Chapter Forty-Two Terms and Conditions
It was almost two weeks after Alex returned from his trip before he reached out to Evie, asking her to meet him at Del Toro after his shift the next morning.
She let him know she would see him there and spent the rest of the evening mentally preparing for the conversation.
First, she acknowledged he might be asking to meet because he had decided he would rather pursue his friend, and she examined how that made her feel.
The answer was a little disappointed, but otherwise fine.
She had kept her word and genuinely considered whether she wanted to try the relationship again while he was away, looking at it from every angle she could think of.
Eventually, she concluded that the biggest thing holding her back was their sex life.
If he was being honest about working on it, then that issue needed to be taken out of the equation.
The only other thing that bothered her was his occasional immaturity and his tendency to behave like an overly excited Labrador retriever.
Still, Evie had to admit she had seen signs of growth there, too.
He seemed more self-aware than he had before, acknowledging that although he didn’t have experience losing a parent, he had talked to someone who did to understand better what she had gone through.
Alex also seemed more aware of how his comments sometimes came across as rude or insensitive, stopping himself or at least acknowledging it was the wrong thing to say in the moment.
And this time, he hadn’t pushed back against her decisions or tried to argue her around to his viewpoint.
He had questioned her reasons, but it had been a fair question.
She didn’t know whether he had pretended to make those changes to convince her he was working on himself, or whether he was actually doing the work, and there was no way to know without spending more time with him.
Eventually, she decided that if he was still interested in getting back together, and as long as he understood it was not a continuation of their previous relationship but a completely new one with a whole new getting-to-know-each-other period, she would be comfortable seeing him again.
She arrived a full fifteen minutes before she knew he would be there, ordered their usual drinks, and took a seat at a table in the back corner, wanting to feel more in control of this meet-up than she had at the last one.
She passed the time going over all the potential outcomes of the conversation and mentally reviewing the points she wanted to make, her knee bouncing like a jackrabbit under the table.
When he finally walked in, Evie felt her breath catch in her throat.
He looked absolutely awful. He’d lost so much weight that his security uniform, which he usually filled out impressively, hung off him, and he practically radiated exhaustion.
Still, when he spotted her, a warm smile appeared, and he moved toward her with more energy than he’d had walking in.
“Hey,” she said softly as he sat across from her, sliding his coffee across the table.
“Hey, yourself.” He immediately picked it up and took a long drink. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, especially with this in your hand. Thank you.”
“No worries.” Evie shrugged, studying him more closely.
Up close, he somehow looked even worse. The only words that came to mind were haggard and unkempt.
Deep purple circles made his eyes look almost bruised, and he must have shaved off his beard at some point because it was only just growing back, adding to the scruffy appearance.
“No offence, but you look terrible.”
He gave a low chuckle and rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, three weeks of hiking twelve miles a day in the mountains without access to weights and only MREs to eat will do that to you.” He yawned, covering his mouth and giving her a muffled apology.
“I also made the mistake of not taking a few days to recover before going back to work. I’m exhausted.” He smiled tiredly. “I guess I don’t have to tell you I was shortlisted for the Director of Security Services position.”
Evie shook her head, trying to rein in her concern about his physical condition. “I actually knew that when we met before you left. I just couldn’t say anything. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” He settled back in his chair, letting out a contented sigh.
“Sorry it took me so long to reach out. Since I was on vacation when they started the assessments for the positions, I’ve been playing catch-up.
” Her disapproval must have shown because he waved a hand dismissively, already guessing who it was aimed at.
“It’s not Thorn’s fault. He told me to take my time and catch up at my own pace, that he and Mr. Sloane wouldn’t hold it against me if I was behind for a month or so.”
Evie snorted, immediately understanding. “So he just didn’t realize that your pace is frantic until you’re back where you think you should be.”
“I don’t think so, no.” He shook his head, a smug smirk curving his mouth. “Anyway, I caught up yesterday, reached out to you last night, and when we’re done here, I’m going to sleep for the next forty hours.”
“But you’re okay, right?” She had to ask; he looked like he could collapse right there.
