I walked across the cafeteria carrying my tray and half listening to Arizona as she went on and on about the "amazing" date she had the night before. Apparently Carina was incredibly skilled. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for Arizona. She deserves all the happiness in the world. Goodness knows she's been through so much over the years, this happiness is a great thing. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the tiniest bit jealous of her.
"What about you? Don't you have a date tonight with Greg or whatever his name is?" Arizona asked, breaking me out of the daze I had fallen into as we walked.
"It's Geoff. And yes, I'm cautiously optimistic," I responded with a small smile. Arizona rolled her eyes slightly.
"Stop being cautiously anything, April. You're a catch, and if this guy doesn't see that then it's his loss. You're young, you're hot, you're a kickass surgeon. And most importantly, you don't have your daughter tonight, so you are free to go as crazy as you want," Arizona wiggled her eyebrows at me and I couldn't stop the sudden giggle fit that hit me.
I didn't respond as I just shook my head at her. Judging by the slight heat in my cheeks, I'm definitely turning bright red.
Before I could say anything, we reached the table we had been walking towards and each set down our trays, both of us still giggling. Everyone already sitting at the table looked at us with looks ranging from curiosity to amusement. These only caused me to giggle more.
"Care to share with the class what's so funny?" Jackson asked with a slight smile on his face, eyebrows raised in question. I sat down in the chair next to him and shook my head slightly, still chuckling too much to speak.
"April has a date tonight, and I was just reminding her that since Harriet will be safe and sound with you, she is free to stop being so cautious and have a little fun," Arizona supplied from across the table, bright smile across her face.
Meredith, Maggie, and Alex all laughed at this. The smile on Jackson's face faltered slightly, I couldn't help but notice. Mine might have as well.
I absolutely hate having nights without Harriet, and getting used to a completely empty home again took a while. Truth be told, I will never enjoy a night spent without my daughter. But, just as I've had proven to myself time and time again over the years, I'm a soldier, I'm resilient. I will make it through this.
Harriet might not be with me every night, but I never have to doubt that she is safe and happy.
"Which is obviously ridiculous, since cautious is my middle name," I joked with an equally large smile, ignoring the pang in my heart when I was reminded my daughter didn't live with me full time.
"You do have a tendency to overthink things, I'll give you that," Arizona pointed her fork at me as she agreed. Around the table there was a smattering of heads nodding.
"You can be spontaneous when you wanna be," Jackson mumbled somewhat under his breath, looking only at his tray of food. All eyes turned to him but no one spoke. He raised his eyebrows as he looked around the table. "Does no one remember the whole eloping thing?"
Jackson's statement was enough to cause everyone to start laughing. I tried to hide my shock at his words, but judging from the look Alex gave me, I wasn't able to entirely stop my face from betraying my feelings.
Of course Alex and Meredith had some jokes to make about that whole day, but I mostly ignored them. It's been long enough at this point that I've heard them all. I also managed to ignore the awkward looks Maggie was giving both of us. I was warming up to her slightly, but still had a bit to go before I'd consider her a friend.
Once the jokes about my status as runaway bride died down, Alex and I began discussing a patient we had worked on the day before. Everyone else began chatting amongst themselves.
Everyone except Jackson. I could practically feel his eyes on the back of my head. I used to joke, even before anything happened between us, that Jackson's gaze was so strong I could actually feel it from across the room. Meredith asked Alex a question and they quickly dove into a conversation, leaving me free to bring my attention back to Jackson.
He looked away quickly when I turned towards him, and I chose to cut him some slack and not mention the fact that he was basically burning a hole into the back of my head with his laser-like focus.
I wasn't sure what to say to him. Usually, at least in the past couple of months, conversations came easily between us. Afterall, the guy knew me better than I knew myself half of the time. But it had been a while since he had stared at me this intensely.
When I had moved out, my big worry had been about my relationship with Jackson. Once upon a time, he had been my very best friend in the whole world. He had once called me his favorite person, and I would be lying if I said he wasn't the same thing to me. That had all gone away over the years, our divorce being just one of the myriad of things that had put a dent in our longtime friendship. There were times when I feared that I had lost my best friend, my favorite person, for good.
Making the decision to move out was far from easy. It was one of the most difficult decisions I had ever made. It was also a huge gamble. I knew that it was entirely possible that by moving out of Jackson's, I was ruining any shot I had at rekindling that friendship, of saving it from being lost forever.
