Page 64 of Fourth Wall

“Call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes.” I nodded, and she left as I stood there in the empty bedroom.

I heard the front door click closed, and then there was a small knock on the shared bathroom door. I opened it. Christian stood there wearing dark black jeans and a plain tee in the same color. He had pulled his blond hair up to the top of his head. He looked both rugged and cleaned up, which was an oxymoron, but somehow, he pulled it off.

“Hey.” He stopped and looked me up and down before he reached my face. “Maeve, you look breathtaking.” I laughed and rubbed my sweating hands on my jeans.

“I clean up okay.”

“You look beautiful every single day, and today is no different. I promise to tell you every day how stunning of a human you are.”

“You’ve never seen me puking with the stomach flu, then.” I tried to add some levity to the heaviness of his confession.

“Then you would be the most beautiful puker I have ever laid eyes on.” I laughed.

“Why did you knock?”

“I heard what you said to Tatum,” he confessed. His hands held tightly onto the countertop in the bathroom while I leaned against the doorframe.

“Only the end of the conversation, though, I promise. I came in here to get dressed—”

“It’s fine, Christian.” I interrupted him, offering him a slight smile.

"If this…” He gestured back and forth between us. “If this doesn’t work out, I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship or the girls. I need you to know that before we go out tonight.”

“You promise?”

“I swear to you. I don’t think I could move on if I broke your heart, but your trust is something else completely. You mean far too much to me.”

I sat there for a moment, processing what he just said. It was all the right words. I honestly felt like I was in a fairy tale. I had already tried to be married to Prince Charming and it didn’t turn out very well, but the morally gray villain in the story? He was fucking perfect for me. I wanted this so badly.

“Let’s go?” I offered and reached my hand out in his direction. He grabbed my hand, and we intertwined our fingers like always. It was a perfect fit… like always.

Christian held open my door when we got outside, and I slipped into his little sports car. As we sped down the highway headed toward downtown, I looked over at him while we sat there hand in hand, going out for a date night like any two typical humans. It was so normal, when nothing else was normal for us.

“I have to leave town next week.” He finally broke the silence between us.

“No problem, I can ask my mom to—”

“No,” he stated blatantly.

“Okay?”

“I already arranged it with Julian. It's on your day off, and I will be back by the time the girls are in bed. I just wanted to let you know I wouldn’t be in town.”

“Oh, well, thank you for letting me know.” He reached over and gave my thigh a quick squeeze before putting his hand back on the steering wheel. This felt uncomfortable. It was…different. He felt hesitant about something, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

“Can I pick the girls up from school?” he asked, staring at the road and not looking back at me.

I couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. “Is that why you have been so anxious? This car is so tense that I could cut it with a knife.”

“I didn’t know how to ask,” he responded earnestly. I reached over and grabbed his thigh before he moved his hand toward mine.

“I know we have a lot to talk about, but let’s have fun today. The heavy stuff can wait a few more hours?” He nodded in agreement, and I looked up to realize where we were headed.

“Are we going to Belmont Park?” It was a large pier turned into a year-round fair with a small roller coaster, arcade games, and fair food.

“Yeah. Is that lame? I would take you—”

“No, this is perfect. I haven't been here since I was a teenager, and I’m not really a stuffy date kind of person.” I didn’t mind being wined and dined because Tyler used to do it with me often, but I much preferred something more low-key, especially once I became a mom. I realized that it was nice to just be out of the house on a date in general.

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