Chapter 20
When we last left off, Cary and Eva had a fight! They were telling each other off for being shitty at relationships/in shitty relationships. If only today was Terrible People Day. I mean, this book is written by Sylvia Day…You know what, I hereby declare today Terrible Sylvia Day People Day. Let’s celebrate by discussing chapter 20!
Fuck, you Sloth. I don’t even like sloths. Okay, I like this sassy one.
Gideon shows up for dinner, and he and Eva hold each other. Gideon worries that they’ll never be able to fall asleep together again (cause of the whole attempted-sleep-rape fiasco). Legit concern.
For no apparent reason, Gideon asks if Nathan (the step-brother who raped Eva as a child) has ever tried to contact her. She says no, but informs us that she’s always been scared of running into him. That would be a super awkward encounter to have at like a Burger King or something. It would probably ruin chicken nuggets forever. Our heroes worry vaguely about their relationship and their baggage and then distract themselves by going to ask Cary if he wants to have dinner with them.
Over dinner, Gideon informs Eva that he showed Magdalene the video Cary took of her. I bet she felt really uncomfortable watching her get fucked until she was limp. Day’s words!
Gideon took Eva’s phone without her noticing and showed Magdalene this. To be fair, pretty much no one besides Gideon contacts Eva all that often, so I guess it’s sort of plausible. Anyway, she gets pissed he invaded her privacy like that. Happy Terrible Sylvia Day People Day! They’re really getting into the spirit.
Eva tells Gideon why this is a breach of privacy. Gideon doesn’t understand!
“Eva.” He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. “I spend a quarter of every day inside you. When you set limits outside that I can’t help but see them as arbitrary.”
Maybe he should just walk around with his penis inside of her all day so they never have to set silly “outside” limits. You can’t have limits when you’ve had someone’s penis inside you, let alone if it never comes out!
Anyway, Magdalene was super sad Gideon’s brother Christopher was just using her and all. Also that people saw a sex tape of them. Also that there was a sex tape in the first place. Actually, Gideon leaves out the fact that this bothered her, but I’m going to assume it does.
Gideon also had his first therapy appointment with the same doctor Eva goes to, and he prescribed some sleeping stuff to help out.
Gideon’s grip tightened. “Apparently there are enough people with this problem that there have been sleep studies on it. He told me about a documented case where a man sexually assaulted his wife in his sleep for twelve years before they sought help.”
“Twelve years? Jesus.”
“Apparently part of the reason they waited so long was because the man was a better lay when he was asleep,” he said dryly. “And if that’s not a killer blow to the ego, I don’t know what is.”
Am I learning something? Or reading a really uncomfortable set-up to a really uncomfortable punchline? Both? And at that point if the wife is excited to have it happen, doesn’t that remove the element of sexual assault?
They talk about how much they adore the other person and how Gideon will take pills if it means helping them.
We cut away to a really pointless scene where they’re watching TV and Gideon is on his laptop. Eva sticks her tongue out at him, and he comments on it:
“How do you see me while staring at whatever you’re working on?”
He looked up then and caught my gaze. His blue eyes blazed with power and heat. “I’ve always seen you, angel. From the moment you found me, I’ve seen nothing but you.”
I feel like Day was so proud of that line she just had to throw it in somewhere even if it was totally random and ridiculous. Because the scene just cuts away again after that. Like pardon this interruption from a boring conversation to bring you another boring conversation. But then we interrupt that interruption for this:
Wednesday started with Gideon’s cock pushing into me from behind, my new favorite way to wake up.
Sloth?
We celebrated a night of uninterrupted sleep with a handful of orgasms between us.
I think she means they celebrated Terrible Sylvia Day People Day with a handful of orgasms.
The next day at work, Eva goes out to lunch with her boss Mark and his boyfriend Steven. For literally no reason, they fuck with Eva and Mark pretends to be flirting really hardcore with the waitress and saying things like, “Once you go black…” And then they’re like, “JUST KIDDING THE WAITRESS IS STEVEN’S SISTER! LOL HAPPY TERRIBLE SYLVIA DAY PEOPLE DAY!” What the fuck, everyone?
Grinning, [Steven] came around my shoulder and tossed his arm around the waitress. “Eva, meet my sister, Shawna. Shawna, Eva here is the one who makes Mark’s life easier.”
“That’s good,” Shawna said, “since he’s got you to make things harder.”
SLOTH???
I will use him as many times as I need to, so help me god, book!
A series of unimportant events occur:
1) They go to the gym and Eva reminds us Gideon is hot.
2) They go home to get dressed for a gala dinner they’re attending. Gideon reminds us Eva is hot.
3) At the dinner, Eva sees her step-father’s nephew and they dance and make lunch plans. Gideon is jealous. And an idiot.
But then this might actually be important. Gideon introduces Eva to a woman who is hanging with Magdalene, and Eva sees it in this woman’s face immediately that she’s in love with Gideon. Draaaaamaaaa! Anyway, her name is Corinne. Corinne whisks Gideon away to go meet someone else, so Eva is stuck hanging with Magdalene. Magdalene reveals Corinne and Gideon were engaged for a year. GASP!!! But get this, guys, Corinne left Gideon for some wealthy French guy, but now she and that French guy are getting divorced and she’s coming back. With like one or two chapters left, we might have a pretty juicy cliffhanger, y’all!
Magdalene sits down with Eva after that and actually seems to be nice (or is she faking? Time will tell!) She apologizes to Eva for the mean things she said back in the bathroom when they first met. Aw, you guys, such good memories.
Corinne and Gideon come back, but Gideon goes off to get drinks. Corinne reveals that she and Gideon talk all the time and she knows a lot about Eva.
“We talk nearly every day.” She smiled, and there was nothing fake or malicious in her expression. “We’ve been friends a long time.”
“More than friends,” Magdalene said pointedly.
Corinne frowned at Magdalene, and I realized I wasn’t supposed to know. Was it she or Gideon or both of them that had decided it was best not to tell me? Why cover up something if there was nothing to hide?
Oh, Magdalene, you bitch, you’re fabulous when you’re not the actual villain anymore!
Corinne is very quick to admit she regrets leaving Gideon.
He was so possessive. It wasn’t until after I married that I realized possessiveness is much better than indifference. At least for me.”
God, these women are so fucked up.
“You’re awfully quiet,” she said.
“What is there to say?” Magdalene tossed out.
We all loved him. We were all available to him. In the end, he would make a choice between us.
I’m sorry, when did this become The Bachelor? Are we going to be forced to watch Gideon hand out dom/sub rings to the ladies that make it to the next round?
Corinne tells Eva that she’d called Gideon when she’d first arrived in New York, and Eva realizes that was the night they’d had sex in a limo and Gideon got all weird after and left the party early. HE LEFT FOR HER APPARENTLY OMG YOU GUYS THIS CHAPTER ENDED I A KIND OF INTERESTING WAY! No, seriously, the last chapter of Fifty Shades Freed ended with a cliffhanger of who wanted coffee. This is a million steps up. Sort of.
Also I just realized, Magdalene is celebrating Terrible Sylvia Day People Day by being not terrible, and Corinne is celebrating by being super terrible and a huge bitch! So interesting how people choose to spend the holidays.
