Debbie stormed out of the yoga class, unable to get the vision of Enid gawking at Alex out of her head.
Baffled by her sudden departure, Alex found himself, once again, chasing his ex-girlfriend through the streets of Paris. What did I do this time? He thought.
With a few quick strides, Alex caught up to Debbie. He grabbed her shoulder. "Hey! What's going on?"
Debbie pursed his lips. "Nothing."
Alex could tell she was lying. "Are you sure?"
Debbie ripped Alex's hand off of her shoulder. "Yes, I'm fine. Everything is fine."
Puzzled by her reaction, Alex took a deep breath. Don't start a fight. Try to appease her, he thought.
"Maybe we should try a yoga class when we get back to Baltimore," he said. "I enjoyed that."
Debbie rolled her eyes, arching her head in the process. "Oh, I'm sure you did!"
Alex scratched his head. "What? You had a great idea. I liked the class. I would like to do more yoga."
Debbie let out a strangled-sounding laugh. "Only if Enid is the instructor, right?"
The response gave Alex whiplash. "What are you talking about?"
Debbie rubbed her eyes aggressively. "Don't act like I'm blind! I saw everything. She flirted with you that whole time. And you, you… you just sat there and let it happen!"
Alex's eyes widened as he watched Debbie throw her arms around amid her fit. "You can't be serious."
She pointed to her face, and when she did, a vein popped out along her temple. "Do I look like I'm joking to you?"
Alex clumsily reached his hand out to the furious woman. "Debbie, please."
Debbie swatted his hand away. "Don't 'Debbie, please' me! Do you know how horrible that was? I had to watch her ogle you the whole time! It was disgusting! She practically undressed you with her eyes!"
Alex held out his hands. "I can't control that!"
Debbie gripped the collar of her drenched shirt and shoved it in Alex's face. "And look at this! I broke a sweat! I never sweat. It's gross, and I hate it!"
Alex gently pushed her hand away. "That's not my fault that you didn't realize you would sweat at hot yoga, Debbie."
The woman scoffed. "Oh, sorry! I didn't do my research! I didn't know who the teacher was! I didn't realize I'd sweat! I'm not a martial artist!"
Debbie trembled as each word left her mouth. Alex had never seen her so flustered.
He was at a loss for words. "Debbie, I don't know what to do."
His voice came out shaky. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then closed it instead. I'm walking back to the hotel, he thought. This is a lost cause.
Debbie jogged behind Alex. "Where are you going?"
Alex faced forward, refusing to look back at the woman. "To the hotel, Debbie. I'm going to pack up my things, and I'll find another place to stay. If all the hotels in Paris are booked, I'll stay at my family's home."
Debbie rushed to his side. "But you said it's far away."
Alex nodded. "It is."
Debbie blinked rapidly. "Well, that's not fair."
The emotional rollercoaster ended here. Alex stopped and looked Debbie directly in the eye. "What do you want from me, Debbie?"
She looked down at her feet. "You know what I want."
Alex gripped the sides of his head. "No, Debbie. I don't. One minute, you're caring and loving, and I assume you want to be more than friends. The next you're yelling, screaming, and pushing me away. Yesterday you wanted me to leave you alone. Today you're mad that someone flirted with me. I'm sorry for what I did. I screwed everything up, possibly beyond repair, but I want to make it right. I'm trying so hard to make it right."
Alex paused, waiting for Debbie to reply. He studied her absent expression. "Do you know what you want?"
Debbie quickly wiped a tear off her cheek. "No, I don't. I can't make up my mind."
The two stood face to face but refused to look each other in the eye.
Alex hated to see Debbie so upset, but he realized he couldn't sweep in and save the day. Debbie needed to figure it out for herself.
The gust of wind blew a piece of Debbie's hair into her face. Alex quickly whisked it behind her ear. "If I have to wait forever for you to make up your mind, I will. You take as long as you need. I'll be here."
Debbie threw her head back with a groan.
Alex stepped away. "What?"
Debbie rested her head in her hands. "Why do you have to always say the right thing? Why do you have to be so romantic?"
If Debbie weren't in such a horrible state, Alex would have laughed at her comment. Instead, he gave her space.
Debbie covered her face as she cried in the middle of the street. She ambled toward Alex and buried her head in his chest.
He didn't hug her. He didn't touch her. He let Debbie tell him what she needed, and right now, she just needed someone to lean on.
"I want to go home," she whimpered into Alex's sweat-stained shirt.
Alex gently stroked her hair, not in a romantic sense, just in an attempt to comfort her. "Is that what you really want? To go home."
