Alex sets his beer down. “Did you screw it up?”
“No.”
“Did you almost screw it up?”
“Also no.”
Mark raises a brow. “Progress.”
I exhale. A real one this time.
“It was… good,” I say. “Honest. Clear.”
Alex’s grin softens. “Look at you. Using adjectives.”
“She didn’t forgive me,” I add. “She didn’t promise anything.”
“Good,” Mark says immediately.
I nod. “She didn’t have to.”
Alex studies me. “You okay with that?”
“Yes.”
That surprises even me a little.
Mark leans back. “You’re different.”
“I know.”
“No,” Alex says. “Like… actually different. Not terrifying, but noticeable.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”
“You live with it anyway.”
I shake my head, but I’m smiling now.
“She wants to move forward,” I say. “Carefully.”
Alex lifts his beer in a mock toast. “To careful.”
“To not fucking it up,” Mark adds.
“Very much that,” I say.
Alex tilts his head. “You tell her about Chuck.”
“Yes.”
“And the board.”
“Yes.”
“And the fact that you didn’t drink.”
“That came up.”
