𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟

Chapter 2 : Call it progress

Alex is bored.

He loves Los Angeles. He’s starting to appreciate a glass of fresh juice after a long day in the heat, almost as much as he loves a warm cup of tea after a cold day in London.

By week two, Alex has crossed some things off his "to-do" list: he bought a car, some clothes, and got a trim for his curls.

He’s been trying to get out every day to discover new places, trying new restaurants, strolling through parks, even spending an afternoon on a bench to read a book he found in a small library not far from the house.

But it’s Saturday now, and Alex is sitting on the sofa, all he can think about is how much he misses going to work every day.

He’s lucky he can do his job from L.A. while the business is still based in London, but that means staying at home, on a computer. It doesn’t really help with the boredom.

Alex thinks of all the things he could do before Tyler gets home from work—turns out owning your own nightclub doesn’t mean you can come home whenever you want—and he figures he has enough time to do the one thing he’s been putting off since he got here:

Look for a place.

Alex picks up the newspaper and the pen Tyler left for him on the coffee table and settles onto one of the stools in the kitchen.

He’s not sure what he’s looking for, but Alex thinks he’d enjoy spending time in a place that looks like the one he’s currently living in.

The Bellow residence is beautiful.

It’s not big, but the moment you step inside, you already know the layout of the entire house.

The combined living and dining area is on the left side of the entryway. On the right is a wall with a door that leads to the kitchen.

Connected to that same wall is a small staircase that leads to the second level, where three bedrooms (two with their own bathrooms) and a guest bathroom are aligned.

Alex had to take the guest room, but he figures he’d feel right at home in a house so light and open.

He’s aware that with his job—though it pays well—he’ll never be able to afford a place like this. And for the first time, he feels a bit jealous of his best friend.

---

Alex has been at it for over an hour, scanning through different listings, and he still doesn’t know what he wants to look at.

Truth is, he’s not really trying that hard.

He misses his best friend. After years of not seeing him regularly, Alex would rather spend more time with him. But he’s also conscious of the fact that his presence is affecting Ivy, and not in a good way.

For reasons he doesn’t fully understand.

He’s made peace with the idea that maybe she just doesn’t like him, but Alex can’t think of a single reason that could explain why she’s so wary of him.

He’s getting a little frustrated with himself, because no matter what he’s doing, his thoughts always return to her.

He feels like a creep with the way he’s constantly watching her, trying to figure out why Ivy is the way she is—and more importantly, why she’s acting this way toward him.

To make things even more awkward, Ivy suddenly appears, and it’s clear she’s upset.

She grabs her water bottle from the fridge and sits down at the table across from Alex without a word.

He tries to act unaffected by her presence, so he focuses on his search and starts circling listings he’s not particularly interested in.

He’s nervous.

"What's this?" she asks suddenly.

Alex needs a moment, because did Ivy just talk to him?

Sure enough, when he looks up, Ivy is staring at him, waiting for an answer. She doesn’t seem upset anymore, just tired.

"Uh, these are… houses. I’m looking for a place, and I need to start somewhere, so…"

"Why?"

This is really happening. They’re having an actual conversation.

Alex never imagined their first real exchange would be about a house.

He’s been hoping for any kind of interaction for the past two weeks, but now that it’s happening, he doesn’t know how to respond without choking.

"Why? As in why a newspaper?"

"As in, why are you looking for a place?"

Alex is confused.

Ivy sounds genuinely curious, and a bunch of questions flood his mind. Does she think Alex is staying here permanently? Is that why she’s so uncomfortable around him?

Ivy clears her throat, and Alex feels ridiculous as he just stares at her.

"I mean, that was the plan. I come here, work for the business from L.A., and get my own place once I have enough cash. I’ve already bought the necessities, so now all that’s left is the house, I guess."

Ivy bites her lip, then nods once.

Alex realizes that this is the end of the conversation, so he goes back to his paper.

He figures it went pretty well for a first conversation. Better than he expected, really. And now the "creep" side of him is giddy, because maybe Ivy doesn’t hate him.

Twenty minutes later, Ivy is glued to her phone while Alex is still on the third page of listings, growing more frustrated with himself. So much so, he unconsciously starts clicking his pen.

Ivy snaps after the tenth click.

"Stop it!"

She’s glaring at him, and Alex can’t blame her. He used to hiss at people clicking their pens in a quiet room, and now here he is, doing it next to someone who’s already annoyed.

Alex mutters an apology, and not wanting to make her mood worse, he gathers his things and stands up. He figures it’s less risky to look for a place in the living room, or his room—hell, the bathroom is an option at this point.

But before he can leave, Ivy speaks softly again.

"What are you doing?"

Alex doesn’t feel great about it, but he looks at Ivy like she’s insane. Her mood swings are giving him whiplash.

"I’m leaving?"

"Why?" she asks, looking at him like he’s the strange one.

He doesn’t know how to explain his reasons without sounding like an idiot, so Alex just stares at his feet.

He clears his throat, peering at her through his curls. "Same reason I’m looking for a place."

"Which is?"

"I don’t really want you to be uncomfortable in your own home because of me."

Ivy studies him with furrowed brows for a moment, but she recovers quickly, standing up and walking past him.

Alex almost misses the “come with me” she tosses over her shoulder.

Ivy leads them into the living room, where she settles on the gray sofa in front of the TV and looks up at him expectantly.

Alex doesn’t push it and keeps his distance when he sits down. It seems like the plan is to watch some bad comedy, because Ivy grabs the remote and keeps it for herself.

Ten minutes later, it hits him.

They’re watching a movie together.

Alex thinks maybe this is progress.