Page 62 of Broken Rules
“I like Italy.”
Her smile widens to a full grin. “My grandma always talked about her home there, how much she missed the air, and said she wanted to take all her grandkids to breathe the Amalfi Coast, ready to buy tickets. I was so excited…though she never had the chance. She passed away shortly after my sixteenth birthday, and it hurt I wasn’t there during her final moments.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I am, too, for not fighting harder to go back home, to spend more time with her before she got sick. Summers weren’t enough. I often think about how my life would be if I ran away when my dad moved back to Cali, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave my mom here to be alone by herself.” She huffs a laugh, wiping under her eyes. “To this day, I still do. We’re all—”
“Just existing.”
Evie nods, hugging her knee tighter while staring at the counter. “And you?”
I’d live for you.“Well, right now, I’m observing and kinda hungry for something sweet.”
She giggles, hiding her smile behind her hair as she presses her cheek on her thigh. “Shall I torture you for the next forty-five minutes while I eat?”
“You take pleasure in my pain. Don’t you?”
Standing from her seat, she smirks, walks to the fridge, and a moment later strolls back to her chair holding a peach. She blinks a few times, and I hold my breath. What is she thinking about?
“Do you like peaches, Hunter?” she asks, rubbing the skin with her thumb, then looks at the mirror.
Do you see me?“Very much I do.”
“What do you like about them?”
“Their sweet scent. How highly addictive they are, the best-tasting fruit I’ve ever put in my mouth, and I’m tempted to come take a bite.”
“Careful.” She takes one of her own, licking the juice off her lips, and I want to do the same. “Cross the line, and our sessions will end indefinitely.”
“Hm, can’t have that now.” I straighten up in my seat as she does the same, staring right at each other. “We’ve only just begun.”
* * *
Time flies when you have a purpose, when you’re committed, determined to reach a goal, and you’re so close you can taste the finish line on your tongue—it’s sweet, like peaches, and I’m ready to cross over. Five months, and I’m in so deep, so utterly in love with the woman on the other side, with my wife. There’s no more hiding behind a mask, and I need to tell her even though I’m sure she’s already figured me out, even if revealing the truth could end everything. I can’t continue having her near, yet she’s so far away.
I sit behind this glass twice a week, staying in room four with each change, now a cabin as of last week, in the midst of spring. We’ve fallen into a routine, and every time I see Evie, I fall deeper, almost to the point where it’ll be hard to climb out if I continue further. Our sessions have been mostly mild, but in the last few, Evie’s stepped up the heat, and I can’t take the distance any longer.
Tonight, I settle into the chair behind the white divider, unbuttoning my shirt.
My request:are you merely existing or ready to live?
TWENTY-ONE
DON'T LET FEAR RULE YOU
The vacancy light is off, causing my heart to flutter, though I take my time entering room four, making him wait for me. My cheeks burn as I walk inside, and I lay eyes on him in the chair. Didn’t take long to figure Lennox out—his way of staying close while giving me the distance he had no choice but to give. Five months, that’s how longHunter’scome to see me.
He relaxes into the chair, his gaze heavy as I stroll to the middle of the room. “Good evening, wife.”
“Don’t do that.”
He draws out a piece of paper from his pocket, slowly unfolding it. “Mrs. Everly Russo-Hunter.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lean to one hip. “What happened in Vegas never should’ve happened.”
“Still have to disagree.”
Shaking my head, I consider leaving the session that’s already halfway through but take him in instead, having not seen Lennox since the night we came home. His hair is longer, his beard fuller, legs wide open like his black button down, those eyes still hypnotizing. I never questioned why I stopped seeing him at Vivid or sitting at the bar because I already knew where he was.
