Geek on the Side!

Vanessa and the nice guy

Welp, now I'm staying with Kevin and Daisy's mom and dad. I don't know how to feel about that; I know they're nice and loving people, and they're my friend's parents, but I don't personally KNOW them! It feels weird, that's what I'm trying to say.

I was to take the guest room; a MAJOR step up from Daisy and Paige's couch, that hospital bed, or... yeah, it's a major upgrade. The guest room itself was very nice; sparsely decorated with just a few flowers on a flower vase, some blue curtains on the windows marble tiled floors, and white walls and ceiling. It was as inviting as it was relaxing.

After the BEST sleep I've had since before my trip to California, I got up. It was seven AM; I wonder if the Derriwinkles would mind if I made myself something in the kitchen? As I left the room, I was surprised to see Mr. and Mrs. Derriwinkle already in the kitchen, having some breakfast.

"Morning, Vanessa!" Kevin's mom said as she got up. "Join us for breakfast?"

I wanted to say no, but my stomach STRONGLY disagreed. So I nodded and sat down. Mrs. Derriwinkle soon enough served me some breakfast: sunny side up eggs, toast, and orange juice.

"Sorry it's not fancy or anything," Mrs. Derriwinkle said, grimacing. "I know you're probably used to big, fancy breakfasts, but-"

"I normally cook for myself," I said, interrupting. "Or I go out. I don't usually have someone cook for me."

"Really?" Kevin's mom said, looking bewildered. "What about-"

"I learned to cook at age ten," I said, grinning a bit as I ate my breakfast. "My mother didn't like having the cook make food before or after a certain hour, so I had to learn to make my own. It's no exaggeration to say that I got really good at it by the time I was an adult."

"Heh, Kevin can't cook to save his life," Kevin's dad said, chuckling. "He can make a grilled cheese, sure, but cook? Nah, not if it isn't instant noodles."

"Damn," I said. "He never learned?"

"Well, that's not for a lack of trying on our part," said Kevin's mom, crossing her arms. "I tried to teach him!"

"And he never paid attention," Kevin's dad chuckled. "Eh well, he can learn the hard way."

"How about Daisy?" I asked. "Can she cook?"

"Well," I noticed his mood fell substantially. "She's learning. She, uh, she has a history with kitchen utensils, and, well... it's been an uphill fight. But she's winning, and now she can cook simple dishes."

"That's good," I said. I continued eating breakfast, finishing up my orange juice. Now what?

"Sooo," Kevin's dad started fidgeting a bit. He evidently had something on his mind. "Uh..."

I heard a pinging sound. It was Mrs. Derriwinkle's phone; she picked it up, looked over the screen, and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Stupid dean is calling an emergency meeting," she said, getting up. "I swear, if this turns out to be some baloney that coulda been an email..."

"Try not to let it get to you, honey," said Kevin's dad as he and his wife kissed each other goodbye. Then she waved goodbye to me, and left.

Uh oh, I'm alone with a married man. Normally, this leads to fucking. Not good, not good, not good!

"Sooo," Kevin's dad was fidgeting. I don't know if I can turn him down. I WANT to, though.

"You have a nice wife," I quickly said, trying to steer this conversation away. Normally, this is when guys who are interested in me start saying how their wife is nice, and then they add a but, which is then followed by a list of petty grievances.

"She's the best," he says, smiling. "It's not every woman who marries a single dad. It's certainly not every woman who then treats that dad's kid as her own. Sarah really is one in a trillion, and I'm thankful that I managed to have her in my life."

Huh, not what I expected, but I'm glad I heard that.

"That sounds nice," I said. Now I'm curious; I wanna see if this guy's the real deal. "I take it the romance isn't dead?"

Every time I ask this question, the spouse gives me a sob story about how their significant other has been neglecting them for some time. Rarely is it true, but they tell it anyway.

"Far from it," he chuckles. "I like to take Sarah out now and then. Out to dinner, out for a movie, maybe some dancing or something. But she's more of a homebody, so to her a perfect date is just us two sitting at home, watching a movie and getting some food delivered."

Not even close to the answer I expected, and somehow it's still the answer I wanted to hear.

"Tell me about you, though," he asked. "Got anyone in your life? A nice man, or a nice girl perhaps?"

"I'm," I wanted to say I was happy being single, but for some reason I couldn't. "I'm not good with relationships. I, uh, attract people I shouldn't, and then I get with them even when I shouldn't. And it's never more than once."

"I see," he said, looking pensive.

"I know what you're probably thinking," I said, chuckling a bit bitterly. "How a pretty gal like me can do so much better, have no trouble finding someone decent or whatever. Well, let's say I've made my share of mistakes in the past, and that I'm still paying for them."

"I've made my mistakes, too," he said, looking me right in the eyes. "The important thing is to learn from them, you know?"

"Some mistakes are fatal and mark you for life," I bitterly said. I didn't mean to sound so bitter, though.

"Yes, some are," he replied. "So, if you don't mind me asking; what could you have done that was so terrible, you can't seem to forgive yourself for it?"

Gee, man, let me think! Sleeping with a married man, for one!? Destroying a family!? Making a young boy grow up without a father!? Continuously doing it for over a decade, to the point I stopped giving a crap!? Is that messed up enough for ya!?

I WISH I could tell him! I WISH I could let him know that he's currently hosting a fucking home wrecking whore! That associating with someone like me is just ASKING for your life to get worse, because that's what I am! Poison! I'm... poison...

"Sorry," he quickly said. "I know you've got your reasons, and I swear I won't judge you for it. I just hope, whatever it is, you can forgive yourself for it."

Why is he being so nice to me? And why do I kinda want him to know the real me?

"I sleep with married people," I blurted out. "They come onto me, and I don't say no."

There was an awkward silence. This is the part where he kicks me out of his home, or he starts propositioning me.

"Why?" He asked, just looking straight at me, not at all judgmental like, but like he wanted an explanation.

"I dunno," I said without thinking. "I just do."

"Do you like doing it?" He asked, and that's when I found myself tongue tied. "Do you actively enjoy sleeping with married people?"

Again, I was tongue tied.

"Look me in the eye," he forcibly said. "And tell me, yes or no, that you enjoy it."

I had every intention of telling him I did. That I didn't give a crap about the people I've hurt, and that I'm just a bad seed. Instead, for some stupid reason I might never fathom, I said "No, I hate it, and I hate myself for doing it."

"Then you're not as bad as you think yourself to be," he said.

And then I started crying. Why was I crying?