He knew this wasn't going to go well, and yet the moment he had a chance, he was there on her doorstep. He hands over the bottle, smiling winsomely. "Please do. You can even kick my ass," he offers. "Whatever will make you feel better for me standing you up."

Though he honestly suspected it was more than that. He took a deep breath.

"You saw the reports, didn't you? About what I went through," he asked. "Well, what the world thinks I went through, anyway. I wanted to call you but I couldn't take the chance. Next week I'm going to return, a messiah in a way. At least some think that's what's going to happen. Can we..."

He looked around as if worried he'd be overheard. "Can we do this inside?"