Waves

Part 8

The next few weeks were some of the busiest Eve could remember in months. She had been asked to take the lead on a massive death penalty case and was buried in prep. The client in question was Taylor Rooks, a convenience store worker who had been tried and convicted of the murder of a customer. Sitting on death row in Ohio for 17 years, his case garnered new attention after a local reporter began looking into details of the investigation and created a viral podcast. This was going to be one of the most important and high profile cases Eve had ever been part of and she wanted to make sure that she gave 100% of her energy to it.

This meant that her Joe time was slightly limited, which, in some ways, was a blessing. They weren't rushing anything, instead enjoying each other's company a few times a week versus falling into old patterns. Eve always had a habit of getting ahead of herself; a side effect of being a dreamer. The leisurely pace of their burgeoning relationship exploration meant that she was getting to rediscover all of the things she originally fell in love with Joe for; in turn, Joe felt like he was showing her the ways he'd changed.

One of those ways came about on a random Wednesday afternoon as Eve was frantically preparing for a massive meeting with Rooks' prior counsel. Digging through a file cabinet in her office, she pulled two fat stacks of evidentiary reports and plopped them on her desk as her paralegal Clara gently knocked on the doorframe.

"Yeah?" Eve called out as she furiously highlighted a briefing. "Um, I don't know how to say this, but Joe Burrow from the Bengals is in the lobby and he says he knows you? He's not on the schedule," Clara said. "Joe's here?" Eve's eyes brightened as she looked up. "Should I send him in?" Clara asked, looking behind her briefly. "Yes, of course. Do me a favor and hold my calls for a while," Eve moved the two massive cardboard boxes sitting on the chair across from her desk and smoothed her hands over her skirt as Joe walked in holding a paper bag.

"What are you doing here?" Eve smiled as she pulled Joe into a hug. "Practice finished early so I had Jose make us lunch. Do you have time to sit for a bit?" Joe hadn't called ahead, partially because he hadn't planned on stopping by initially but also because he wanted to surprise her.

"Um..." Eve ran a hand through her hair as she thought for a minute. She had a to-do list a mile long and she hadn't planned on taking a break. That being said, Joe's gesture was sweet and she didn't want to be a stick in the mud. "Sure. I need to eat!" Motioning to the empty chair, Eve sat down across from Joe as they ate lunch. He could tell by her hunched shoulders and furrowed brow that she was stressed.

"Is there anything at all I can do to help?" Joe asked softly as he took in the piles of papers and files littering every surface of her office. Shaking her head, Eve looked at the whiteboard she kept next to her desk with various tasks and reminders. "No, it's okay Joe. I just have a million errands to do. It's all dumb stuff like pick up Flossy from the vet and stop at the dry cleaners. I'll get it done."

"I can do that stuff! Just tell me where," Joe pulled out his phone to take notes and Eve cocked her head to the side. While he wasn't giving her a kidney, one of her biggest complaints about their prior relationship was the lack of help she felt from Joe. Considering she ran his life for 5 years, it previously frustrated her when Joe couldn't even be bothered to stop by a drugstore for her. While he'd been a generous partner, he wasn't always a present one, and it left her feeling like their relationship had been lopsided effort-wise at times.

"Ok. Let me give you a list," Eve plucked her whiteboard off the wall and began rattling off various errands she needed to run. "Oh, one more thing! I had ordered a floral arrangement for Clara's birthday tomorrow-can you pick it up?" Joe jokingly saluted before grabbing Eve's house key from her and heading out.

Joe ran around town doing Eve's bidding before stopping to grab a coffee for her at the place next door to the vet. He was mindlessly texting on his phone when a saccharine voice called out to him from the corner of the cafe. "Is that my Joe-Joe?" Whipping around, Joe was shocked at the small blonde woman standing behind him. "Hey Lana. What uh, what are you doing in Cincinnati?" A cocktail waitress he'd hooked up with while in Arizona on a guys trip, Lana had slipped his mind almost two months ago when he'd blocked her number.

"I'm here on vacation!" Lana chirped as she pulled Joe into a hug. His whole body went stiff as she held him and he was praying no one was taking a video. The last thing he needed was Eve misinterpreting a grainy Instagram post and Lana had truly been a three day fling, the product of a lot of vodka and poorly timed horniness.

"On vacation in Ohio?"Joe raised an eyebrow as he grabbed his two drinks off the counter. "Yup! Just visiting some friends. I was hoping I'd see you. Did your number change? The messages are going green now," Lana's eyes were bright as she tossed her hair over her shoulder, hoping the new view of her ample cleavage would remind Joe of their brief romp.

"Yeah, got a new phone. Anyway, uh, nice to see you; I gotta go," Joe nodded curtly as he exited the cafe, his long legs practically sprinting to the vet's office. "Wait, Joe! We should grab dinner soon. I have a lot to catch you up on!" Lana yelled out to him as Joe rolled his eyes before turning around. "Sorry Lana. I've got a lot going on right now. Take care of yourself."

Joe was still a little spooked at running into Lana when he arrived at Eve's apartment later that afternoon. He decided to brush it off as he gingerly opened the cat carrier to let Flossy out and hung up Eve's dry cleaning on the coat rack. Keep your head in the game Burrow. She's old news and just thirsty.

Plugging in his phone to charge, Joe unpacked the groceries he took the liberty of grabbing for Eve while ESPN played in the background. Plopping down onto the couch, he dozed off with Flossy for about an hour before he heard the door open.

"Hi boys!" Eve called out cheerily. Ruffling Joe's hair, she placed a sweet kiss on his forehead as she scooped up Flossy and sat down next to Joe. "Was everything okay when you ran those errands? Any issues?"

Smiling smugly, Joe shook his head. "I am the Errand King. The vet said Flossy's teeth looked great and to bring him back in 4 months for his next boosters. Your dry cleaning is hanging up and yes, I remembered the flowers. I also stopped by Kroger because you have no food appropriate for an adult in here and this," Joe pushed the paper coffee cup towards Eve, "is for you."

Eve's eyebrows shot up to her scalp in surprise. "Who are you and what have you done with the old Joe?" Laughing, Joe wrapped his arm around Eve and pulled her into his side. "I told you Eve, I've put in a lot of work. I know I wasn't a great partner before and that the scales weren't balanced." Eve traced the trim on the couch cushion as she thought for a few moments.

"Things weren't perfect before and you're right, things weren't balanced. But I don't want you to think I was totally miserable Joe. There was a lot about you that was-and still is- pretty damn wonderful." Eve smiled at Joe as she rested her chin on his shoulder, the familiar comfort of sitting with Joe after a long day at work warming her body.

Joe lightly rubbed the side of Eve's arm with his thumb as they sat quietly on the couch for a while before Eve's stomach growled loudly. "Someone's hungry," Joe chuckled as he stood up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. "What are you doing?" Eve asked as Joe pulled ingredients from the fridge. "Making dinner," Joe responded with a shrug. Jesus he's been taken over by aliens.

The pair enjoyed dinner and a bottle of wine before watching a movie. Eventually Joe couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and reluctantly he left for the evening but not before sneaking a few sweet kisses from Eve. Driving down Columbia Parkway, he loudly sang along to an old Brandy song on the radio with the windows open as his heart soared.

He was almost to his garage when his phone pinged with a text. Thinking it was Eve, his grin was wide as he opened it only to curse under his breath when he read the message. "Some people just can't take a hint," he muttered to himself as he deleted it.

"Hey Joe Joe! It's Lana. I meant what I said; we should get together soon! I have so much to tell you and I miss u boo ;-)"