“Yeah, sore and tired, that’s all.” His eyes brightened slightly at her concern, and the smirk widened into a pleased grin.
“Was the trip good?”
“It was amazing.” He pulled out his phone, opened his photo gallery, and passed it to her so she could flip through the pictures he’d taken. Then he flagged down the waitress for a refill. When she walked away, he leaned toward Evie, his eyes shining with excitement.
“I heard the Appalachian Hey.”
“The what?” Evie frowned, passing his phone back. “The pictures look incredible.”
“The Appalachian Hey,” he repeated. “It’s like an urban legend. You’ll be walking the trail, probably haven’t seen another soul in miles, and suddenly you hear someone call ‘Hey!’ close by. But there’s no one around.”
“Clearly there’s someone.” Evie scoffed. She loved creepy stories, but she wasn’t ready to commit to ghosts. “Based on those pictures, the brush is so thick Bigfoot could be standing just off the trail, and you’d walk by close enough to touch him without knowing.”
“Evie.” He sat back and solemnly raised his left hand, his right hand pressed to his heart. “I swear on my life, I was completely alone. I hadn’t even seen a sign of another person for at least three days at that point.”
Evie furrowed her brow, unsure what he meant by completely alone. “What happened to your friend who was supposed to go with you?”
He huffed and shook his head. “There’s nothing like a three-week hike without service, showers, or toilets to help you figure out you’re incompatible with someone. She gave up after two weeks. I made sure she got down safely to a pickup spot and kept going.”
“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have lasted a week, so I can’t judge her.” Evie shrugged, sipping her mocha to hide the smile threatening to break out.
“There were a few things that highlighted how different we are,” he said, running a hand through his hair and leaning back in a loose, lazy stretch. “But the worst thing was how bad we smelled to each other.”
“We met another couple who said they loved their partner’s natural scent.
He said she smelled like lilacs, and she said he smelled like cedar, but I promise you,” he wrinkled his nose as if he could still smell them, “they did not smell like either. And Moira and I really didn’t like each other’s natural scent at all.
She said I smelled like a wet dog, and I thought she smelled like marijuana.
By day seven, we were sleeping on opposite sides of the camp, praying the wind didn’t change. ”
“That sounds terrible.” Evie couldn’t imagine being stuck in the woods without showers or toilets, and she couldn’t begin to understand why Moira had agreed to go in the first place. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you two.”
“It’s not so bad. Now we can try again.” He hesitated. “If that’s something you want to do?”
“Yes.” Evie nodded, then held up her hand as his eyes widened and his whole body tensed, as if he might launch across the table in excitement. “There are conditions, so don’t celebrate yet.”
“Conditions?” He deflated like a popped balloon. “What kind of conditions?”
“We’re starting over with a completely fresh slate,” she explained quickly. “Basically, we’re going to pretend our first relationship didn’t happen.”
“I am more than okay with that.” He nodded, looking relieved. “What else?”
“You say you’re working on your issues, and I’ve been working on mine as well.” She watched him closely for any hint that he’d been lying about that. “That continues for both of us.”
“Absolutely.” He agreed immediately and reached for her hand. “And when you’re ready, I’d like you to sit in on one of my therapy sessions.”
“Okay.” That surprised her, but it also made her feel like he was being honest about doing the work, which eased some of her concerns.
“You said those things were off the table until your therapist says you’re able to handle them.
If we stay together, and when we get to that point, I am still okay with the B and D parts, but we’re going to set firm rules.
If you break them, I’m done. No chances, no apologies, I’m walking away, and you’re not allowed to try to stop me. ”
She could see from his expression that he didn’t like that, but he nodded anyway, so she smiled. “Then yes, we can start dating again.”
This time, she didn’t stop him when he jumped to his feet and came around the table, pulling her into a tight hug.
“I promise you won’t regret this,” he murmured as he let her go.
“And I’m really sorry, but I have to cut this short.
I desperately need to go to bed.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll text you when I wake up, okay?”
“Okay.” She sat back down to finish her mocha, watching as he gathered his things, blew her a kiss, and left the café.