"Dad?" Fifteen year old Alex Castle stuck his head into his father's office. "Do you have a minute?"
Rick Castle hit save on his laptop and looked at his son. Alex was usually laid back about everything, but Rick could feel the tension coming off his body. "Sure, son, come on in. What can I do for you?" Kate had realized their son was not his usual self, and wanted to pull him aside, but Rick knew Alex would come to one of them to talk, so they had decided to wait him out. And it seemed like the moment was now.
"Dad, I think I messed up. You see, there's this girl," he started. Yep, the moment was now. And Rick had figured it had to do with a girl. Alex had always had a large circle of friends, both male and female, but he had kept his crushes to himself. Rick and Kate guessed that one day one of those friends would become more, but it sounded like it wasn't going smoothly. Alex continued, "Her name is Lizzie. We're lab partners in biology class. She's really cool, nothing grosses her out. She thinks it's great that I want to be a ME. I wanted to ask her out."
"But you've been kind of nervous to do it, huh? I know the feeling," the father grinned at his son.
"Yeah. I mean, I know she likes me, but what if it's just as a friend? What if asking her out on a date ruins our friendship? And what if she says no? But I may have waited too long. See, this new guy just transferred into our class. And he's really handsome, and funny, and I think she likes him like a possible boyfriend. What if he asks her out before I do? Dad, what do I do?" The fifteen year old looked at his dad in misery.
Damn, Rick thought. He absolutely hated it when one of the kids was unhappy. When they were little, it was easy to make them happy – some ice cream, a movie, a pony – heck, he was willing to get his kid whatever they wanted as long as they were happy. But once they hit the teenage years, well, it wasn't so easy to make them happy. He remembered how he tried to help Alexis when she broke up with Ashley, how he tried to help James and Hannah when they had broken hearts. Up to now, helping Alex had been easy because not much bothered the kid. And now it was a doozy.
"Can I share a story from my life?" Rick asked his son. "I know what you're feeling. I once had a good friend that I wanted to be more than my friend. I thought she liked me like that too. But I kept finding reasons to not ask her on a date. Then a new guy showed up – it seemed like he came out of nowhere. And my crush liked the new guy a lot. And I knew he liked her too – because he asked me if she was my girlfriend! I was so shocked and stupid I told him she wasn't."
"Oh no, dad! What happened?" Alex wanted to know.
"Well, I regretted it almost right away. But I had to tell the truth – she wasn't my girlfriend. And then I had to watch as they got closer. I didn't like him, but there was nothing wrong with him, so I couldn't tell her to ignore him. And I got to watch as they went on a few dates. I tried to distract myself with going out with another woman, but she wasn't my friend," Rick continued.
"So what happened with your crush?" Alex asked his dad.
"I married her a few years later. And yes, it was your mom," Rick laughed at the look at Alex's face. "Life would have been easier if one of us had taken the leap sooner, but we were both kind of afraid."
"So do you think I should ask her out?" Alex's question wasn't a surprise.
"Well, son, only you can decide that. It worked out for your mother and me, but it didn't work out for Uncle Javi and Aunt Lanie. But I will say this – you have to try. You have to ask questions, and challenge yourself to do something different. A wise man once told your mother "risking our hearts is why we're alive." And no, it wasn't me, but another wise man she knew. And it is true. A little risk is good for heart, son."
Alex stood up, and went over to his dad. Rick stood up and Alex hugged him. Rick hugged him back, and realized that all of a sudden, Alex was almost his height. Yep, his little guy wasn't so little anymore.
Rick thought about that hug a few days later when Alex told them he was going to the movies on Friday night. And that it would just be him and Lizzie. He looked at his wife and could see she got it, and that she had a few tears in her eyes. Now, he wasn't crying, nope, he was just cutting some onions and that was why he had tears in his eyes. That's his story and he's sticking to it.