24

She climbed the rest of the stairs and slammed a door.

Later, after I left my home office, I saw which one it was.

It was the guest room.

I jiggled the handle to open it.

She had locked it.

She wanted me out.

So, that night, we slept in separate beds.

As I climbed into the king-size we usually shared, knowing she was just a few rooms down the hall, something hit me so fucking hard.

Alix and I weren’t perfect.

We had cracks.

And, as the months passed, I learned some deepened while others got filled in.

I also learned that wasn’t the last night I’d sleep alone.

Twenty-Four

Alix

Present Day

My date with Smith had started almost twelve hours ago.

It still wasn’t over.

Following the cake we’d had for brunch, we went for coffee by the harbor and rode bikes through the Public Garden. We visited the Public Library and had French fries at my favorite pushcart outside Quincy Market. Then, I finished the evening with a Red Sox game, snagging us seats in the Green Monster.

After the win against t