don’t care if they find out about us,” she says, voice small. “I just care that you don’t leave me.”
I hug her tight, her body trembling against mine. “Never,” I promise in a rough voice, and for the first time in a long time, I actually mean it.
A while later, after Eliza’s cried herself out, she goes to the bathroom to clean up. I hear the tap run, the medicine cabinet shut, the muffled sound of her cursing the waterproof mascara that apparently isn’t. When she comes back, her face is scrubbed clean and her hair’s up in a messy bun. She’s beautiful like this, even wan and pale, and my heart swoops mightily. I want to protect her. She’s mine, and even her parents finding out about us doesn’t really matter anymore - to me, at least.
I heat up some vittles—leftover from the poker night, but edible—and we eat at the kitchen counter, hunched over our plates. She tells me about work, about how her boss tried to hit on her during lunch, about how she nearly cussed out an attorney for sending five “urgent” emails in a row. I’m glad she’s able to talk about something other than Gerald and Nancy, and listen with patience.
“Sometimes I wish I could just quit and run away,” she mutters, brandishing her fork. “Go off the grid. Start over somewhere where nobody knows me.”
I nod. “There’s a lot to be said for anonymity.”
She sets her spoon down, and I can see that she’s thinking carefully. “Jack, can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
She looks up, eyes shining in the dim light. “Do you want me to stop doing the cam stuff? Is that something that would make you happy?”
I set my spoon down. “Eliza, I want you. Just you, and what you choose to do is up to you. I adore that you’re an independent young woman, and I’m not going to judge you for holding down this specific job. It’s work, just like any other job, and it’s not easy.”
She nods slowly.
“But would you prefer if I stopped?”
I pause for a moment, her words hanging in the air.
“I don’t know,” I admit in a low growl. “You belong to me, Eliza, and I’ll say that I don’t feel great about other men seeing your curves. I don’t love that other men get to ogle your big breasts and watch you come online, beautiful and gasping. But again, you’re a thing of beauty, and after the ugliness I’ve seen in combat, the world needs more beauty. Who am I to keep you to myself?”
She pauses for a moment.
“I’ve never thought of it that way,” she says in a soft voice.
I nod.
“War changes a man, sweetheart. I’ve seen ugliness, and witnessed the worst sides of humanity. Meanwhile, you’re bringing beauty and pleasure to others, so who am I to judge you? I won’t condemn any woman for camming online.”