GOING FORWARD IS COMPLICATED and both harder and easier than either of them expect. Neither of their jobs get less demanding as the summer drags on. Paul is still working too much. But they’re not making their work the central item in the mess that is their relationship, which means they’re not instantly at silent war the second they are both in the house at the same time.
Sleeping apart continues to be hard, even if it’s less fraught now that it’s part of their attempt at finding a solution and not the problem itself. On Paul’s birthday, in early August, it feels cruel to just text him happy wishes in the morning. He’d rather go out together or welcome Paul home that evening with a celebratory b*****b.
Aside from the s*x, Alex misses the easy connection of skin on skin in a shared bed.