But I had faith that it was the right thing for me, for both of us really, that time and space apart would indeed make us both realize what had been missing. I just had to believe that everything truly would work out in the end.
As it turned out, my faith and belief were correct. It took some getting used to, and some time to get over the tension. At first the tension had been suffocating, and everyone felt it. But within a few months of living apart, our friendship had once again begun to flourish. Was it back to where it had been all those years ago? Maybe not. But I have all the faith in the world. If there is one thing I trust and believe in, it is Jackson Avery.
"So, you have a date tonight?" He interrupted my inner ramblings in a voice that I recognized well. It was the voice he used when he was trying to act all nonchalant. It wasn't exactly working.
"I do, indeed," I answered, smiling shyly at him. He knew I was dating, we had talked about it before. He had even stolen my phone on more than one occasion to 'swipe right' for me. It still remained an awkward topic for us, though.
"You like this guy?" once again his voice took on a tone of 'I don't really care' and he suddenly seemed incapable of making eye contact. I shrugged my shoulders, not sure how to answer.
"I'm not sure yet," I answered honestly. "He's nice, polite, goes to church, has good grammar."
Jackson nodded his head as I listed off all the good traits of Geoff the stock broker.
"Sounds exciting," the sarcasm was palpable. I opened my mouth to give him a lecture, but changed my mind before I could say anything.
"I'm just trying to put myself out there. Dip my toes in the water or whatever," I answered quietly.
The silence that fell between us wasn't awkward. It might not be comfortable, either, but it wasn't awkward. I was so relieved we had reached this point where the sound of silence between us wasn't enough to make my skin crawl.
My phone dinged and I pulled it out, seeing Geoff's name flash across the screen. I tried to hide my smile when I saw his name. It was nice to feel like someone wanted me, even if he wasn't necessarily my first choice.
Jackson mumbled something under his breath next to me, but I was too busy unlocking my phone to listen.
My face dropped when I read the text, and I tried to stop myself from reacting, not wanting anyone to notice.
"What's wrong?" Jackson asked quietly from beside me. Of course he would notice, he always did.
"Oh, nothing. Turns out Geoff isn't able to make it tonight," I tried to make myself sound unaffected, but my heart just wasn't in it.
"What? Why not?" Arizona asked from her seat across the table. She sounded more outraged than I did.
I shrugged my shoulders and put a brighter smile on my face as I sat up straight.
"Oh he's just stuck working late, no big deal," I waved my hand at her. "Guess I can get caught up on some Netflix tonight after all."
Arizona frowned and I could practically hear her brain whirling around.
"I can cancel my plans tonight. We can have a girls night!" She said excitedly. I love Arizona, truly. But the last thing I wanted to do was have someone spend time with me out of pity.
"Absolutely not! I'm perfectly capable of having a night to myself, Arizona," I quickly brush off her comment. "Seriously, It isn't a big deal whatsoever."
"Zola and I are having a fairy princess tea party, you're welcome to join us," Meredith said, half jokingly. It was actually somewhat tempting. In the time I had lived in the frat house I had grown pretty attached to Zola and definitely didn't see her enough now.
"I appreciate the offer, but I have to decline. Please send my regrets to Princess Zozo," I said with a slight laugh. Jackson remained silent through all this.
"I was hoping to make plans for tonight, but I'll probably just end up at the tea party, too," Maggie said, shooting a quick glance at Jackson. I never found out what had happened, if anything, between the two of them. I admit, putting the two of them in each other's paths probably wasn't one of my smarter moves. From what I could tell, Jackson still saw her as nothing more than a stepsister.
The conversation about plans continued around the table. With Arizona as the only notable exception, no one was doing anything overly exciting that night.
"I have never been happier to not be single. You all sound pathetic," Alex's gruff voice held its usual level of humor.
None of us could really disagree with him. I considered asking Jackson if I could come over to his place and have dinner with him and Harriet. It was still kind of new for us, but we had been having "family dinners" every week or so. Before I could ask, Catherine walked over to the table.
"Baby, I have a favor to ask," she said to Jackson. Her voice had taken on a tone I knew all too well. Overly sweet, her ass kissing voice as Jackson had called it.
