virtue and vanity astrid jane ray read online

There was a flicker of pain and regret that I wanted to deny and question, but couldn’t because it was so raw and genuine that it made me crumble in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes and the man I met in Las Vegas was back in front of me. When I did that, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like he wanted to savor the moment, like he knew that I would turn serious in a split second and look at him with the overpowering mistrust that still wouldn’t leave my system. “Six is fine,” I said, observing the reappearance of the smile that didn’t even seem to leave his face and consequently, I smiled back. “How about six?” He took over the control and looked at me with piercing tenderness, as if he could visualize the storm of thoughts that was running wildly through my mind.

Now he wanted to give me a choice, but I had lived in fear and without a choice for so long that it became difficult to make one, no matter how ridiculous and harmless it was. He was the one who always made all the decisions and I simply had to follow through. The fact that he wanted me to choose the time left me a bit confused, but then again so had everything he had said and done lately. “I-” My voice froze because I hadn’t expected him to let me decide anything. His face wore a satisfactory, warm expression. “Yes, I would like to go to the movies tonight,” I replied quietly, without actually realizing what I was agreeing to. “What do you say? I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.” He looked at me expectantly and I melted under his warm gaze.

Virtue and vanity astrid jane ray read online