Page 45 of Counting the Stars

Relief washes over me when I see Alex dressed in his regular outfit of jeans and a SBFD T-shirt. This is normal attire and I can handle it. Okay…I might be a little excited.

“Sorry I didn’t invite you along, Peanut.” Alex shoves his hands in the back pockets of his jeans while I grab my purse off the hook near the door.

“No worries.” Michelle brushes him off. “Carter and I are going to the movies anyway. You two have fun.”

“Thanks,” we say in unison and make our way toward the elevator. As the door opens, Alex turns to me. “Do you think Carter and Michelle have something going on?”

“Why do you ask?” I push the button for the ground floor. “They always hang out a lot, kind of like us. Oh!” The light bulb in my head turns on.

“Yeah,ohis right.” Alex smirks as the elevator reaches our floor. “I feel like they’ve been spending a lot more time together lately. Then a few weeks ago, he mumbled something about being stuck in the friend zone. But I don’t know. Forget I said that. I have zero sensibility about these things.”

We get to Alex’s SUV and, always the gentleman, he opens the passenger door for me. I decide I need to know what this is about. “Is this a date?” I blurt out as I sit down.

“Do you want it to be?” The creases in his dimples begin to show.

“I’m not sure,” I say honestly because I’m a ball of utter confusion. The wall I built around my heart is starting to crumble, which excites me and scares me at the same time. “You said you wouldn’t push me into anything. Wait!” I gasp as a completely new thought pops into my head. “You’re not doing this out of pity because my previous date passed out in his potatoes?”

“What?! Why would you even think that. Unless…have you seen him? If he’s bothering you, I’ll pun—”

“No, Alex, I’ve not run into hi—”

“And he’s not even said he’s sorry? What an—”

“Alex, leave it be. I don’t think he even works at the hospital anymore. I’ll let you know if there’s a problem. But answer me… I need to know your intentions.” Finally, he gives me a chance to get a full thought out, but now he has the goofiest grin on his face.

He sits and clicks his seat belt into place. “The truth is, I’ve missed you. We haven’t seen each other in a few days, and I just felt like spending time with one of my closest friends.”

“I missed you too.” I’m surprised how disappointed I am by the term friends, but that really is all we are right now. “Where are we going?”

“I made reservations for us at The Lighthouse.” He keeps a straight face while turning out of the parking lot.

“No!” I gasp and place my hand over my rapidly beating heart. I cannot show my face there again anytime soon…or in this century. The last time I saw that place was the morning after my disaster date when Alex took me to pick up Stinky. Despite being abandoned in the parking lot overnight, my trusty sidekick on wheels started right up and we hightailed it out of there.

“I’m kidding.” His shoulders shake with laughter. “I figured we’d have dinner at The Local.”

“I can’t believe you did that.” I try to look annoyed, but I’m excited to go back to my favorite restaurant.

Within twenty minutes, we’re settled into a booth with a sampler plate of appetizers between us.

“Are you still planning to come with me next week to my parents’ anniversary dinner?” He squeezes a lemon into his water.

“Yup. My days off were approved. Is the itinerary still the same?” We’re supposed to drive out on Friday night and come back on Sunday.

“Actually…” He fidgets with his straw. “I was thinking about driving back Saturday night after the party instead of Sunday morning.”

“Don’t want to spend any extra time with the Joneses?” The change doesn’t bother me at all. I’m just along for the ride. And moral support.

“Yes, but there’s more to it than that.” He hesitates for a moment. “I have an interview on Monday and I want to have enough time to get into the right headspace before it.”

“Interview?” My stomach plummets thinking that after all of this, he’s planning on moving somewhere else.

“Yeah.” He stretches his hand behind his head. “There’s a lieutenant position opening and—”

“Here?” I hold on to the side of the table, trying my best not to jump out of my seat. Dear God, please say it’s here. I can’t imagine him not working in the building next to me. “You’re talking about the same department, right?”

“Of course.” He gives me a look of confusion. “I passed the test a while ago and it looks like they have it narrowed down to Smitty and me.”

“This is fantastic!” I gush. “Alex, you would make an amazing lieutenant!”

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