Jackson simply raised his eyebrows at his mother. Yup, he heard the tone, too.
"Richard's working late and I just hate being in that house all alone. And it's been far too long since I got to have my grandbaby for a night. I know it's your night with her, but can I take her instead?" She asked with big, wide, pleading eyes. It took all of my will power not to roll my eyes. I knew for a fact she had taken Harriet not two weeks ago.
"Seriously?" he replied. I thought for sure he was going to say no. "I guess so. But bring her back early, I'm off tomorrow and I want to spend the day with her."
I didn't listen to the rest of their conversation. I guess there goes that idea. Was it bad that I was happy that if I was staying home doing nothing, at least I knew Jackson was, too? Unless he decided to make plans now. My stomach turned slightly at the thought. Not that it should matter to me in the slightest.
Catherine walked away from the table and soon enough everyone was back to their individual conversations. I was stabbing my salad with my fork, not really interested in eating it. Jackson made a frustrated sound next to me.
"Looks like we both have the night off, I guess," I said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Of course it was my night off regardless."
Jackson chuckled slightly, swiping the apple off of my tray and taking a large bite. This was another one of Jackson's signature moves, so I wasn't even surprised.
"Let's do something," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked with raised eyebrows.
Jackson leaned his chair back on two legs, looking up as he took a few more bites of the pilfered apple.
"Dinner? Drinks?" he responded after a brief pause. "I have no idea, anything other than both of us sitting at home on our couches."
I considered his offer. I couldn't even remember the last time Jackson and I had gone out together in any way, shape, or form. Before the divorce? While I was pregnant with Harriet?
"Joe's?" I offered. To be honest, it was the only place I could think of.
Jackson shook his head. He was still munching away on my apple, looking at the ceiling.
"Nah, I'm not in the mood for Joe's."
"What about that little Irish pub? Golightly's?" I hadn't been there since our Mercy West days, but it had been our version of Joe's. Jackson smiled at that suggestion.
"God, I haven't even thought about that place in ages. Remember when Charles got us all kicked out?" Jackson turned to me as he spoke.
"How could I forget? That was one of the most mortifying moments of my life! I'd never been kicked out of anywhere before," we both laughed as we remembered that night. Our laughter died off, and I could tell that Jackson was remembering our friends just like I was. "On second thought, maybe not Golightly's."
Jackson nodded silently.
"What about that little wine bar you used to love?" he suggested. I knew exactly what place he was talking about. "What's it called?"
"Reverie," I answered. Once upon a time that had been our go-to spot for date night. Back in our failed early days, before that pregnancy scare, it had been the only date we had gone on.
"Right, Reverie. You always loved that place. They made that cocktail you liked," I was kind of surprised he remembered all of that.
"And you always made fun of it, if I remember correctly," I reminded him. He laughed at that.
"I'm more mature now," he joked. "What do you say? You, me, Reverie?"
I considered him, and his invitation. On the one had, I had missed hanging out with him, just the two of us. On the other hand, that place wasn't exactly a casual hang out.
Before I had a chance to respond, our conversation was picked up by the others sitting around the table.
"Did I just hear you say you're going to Reverie? I love that place," Arizona said excitedly. "And it's a great place to meet ladies."
Jackson rolled his eyes at that comment. I hadn't even considered that fact. Back when we were only best friends I had played wingwoman on more than one occasion. Was that what this was?
"Not for me. Especially not with this one. Everyone always assumes I'm her gay best friend," this got a laugh out of me.
"That was one time, don't be so dramatic," I said through my laughter.
"It has been a while since anyone thought that. I guess now it's more likely that they think we're together," his tone of voice was hard for me to read, but it definitely wasn't his normal voice.
"I'm not in the mood to get hit on, anyways. I just want some good food, good drinks. No flirting or anything," I told him. He gave me a strange look in response.
He leaned his body away from me, giving me an up and down before looking in my eyes. His gaze was intense, but it almost always was. After what felt like a full minute he nodded his head. He stood up, pushing his chair in before he responded.
"Do you still have that emerald green, one shoulder dress you wore to that charity event?" I nodded my head. I remembered that dress well. "Wear that. And trust me, no one will hit on you."
He began walking away. Without pausing he looked back over his shoulder.
"I'll probably be stuck working a little late but I should be done around 7:30. Meet me in the lobby."