Debbie sulked. "No. I don't. I want to stay for the rest of the convention." She peeled her head off of Alex's chest. "Am I pathetic?"
Alex couldn't help but giggle. "Pathetic? No. Complicated? Hell yes."
Debbie wiped her eyes. "We should have known this trip was going to be a bad idea."
Alex's heart sank at her words. This trip was supposed to resurrect their relationship, but instead, it was pulling them further apart.
He sighed. "Maybe, but it doesn't have to keep going downhill. We can focus on the convention and turn this around."
Debbie glanced up at him with a look of hope in her eyes. "Do you really think so?"
Alex nodded. "I do."
Then, Debbie's stomach audibly grumbled.
Alex chuckled. "Sounds like someone's hungry."
Alex drummed his fingers on his chin. "I could go for a croissant right now."
Debbie closed her eyes at the mention of a croissant. "Ugh. That sounds so delicious."
Not wanting to upset Debbie, Alex took a step back. "I will let you go by yourself. I can wait to have one. I should probably start looking for a place to stay anyway."
Debbie shrugged. "You could come with me, Alex. I'm sorry for making all of this such a big deal."
At first, Alex was reluctant. The mixed signals from Debbie keep coming, he thought. But, I guess there's no harm in grabbing a croissant and heading on my way.
He smiled warmly at her. "Alright. Let's go grab a croissant."
****
Alex held open the door of a small coffee shop near the Hot Yoga class. Debbie ducked into the quaint cafe and perused the menu.
Alex stepped next to her, and Debbie leaned in. "I'm thinking I'm going to get a shot of espresso and a butter croissant."
Alex scoffed. "You're going to get a regular croissant when they have chocolate ones? Okay, I wasn't sure about it before, but now I know. You've officially gone insane."
Debbie rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I just don't have a sweet tooth like you."
A smirk pulled at Alex's lips. "I know, and that's insane."
They were next in line. Luckily for them, the barista spoke English. She immediately clocked that they were tourists from America. "What can I get for you?"
Alex glanced up at the menu. "I'll have a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant, as well as a shot of espresso and a regular croissant."
The barista nodded. "Coming right up. Your total is on the screen."
The barista watched Alex as he swiped his card. Then her eyes shifted over to Debbie. She smiled at them. "You two make a very cute couple."
As Alex opened his mouth to thank the woman, Debbie shoved herself in front of him. "We are not a couple. We aren't dating. I'm an independent, single woman."
The barista blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to say. "Uh, good for you. I guess you two would make a cute couple."
The receipt was printed on the other side of the counter.
Debbie gritted her teeth. "We already did."
The barista ripped the receipt and held it out to Alex, but Debbie yanked it out of her hands and stormed away.
Alex bit his lip. He offered the barista an apologetic nod and followed behind Debbie.
Debbie plopped down at a table with a single chair.
Alex let out an exasperated sigh, picked up a chair from one of the other tables, and slid it next to Debbie. "Would it have killed you to say thanks, Debbie? She had no idea who we were."
Debbie grimaced. "It would have, actually. Thanks for asking."
And, just like that, Debbie was back to being irrational. Alex wasn't sure how to handle her in such an erratic state. He was hoping she was just hangry.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm going to look for a bed and breakfast after this. I saw online that there's one a block away from here."
Debbie stared at her feet, unwilling to look up. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."
The barista strolled over, interrupting their conversation. She set down their drinks and pastries. "Here you go, les sots."
Alex wasn't sure what 'les sots' meant, but he assumed it wasn't a compliment.
Debbie eagerly took a bite of her croissant. Her face softened as she got some food in her system.
Just as Alex had suspected, she was hangry.
Alex took a sip of his drink. "Ah, now that's delicious."
Debbie stuffed another piece of croissant in her mouth. "Wait until you try this. It's to die for."
Alex smirked and took a bite of his pastry. "You're right."
The two ate in silence. Occasionally, Alex glanced up at Debbie. It was obvious that she was lost in thought, probably reconsidering everything that had transpired that morning. Alex didn't push, and he didn't ask any questions. Instead, he just let her enjoy her late breakfast.
Eventually, Debbie cleared her throat. "I'm sorry about this morning. It was really uncalled for."
Alex shrugged. "I've already forgotten about it."
Debbie smirked a little.
Alex threw the last bit of his chocolate croissant in his mouth. "Listen, let's just focus on enjoying these next few days. We can figure out all of the hard stuff when we get back home. Deal?"
The tension in Debbie's body was released. "Deal."