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I nod as I take a sip of my beer. “He just wants a chance to prove he won’t, and I couldn’t even give him that.”
“You know about Emily?”
I nod again, rubbing the condensation off my glass with my thumb as I wait for her to continue.
“Everyone has something they are insecure about. If you think about it, you both have the same insecurity.”
“How do you figure?”
“He’ll tell you his concerns are about being honest so everyone can be on the same page, but it’s really just his attempt to avoid a betrayal of commitment. He’s worried something will get in the way. Which is basically what you’re saying.”
“Huh. Yeah, I guess it is. Tell me how to make it up to him. You seem to know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you’re probably giving me too much credit.” She laughs. “Not to remind you, but I literally committed to a no-commitment relationship for the past three months. But in all seriousness, don’t overthink it. Come up with something to show him you want to commit outside of the bedroom and that you are interested in creating memories with him. That’s all a relationship is. Make it fun and spontaneous. He’s into that.”
“Thanks, Lauren.”
“I got your back. Let me know if you need anything else.” Smiling brightly, she gives me a wink before turning on her heel and walking to the other end of the bar.
As she does, Troy pushes through the swinging door leading into the room, stopping in front of the terminal to clock in. I watch Lauren say something to him, and he immediately glances up. We lock eyes, but I can’t read him. I can't tell if it's okay that I'm here.
He makes his way over to me with an apprehension that tells me he’s not confident about the reason I showed up.
“Hey, Lexy,” he says cautiously as he looks at the sleeves of his black dress shirt, rolling them a few times each.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Umm.” Unwanted nerves fill my voice. “I wanted to see you.”
“Oh yeah?” He meets my gaze then glances to my phone where I’m flipping the metal ring on the back of my new case open and closed. I catch a twinge of a smile before it disappears.
“Yeah. I thought about everything you said.” I open my mouth to say more, but clamp it shut, unsure of where to go from here.
“Okay,” he says, to fill the silence I’ve left.
“You punched him,” I blurt. This is why I should have come up with a plan.
“I know?” Troy says–drawing out the words–when he realizes I’m not going to add to my thought.
Does he really not see the issue? I decide to make this part of the plan. “You’re not a teenager, Troy, and I can handle myself.”
He sighs. I’ll happily accept that reaction over the anger I expected. “The point of being in a relationship is having someone in your corner so you don't have to fight alone, Lexy.”
My heart races at the thought of a power shift like that. “I’ve never had that. It’s weird. It’s hard to give up that control.”
“Are you here to end things between us or did you get off track with your point?” He leans on the bar top with his elbow, his fingers finding the bridge of his nose like they do when he’s stressed. Irritation emanates off him as he locks eyes with me waiting for my answer.
“Either way, I still don’t think you need to be punching people.”
“Okay, no punching. Unless it’s necessary,” he says, folding his arms on the counter and leaning forward, his muscles straining against the fabric of his shirt.
“Okay.” I accept the compromise even though I’m sure we have different definitions ofnecessary. “Can I be honest about something?” I ask before getting distracted by the forearms in front of me.
“Always.” His face softens at my mention of his favorite quality.
I focus back on his face. “The titles stress me out… are they non-negotiable right now?”