"What the hell is wrong with the emerald dress? I thought I looked good in that!"
As my shift ended I took a deep breath, letting out all the stress from the day. The E.R. had been much busier than I had anticipated, and I was exhausted. I was actually looking forward to a night on my couch, catching up on some Netflix.
As I walked towards the door I stopped suddenly. Crap, I couldn't spend the night sitting on the couch. I had stupidly agreed to get dinner with Jackson that night. And not only that, I was supposed to wear a dress that I hadn't worn in years. I wasn't even sure it would still fit me. Sure, I had gotten rid of all the baby weight, but my body had still changed after Harriet.
Checking my watch, I figured I had about two hours to get home, get changed and ready, and make it back here with enough time to meet Jackson. Totally doable.
I rushed home, thanking the powers that be that my house wasn't too far from the hospital. It was way closer than the frat house had been and about the same distance as Jackson's place.
When I made the decision to move out, it wasn't an easy one for anyone involved. I cried myself to sleep for the first five nights in my new place. But eventually, I stopped thinking of it as "my new place" and it just became home. And now I truly do love it.
For the first time in my adult life, I was able to decorate the entire house exactly how I wanted to. There was no one to make fun of me for all of my throw pillows, or to roll their eyes at my succulents, or mock all quotes hung on my wall (save for Harriet, but my little ladybug was sweet enough to keep her opinions on her mama's style to herself.) I decorated my home in a way that makes me smile everytime I walk through my door.
Even now, when I'm slightly terrified for tonight, just walking through my front door is enough to calm my nerves. It's like my own little oasis. The only thing that could make it better is if my family was whole again, under one roof.
Making my way into my bedroom, I find the emerald green dress in the back of my closet. I had worn it once to an Avery event, one of the few I had gone to as Jackson's wife. Catherine had made a big deal out of how amazing the color looked with my skin tone and hair color.
I thought it was a great dress on me, but I realized I needed a second opinion. I guess I was going to have to head back to the hospital early. There were plenty of second opinions there.
I ignored all of the looks I got as I hurriedly made my way up the stairs. I burst into the attending lounge. My red hair flowed down my back in what I considered perfect waves. I had painted my lips red. The emerald green dress Jackson had requested looked just as good on me now as it had the last time I had worn it, at least I thought so. Nude pumps on my feet, matching clutch in my hand. I thought I looked good, but evidently I can't even trust my own opinion anymore. Throwing my coat and clutch onto the nearest chair, I threw my arms out to my side.
"Do I look fat? Or hideous? Tell the truth," I demanded of the other surgeons already sitting in the room. They all looked alarmed at the abrupt intrusion. Clearly they had been discussing something when I walked in.
Amelia glanced at me, lazily motioning for me to turn so she could see clearly. I did as told, turning in a circle slow enough that they could all take in the full picture.
"Nah, you look hot. I'd sleep with you," Amelia responded with a cheeky grin on her face. Someone snorted.
"Thanks, Amelia," I said with a smile. Once upon a time this kind of reaction would've taken me aback. But recently Amelia and I had gotten closer, and I had begun to see the other woman in a totally different light. I couldn't help myself as I scrunched my nose and tilted my head to the side before continuing. "Although that's not really saying much, is it?"
Amelia laughed and agreed. Raising my eyes I turned to the others, asking for more opinions.
"You look great, April," Maggie smiled. She might not be my favorite person, but my mom raised me to be polite, so I smiled warmly at her.
"I already told you, you're hot. And that dress only makes you look hotter, April. Anyone would be lucky just to be seen in public with you," Arizona said with a bright smile.
"Yeah, it's a great dress. Makes your ass look insane," Meredith reassured her. I turned to Bailey for the final vote.
"I have no idea what is going on. But you look good, Kepner," Bailey said with a look of slight confusion on her face. I sighed loudly.
"I'm grabbing dinner with Jackson tonight. I told him I'm not in the mood for anyone to hit on me so he told me to wear this dress. I always thought I looked good in this dress so I have no idea why he's claiming no one will notice me if I'm wearing it," I explained as I plopped into an empty seat next to Amelia. I know how much the other women found my rambling annoying, but there's nothing I can do to help it. "He's exhausting sometimes."
