Waves

Part 10

Though nothing had changed with their official title, things felt different between Eve and Joe in the days and weeks after her birthday. They were spending more time together at Eve's as she prepared for opening arguments in the Taylor Rooks case, and Joe made sure that any spare moment he had that wasn't tied up in football was spent helping Eve with various needs she had. Their connection was deepening again, and Joe felt it was an appropriate time to broach a subject he'd been mulling over for a while.

"So, I was talking to my Mom earlier, and she wanted to know if you wanted to come out to Athens next weekend for Dad's birthday," Joe suggested one night as they finished dinner. Eve loved Joe's parents and had felt a huge void when she lost contact with them; nonetheless, she was nervous at the idea of seeing Joe's family again.

"I'd love that, but are you sure everyone wants me there?" Eve knew that Joe's brothers would be hesitant to welcome her back with open arms; they had been insulted on behalf of their brother after the explosion in Lanai so she could only imagine what their current opinion of her was.

"Baby, there is no Burrow on this planet that isn't wild about you," Joe smirked as he wrapped his arms around Eve and placed a kiss on her neck. The sexual tension between them had been building to nearly intolerable levels over the past two weeks and his dreams about her had resumed. He woke up most mornings sweaty and aroused at the thought of Eve, but he knew that the lack of sex was why they'd been having such a successful second chance.

Eve fretted over the next few days about her return to Southeast Ohio, but once they pulled up to that familiar brick farmhouse, her body warmed with nostalgia. Walking up the pebbled steps to the Burrow's front door, Joe squeezed Eve's hand in reassurance as they rang the doorbell.

Robin appeared first as the door swung open and the two women embraced with tears in their eyes. "I didn't know if I'd ever get to hold you again," Robin whispered tearily in Eve's ear. "I missed you so much Robin," Eve said shakily as she gulped back a sob. She didn't think she'd get so emotional seeing Joe's mother, but she realized in that moment that she'd been mourning the loss of these relationships just as much as she had mourned the loss of Joe.

Jimmy popped up shortly thereafter and his nose was red as he pulled Eve into a hug. No words were needed as he placed a fatherly kiss on Eve's forehead; his shiny eyes telling her everything she needed to know. The warm reception from Joe's parents evaporated any concerns she had about being back, and Eve was thrilled at yet another milestone reached.

That was until she walked out to the backyard where Joe's brothers sat stone faced with their significant others. She managed to get a terse hug from Daniel and his girlfriend, but Jamie played the role of protective eldest brother and wouldn't so much as look at her, almost forbidding his wife from acknowledging Eve.

"I'll talk to them,"Joe muttered angrily and Eve shook her head. "Don't. They have every reason to be upset with me. I hurt you...I can handle the smoke." Joe looked at Eve apologetically as he scoffed. "No, I hurt you. They have no right or reason to be pissed." Eve rubbed Joe's back and the pair grabbed plates of food before sitting down with his parents to catch up.

"This is the best birthday present," Jimmy exclaimed as he waved at Eve and Joe. "He's been talking about today all week. Never seen him so excited to turn another year older," Robin joked as the four laughed. Joe's parents grilled Eve about her activities over the past few months before Joe and Jimmy got up to go smoke.

Moving her chair next to Eve's, Robin pulled the younger woman into another hug as they watched the sunset. "How are things going? You can talk to me as a woman and not his mother," Robin asked.  Eve's eyes went mushy as she thought about the past few weeks.

"When I saw him at the wedding, I felt so many conflicting feelings. There was so much noise in my head; old tape from the breakup, all the things that I'd unpacked in therapy, the fear of being let down again. It took all I had to not leap into his arms again, but in all honesty, I think taking it slow has helped both of us reacclimatize. He—we feel different," Eve said.

Robin nodded with a smile on her face. "He does feel different. The absence of you made him grow up...as much as we tried, he entered into the NFL coddled; by us, you, everyone. The break up made him be a man and stop with the excuses."

Eve thought for a minute about what Robin said. She was right that Joe had a soft transition to the NFL made easier by his family. The normal struggles athletes felt when going from college to the pros had been mitigated by the presence of a live-in girlfriend and parents a car ride away.

"You're different too, you know. The way you're carrying yourself is night and day different than before. You're not that shy 20 year old girl I met in Columbus anymore," Robin beamed as she reached for Eve's hand. "Thanks Robin. That means a lot coming from you," Eve replied as she rested her head on Robin's shoulder, the feeling still familiar after all this time.

While Robin and Eve reminisced, Joe and his father puffed on cigars as the two men discussed the current events of the younger Burrow's life. "It's great having Eve around," Jimmy mused as he sipped his bourbon. "It's been amazing. I just wish your other sons had some tact," Joe mumbled as he glared in the direction of his brothers.

"I wish they had been friendlier too but they were also on the receiving end of a lot of upset phone calls from you. They're just trying to protect their baby brother," Jimmy said. "That was then. This is now. I've realized over the past few months that I was at fault for most of what happened before. We're moving past it; they should too." Joe was not going to let anyone or anything deter from what progress he'd made with Eve.

"Have you cut out any and all other unwanted distractions?" Jimmy asked and Joe was able to read between the lines. "There's no one else. I tied up all loose ends before I saw Eve at the wedding," Joe swigged from his beer. Jimmy smiled at his youngest son as they sat in silence for a while; the resolve he witnessed in Joe was unlike anything he'd seen previously, and he knew then that Eve was back for good.

The pair said goodbye to everyone a few hours later as they got back into the car to return to Cincinnati. Joe had a game the next day so Eve dropped him off at the hotel, stealing a few kisses from him before pushing him out of the car. She'd told him that she wasn't ready to re-devote her Sunday's to the Bengals in person just yet, so she returned to her apartment to snuggle with Flossy for a few hours before waking up early to read some juror notes prior to kickoff.

The game was a blowout and Eve's chest burst with pride as Joe threw for a franchise record. She was cleaning her kitchen when her phone rang and she smiled when she saw it was Joe. "How's my favorite record setter?" Eve chuckled as she heard the din of the locker room in the background. "He's a little exhausted but happy," Joe laughed. "Are you leaving now? Should I order the pizza?" Eve and Joe had planned on a quiet post-game evening of pizza and Scrabble before she had to leave for a work trip the next morning.

"Yes, go ahead and order. My driver should be here already," Joe said as he hung up with Eve. Grabbing his backpack, he was walking out of the tunnel when Sam stopped him. "Bro, what the fuck?" Sam's face was incredulous as he stood in front of a confused Joe. "What do you mean 'what the fuck'?" Joe genuinely had no idea what had gotten under Sam's skin; his teammate and friend having been fine just 30 minutes ago.

"I just talked to Amanda. She said that Lana invited the two of us on a double date with you and her. I thought you were trying to fix things with Eve. Why are you still messing around with that girl?" Amanda was Sam's on-again/off-again girlfriend who lived in Arizona and had been the person to introduce Joe to Lana. Joe swore under his breath as he pulled Sam aside.

"Sam, I swear to God, I haven't touched Lana since two weeks before the wedding. She's been blowing me up non-stop the past few weeks. I even saw her in town and she gave me some BS excuse about being here for vacation. I don't get what her issue is but it's getting bizarre."

Studying the face of his friend, Sam knew he was telling the truth. Joe had no reason to lie to him, so if he said Lana was long gone, then she was. The two men stood there and racked their brains for some sort of explanation for Lana's odd behavior and eventually chalked it up to desperation. Little did they know that the double date fib was just the tip of the enormous iceberg hiding in the deep waters surrounding Joe.