Bared To You

Eva and Gideon buy her a new phone and head to his gym. Outside of the gym, Gideon kisses Eva in an exuberant display of affection. They work out before heading to a nearby hotel that Gideon owns to have sex. As Gideon showers, Eva notices that Gideon has stored some of his belongings in the hotel room along with prophylactics and sex toys. She realizes that he has used this hotel room before to be with other women. Jealous and triggered, Eva leaves the hotel room suddenly.

Eva walks around the city after leaving the hotel. She reflects on her choice to leave Gideon rather than talking through her feelings. Gideon calls Eva and tracks her down in a nearby Italian restaurant. He apologizes and takes Eva back to his apartment. He promises Eva that no other woman except his mother and staff have been to his apartment. He invites Eva to stay the night.

They fall asleep while watching television. Eva wakes in the early morning to the sounds of Gideon having a nightmare. She gently wakes him up and comforts him. They have unprotected sex. Later, they drive to work together. Eva gifts Gideon a framed photo of herself on the beach. At work, she reads a gossip article about her and Gideon dating accompanied by a photo of them kissing in public.

Eva worries about the public exposure the article will bring her and her family. She maintains a private life to prevent her former stepbrother finding her. Eva heads to the lobby to meet Cary for lunch and runs into Gideon. She tells Gideon about the article and learns that he planned the photograph of them kissing outside the gym to claim Eva as his girlfriend publicly. Eva worries about her past abuse being exposed and embarrassing Gideon.

Eva confides in Cary over lunch. He comforts her and shares his advice that Gideon also probably feels insecure about Eva finding out about his own past. Later that afternoon, Eva and Gideon meet briefly. She pleasures him and feels empowered. They make plans to see each other later that evening. After work, Eva has a movie night with Cary and his boyfriend, Trey. She falls asleep and awakens to Gideon kissing her.

Eva receives another alert regarding an article speculating on her relationship with Gideon. The article includes photos of Eva with Cary and of Gideon with Magdalene the night before. Irritated, Eva agrees to lunch plans with her boss and rejects Gideon’s demand to meet during that time. As she leaves for lunch with Mark, Gideon confronts Eva in the lobby and ushers her into his car to drive her to lunch. Gideon questions Eva about Cary’s feelings for her. They argue. She jumps out of the car to meet Mark. Gideon follows her. They continue to argue in the park. Gideon reassures Eva that he only spoke with Magdalene briefly. They reconcile and make plans to meet later that night.

Eva and Gideon travel to his apartment after work. She divulges to him the details of her past. She shares how her mother and father never married and how her mother married a wealthy widower with a son close to her age. Eva’s stepbrother, Nathan, began raping her when she was 10 and intimidated Eva into silence by threatening violence, which included him killing her cat and leaving it on her bed. The abuse did not end until Eva suffered a miscarriage at the age of 14, and the hospital reported the abuse. Though the records have been sealed, Eva tells Gideon about her worries that information about her abuse will be leaked and embarrass Gideon. He attempts to reassure her. Eva discloses that she received five million dollars as a settlement but that she refuses to touch the money.

Eva sees that Gideon pities her and grows angry. She fears that Gideon will be no longer be physically attracted to her. They have passionate, rough sex. Afterwards, Eva asks Gideon about his own secrets. He avoids the question but promises Eva that he is trying to grow closer to her. Sensing Gideon is hiding something, she asks him to share one detail about himself daily. They discuss Eva’s insecurities about their relationship and agree to go to couples counseling. At dinner later that night, Eva tells Gideon about how she met Cary in group therapy as a teenager and why she chose to attend college in San Diego to be closer to her father. On the drive home, she thinks about how much more sexually adventurous Gideon is than her and how much she trusts Gideon to help her work through her sexual trauma.

Later that night, Gideon wakes Eva with another nightmare. She discovers him “masturbating with shocking viciousness” and confronts Gideon about his nightmare (186). After Gideon refuses to share, Eva expresses her frustration with his unwillingness to confide in her. She leaves, returns to her apartment, and vents to Cary.

At work the next day, Gideon does not contact Eva. She receives notice that Magdalene is waiting to meet with her. Not wanting to speak with Magdalene, Eva calls Gideon’s assistant and asks him to escort Magdalene up to Gideon. Eva heads to a local deli for lunch when Gideon’s brother Christopher Vidal surprises her outside. He asks if he can accompany her to lunch and invites Eva to a party at his parents’ estate on Sunday. Eva agrees to attend. They share a friendly lunch and part ways. Back at work, Mark, Eva’s boss, attends an important meeting with Gideon for Kingsman Vodka. When he returns, he hands Eva an envelope from Gideon that contains her keys she abandoned the night before and a brief note breaking up with her.

Devastated, Eva powers through the rest of the workday and meets her mother for a planned therapy session. Her distraught mother confronts Eva about telling Gideon about her past and shares that Gideon visited Eva’s stepfather Richard to inquire about the efforts Richard had taken to conceal Eva’s past. Eva interprets Gideon’s actions as an attempt to protect himself from the scandal of her sexual abuse. During the therapy session, Eva and her mother argue over her mother’s overbearing surveillance of Eva’s actions out of a need to protect Eva and quell her own anxieties. The therapist encourages Eva’s mother to allow Eva to make her own boundaries and take control of her own life.

At home, Eva finally unleashes her emotions and finds comfort in Cary. They both recognize that Gideon is pushing Eva away to protect himself. Cary shares that he believes they will come together again.