That got some knowing nods from a few of the women in the room. They had all been on the sidelines for at least some of the saga that was Jackson and April, and truth be told they had all found us pretty exhausting on more than one occasion. I was well aware of this fact.
"I don't know why you still put so much energy into trying to understand anything that comes out of that boy's mouth," Arizona was never one to hold back her feelings, especially to me. "You've been trying for years."
I groaned in frustration. It was true. But after everything that Jackson and I had been through together, I know him better than I know myself. It's hard to put into words, but after all these years of understanding him so fully, on the rare occasions when I don't, I tend to drive myself insane trying to.
"What can I say, I don't like not understanding things. And sometimes Jackson is like a big dumb puzzle I just want to solve. Except the pieces keep changing right as I think I have it figured out," I say with a shrug. Amelia opened her mouth like she was about to say something when the door to the conference room opened. We all turned at the sound, and all were equally surprised when Jackson stepped into the room, looking at the file in his hand.
"Dr. Bailey, I just had a question about..." He began before looking up and seeing all the eyes on him. "Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?"
Standing up I placed my hands on my hips. Jackson couldn't stop his eyes from slowly making their way down my body. I had gotten used to this when we were married. Jackson was never able to hide his desire. It had been one of my favorite things about him. On their return up to my face, they went even slower. I couldn't stop myself from biting my lower lip as I watched his eyes make their journey.
By the time he made eye contact, he had a smirk on his face. That smirk was one I recognized very well, and I realized that my face had a matching one. Raising one brow and tilting my head ever so slightly, I took a step towards him.
"I see you took my advice about the dress," was all he said. Seemingly without noticing it he took a few steps towards me. I mirrored him, and suddenly we were almost toe to toe. It was like there was no one else in the room. Just me and him.
"I did," I began. Feeling bold, I took the slightest step backwards before slowly turning in place, giving him a full view of the dress. Once I was sure he had seen every inch, including my supposedly 'insane ass' I turned to look him in the eyes again. "But, personally, I think I look hot. So I'm a little confused as to why you seem to think no one will notice me in this dress."
Jackson laughed slightly, but it held little actual humor in it. He looked down at me, taking yet another step forward and resting a hand lightly on my waist. His eyes darkened slightly.
"Oh, they'll all notice me, they will. But you sitting across the table from me in that dress, looking that gorgeous," his voice took on a slightly more husky tone as he continued, "I won't be able to take my eyes off of you. And every single man and woman in that restaurant will know that you're taken. They'll know that you're all mine."
I remained silent as he smirked at me. Jackson had always said things like this to me back when we were together. And even after all this time, my body still responded the same way. I could feel my pulse quicken and my skin heat up.
There were varying chuckles and gasps from behind me, but I stayed completely still, seeing only Jackson in front of me. He removed his hand from my waist wordlessly and took a few steps back. His gaze never left my eyes until he reached the door.
Looking over my head, he spoke to Bailey before leaving.
"Bailey, I'll talk to you about the meeting tomorrow," He nodded at her before turning towards the door. He stopped just in the doorway when I spoke.
"What are you wearing tonight?" I wasn't sure what made me ask the question, but my interest was piqued.
"Guess you'll just have to wait and see. I'll come grab you here when I'm ready. Give me half an hour," He shut the door behind him, not giving me any time to respond. I shook my head almost imperceptibly before turning towards the women behind me.
Arizona had a gigantic smile on her face, practically bouncing in her seat. Bailey was shaking her head, somewhat disgusted by us, but deep down she loves the drama. Next to Arizona, Amelia was wearing a smirk, eyebrows raised. Maggie looked a little starstruck.
"Dude, I think I just got pregnant from listening to him," Amelia finally said. That got a laugh out of the others. "Seriously, how did you not just jump him?"
"Normally I think Amelia's insane, but I almost agree with her this time," Meredith said from her seat across the table. She pointed at me as she looked me in the eyes. "You're totally sleeping with him tonight."
"She better sleep with him tonight!" Arizona exclaimed with a snort. She looked towards me before continuing. "I mean, it's been forever since you got laid."
"First of all, it is none of anyone's business how long it has been," I countered. Seriously, my sex life is none of their business at all. "And second of all, who even said sex was on the table tonight?"
"Sex is always on the table when it comes to you and Jackson, let's be real," Meredith rolled her eyes as she responded. "You might be able to fool some people, but I was here when the two of you were doing it like teenagers in every single on call room in the hospital."
