The long awaited premier of “Golden” finally happened, and Gideon appeared to storm off after seeing music video!Eva getting hot and heavy with music video!Brett.
Chapter 17
Gideon was meant to show up to his restaurant (where Brett and Eva are dining) in order to cock block Brett. Instead he sends his buddy and famous chef Arnaldo to chaperone in his place. For those of you wondering, yes, Arnado has been in the series before. He was there when Gideon beat the shit out of Brett, so this dinner is a reunion of sorts! [Matthew says: As long as this book is copying everything that we already read in the second book, can Brett get the shit beaten out of him again? Or is this already a foregone conclusion?]
“Arnoldo’s a Six-Ninths fan,” I explained. “He came to the concert with Gideon and me.”
Brett’s lips twisted ruefully as the two men shook hands. “Nice to meet you. Did you see both shows?”
He was referring to the brawl he’d had with Gideon. Arnoldo understood. “I did. Eva is very important to Gideon.”
“She’s important to me, too,” Brett said, grabbing his frosty mug of Nastro Azzurro beer.
“Well, then.” Arnoldo smiled. “Che vinca il migliore. May the best man win.”
“Ugh.” I sat back in my chair. “I’m not a prize. Or I should say: I’m no prize.”
I get that this is meant to be jokes, but the problem is that this is actually how the situation is being treated. Eva told Brett that she’s in love with Gideon, so he doesn’t even have a chance, and his reaction was just to demand that he get a second chance because Gideon got one. What Eva wants should just be what Eva wants and that’s that. [Matthew says: Also, why does Eva’s casual reminder that she’s an actual person have to be immediately followed with a despairaging comment about “But not TOO great a person! Hahaha! I mean, she’s a woman.”]
Arnoldo joins them for the rest of the meal, which seems pretty rude given neither Brett nor Eva suggested it. At least if Gideon had shown up according to plan, they were going to be like, “Omg fancy meeting you here, why don’t we all eat together.”
Speaking of rude, Eva doesn’t seem to have a good grasp on what being rude actually means.
Brett’s hired driver dropped me off at my apartment a little after ten. I invited Brett up, because I couldn’t see any way to avoid it that wasn’t rude.
Uhhhh you could just have been like, “I had so much fun tonight, it’s been so good seeing you.” I was so surprised when this scene didn’t lead to any real trouble, because it seems like that’s what it was asking for.
Evil Reporter and Scorned Lover Deanna shows up in Eva’s apartment building, which is insane given Eva’s stepdad chose this place because security was supposed to be amazing there. It seems like they’ll let anyone in these days!
Deanna, still unsure what purpose she serves, tries to bring up the fight between Gideon and Brett, but Brett lies and says she’s got “a big imagination.”
She turned her attention back to me. “I saw Gideon with you today, Eva. My photographer got some great shots of you two. I stopped by to ask you for a statement, but now that I see who you’re with, would you comment on the status of your relationship with Brett?”
See, this is where I really can’t figure out why this character is in the book. Brett is not even remotely a threat to Eva and Gideon’s relationship. Any time Gideon or Eva gets remotely jealous, they just comfort one another, declare their love and fuck. There’s literally no risk, so having Deanna show up to seemingly create tension and drama is like eating low fat cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory it’s completely pointless and does not improve the situation. In the case of the book, improving the situation would be creating some real fucking drama. Make me actually wonder about Eva and Gideon’s future!
She directed the question at me, but Brett stepped in, grinning and flashing that dazzling dimple. “I think ‘Golden’ says it all. We’ve got history and friendship.”
In what way is that what ‘Golden’ says? Golden says, “She gave me lots of blow jobs, we had a lot of sex, and yeah, that’s pretty much it. Oh, also, I liked the way she danced. And then she left.” In what way does this signify friendship? History, sure, but I wasn’t getting the friendship vibes from “Golden.” Sorry, no. [Matthew says: In between the second book and this book, we even got a great real world example of how this is unmistakably creepy! See literally anything about Robin Thicke!]
Once in private, Brett continues to misunderstand what kind of message “Golden” actually conveys.
In Brett’s mind: Golden is a romantic song about his and Eva’s epic, but tragically short love story. It signifies love, friendship, and his deep feelings.