I could feel my face turn bright red as I looked at my hands, considering what Meredith was saying. Jackson and I had a complicated past. And at one point we had been pretty sexually active. But after everything that had happened, things had changed. At this point we were just exes. And friends.
"How long has it been since you and Jackson slept together?" Amelia asked, curiosity evident in her voice. Even though Amelia and I had bonded since she married Owen, she had still missed out on a lot of the smaller details. And we might be close, but we definitely weren't at the level where I was sharing my (limited) sex life with her.
I looked down at my hands and sighed deeply. I hadn't actually told anyone about what had happened in Montana. Part of me wanted to keep it to myself. It might have turned out to only be a one night stand, but it had been important to me. I didn't want to ruin it by talking about it.
Plus, part of me didn't want the judgement for sleeping with my ex-husband.
"When we went to Montana for that throat transplant," I answered quietly. Arizona's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"You did?" Arizona asked loudly. I'm sure I looked sheepish as I nodded in reply. "Why didn't you tell me?"
I sighed loudly and sat back, letting my head thump against the back of the chair. Staring up at the ceiling as if it had any answers, I remained silent for a few more seconds and collected my thoughts.
"Because I knew it probably wasn't the smartest move. And I knew even then that it was probably going to cause us issues, which, it did," I began. "Plus there was a part of me that liked keeping it to myself. Like it only belonged to us, or something."
The other women in the room nodded their heads in understanding. None of them were strangers to heartache, or to sleeping with someone they probably shouldn't. I might not be always be in the inner circle here at Grey Sloan Memorial, but I heard enough rumors to know this.
"Is that why you moved out?" Meredith asked gently. She was trying to be nice and tread lightly, I could tell. Not everyone felt as comfortable being up front with me as Arizona.
"Partially," I admitted honestly. "Not so much because we slept together, but because we just never talked about it. It was like it had never happened. It's not like I was expecting to come home and instantly be together again or anything. I don't even know if that's what I would have wanted. I just expected us to at least talk about it. But instantly he was working nonstop and avoiding it and then things just got so, so painful."
Arizona got out of her seat and walked around the table. Bending at the waist she put her arms around me. I had been doing everything in my power to keep Arizona from seeing all of my pain lately. It wasn't that I didn't trust her or anything. I just didn't want to rain on her parade. She was finally happy, and she was my best friend.
"I don't know Jackson as well as you do. But I know him through you, if that makes sense. And he's a good man, April. Your problem has always been your lack of communication. Don't let that continue to ruin everything you guys have worked so hard for," Arizona said quietly. She was right, of course.
I kissed her forehead, silently thanking her for always being there for me and always saying just what I need to hear.
Before anyone else had a chance to say anything the door opened and Jackson walked in. He was wearing a charcoal gray button down shirt and jeans. He looked good, but he always did. I used to tease him all the time because he spent longer getting ready, and needed a bigger closet for all of his clothes. But I'd also be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the fruits of his labor. The man knew how to dress, and he looked good.
"You make me wear this dress, and you're in jeans?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I grabbed my leather jacket and clutch from the chair next to me. He wordlessly stepped forward, taking the jacket and helping me into it.
"It doesn't matter what I'm wearing," he responded as he pulled my hair gently out from inside of my jacket. I gave him a questioning look, prompting him to further explain. "No one's going to give me a second glance when you're standing there looking like that."
I couldn't help but smile, but still shook my head as I narrowed my eyes at him. I adjusted my clutch before speaking.
"Right, that was the purpose of the dress, wasn't it?" I said, joking just slightly.
"Truth?" He raised his eyebrows at me, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. I nod. "It doesn't matter what you wear, I can't keep my eyes off of you regardless. I just wanted to see you in this dress again."
My hand ghosted over his bicep as I looked into his eyes. His eyes had always been a weakness to me. And he knew it. A smile slowly formed on my face. I opened my mouth to say something, what I'm not quite sure, when I remembered we had an audience. A very nosy audience at that. Biting my lip and glancing quickly over my shoulder I moved my hand down his arm to grasp his hand.
"Come on, Romeo. You're buying," I joke as I led him out of the room.
"Always. Anything for my girl."
So, maybe there was a chance for us after all. As long as you have a little faith, anything is possible.