To everyone else: Brett fucked a girl for a while, it was good, and he was sad when they stopped fucking. Also she was a good dancer.
Brett asks Eva why she didn’t like the music video.
“It’s just really … personal.”
His green eyes were hot enough to make me flush. “I haven’t forgotten one thing about you, Eva. The video proves that.”
“That’s because there wasn’t a whole lot for you to remember,” I pointed out.
“You think I don’t know you, but I bet I’ve seen sides of you Cross never has and never will.”
No, I’m pretty sure she’s gone down on Gideon too. And been drunk around him. And danced with him. And had sex with him in a vehicle. Yeah, I think I covered all the bases here.
Before Brett leaves, he tries to convince Eva to come meet him and the band while they’re on tour. They realize they’ll be in California at the same time in a couple weeks. Christ, this means that for the entire next book it’s probably just going to be leading up to Eva seeing Brett in California. Why is he even still in this? He should just go run off with Deanna.
Before he leaves, Brett has one last Very Important thing to say:
Brett gripped my upper arms and groaned softly, the sound vibrating through me. “I remember how you feel,” he whispered, his voice deep and husky. “On the inside. I can’t wait to feel it again.”
Ew, oh my god, ew. Why the fuck is he even presuming he’s going to feel it again? And “I remember how you feel…on the inside.”
Aside from how cringe that line is, it got me thinking. So a guy can say, “I remember how you feel…on the inside” and he can say, “I remember how it feels to be inside you.” A woman can say, “I remember how you feel inside me.” But can she say the inverse of that, like, “I remember how the outside of your penis feels.” DOUBLE STANDARD. If woman can’t make equally stupid, annoying statements, it’s just bullshit, you guys. Bull. Shit.
After this, Eva goes to find Gideon. He’s not actually all that upset about the video, but apparently Corinne called and has been seeming more wack-a-doodle than usual, so he went to see her. Even though she’s not his problem anymore and he told Eva he’d cut off contact. Diiiiick.
But he apparently man-solved her problem for her. I was really convinced Gideon was going to be like, “Corinne was on her period,” but actually her problem was this:
“I will.” As he rinsed the suds from my hair, he said, “I think I figured out what the problem is. She’s been taking antidepressants and they’re not the right prescription for her.”
Why the fuckity fuck did Gideon need to be the one to solve that mystery? Why not Corinne’s, oh I don’t know, doctor figure that out? Oh my god why was this even a thing in the first place? Put in some real god damn drama, Day, not all this pseudo-drama that has no purpose.
Apparently after this, Gideon took it upon himself to call Corinne’s husband Giroux to come be with his wife. What a guy. He can mansplain the situation better than me, though:
“She’s not my responsibility.” His gaze held mine, telling me without words that he understood my fear and worry and anger. Just as he’d always understood me. “I told her as much. Then I called Giroux and told him, too. He needs to come take care of his wife.”
He reached for his shampoo, which rested on a glass shelf with the rest of his personal shower items. He’d moved his stuff into my place pretty much the minute I agreed to date him, just as he had stocked his place with duplicates of my everyday items.
“She was provoked, though, Eva. Deanna visited her earlier tonight with pictures she took of you and me at the video launch.”
That is the most boring provocation in the history of the world. Also, doesn’t Deanna have any actual reporting to do instead of serving as the adult equivalent of the 7th grade gossip queen?
Blady blah Eva loves Gideon blady blah more minor character filler at work the next day. But at the end of the chapter Giroux shows up and is French and sassy.
“Mon Dieu. How slow are the elevators in this building?” he asked the security guard in a clipped French accent. “It’s impossible that it should take twenty minutes to come down from the top.”
[…]
“Does it not bother you,” he said, his tone noticeably cooling, “that he used my wife to make you jealous and bring you back to him?”
“Gideon wants to be friends with Corinne. Friends spend time together.”
“You’re blond, but surely you can’t be so naïve as to believe that.”
“You’re stressed,” I countered, “but surely you know you’re being an ass.”
I hope Giroux just shows up to be sassy with everyone. I can’t tell if he’s really annoying or hilarious yet, only time will tell.
Then Eva goes to meet her mother for a dramatic lunch discussion.
Do you guys feel like this chapter was more sexist than usual? All the stuff about Corinne especially rubbed me the wrong way. Also everything with Brett ever.