After the movie they made their way over to Kelly's for dinner, it was a little tradition of theirs that they are their together at least once a week. He had made it though the movie but now sitting here across from her it was harder for him to not say anything about his feelings. It took all the strength he could muster not to blurt out his true feelings for her after what he had seen earlier today. This was one of the first times in his life when he could ever remember feeling jealous and he wasn't even sure there was anything to be jealous over.
Yet somehow he knew that even if this guy hadn't caught Lulu's attention, there one day would be a another guy who would and he really wanted that guy to be him. But who was he kidding they were friends and she probably only saw him as a friend. Of course she would probably never feel the same way he did about her, so in the end he was doomed to spend the rest of his life liking someone who never even knew it.
"Dante? Earth to Dante." Lulu said as she waved a hand in front of his face snapping him out of his reverie.
"Sorry, what were you saying."
"I just asked you to pass the ketchup," she said as he finally handed it to her. "Where were you just now?"
"Oh just thinking about a case," he lied as he started eating his food which was slowly getting cold.
"Is it a big one?" she asked knowing he really couldn't tell her the details.
"Uh...yeah really big case."
"Well I hope you crack it then." she said with a smile.
"Thanks. But um enough about me how was your day?"
"It was going horribly until I met this cute guy on the pier, he offered to help me with my bags too. It's good to know that there are still gentlemen out there."
"Oh ya what's his name?" he asked hoping for more information.
"You just want to do a background check on him don't you?"
"What no...I was just wondering."
"I was joking, geez." She said laughing at the face he made. "His name's Brent."
After dinner he dropped Lulu off at her apartment and said goodbye before heading home to his place. He knew tonight he wouldn't be getting much sleep not with everything that was on his mind. Tonight he not only learned that he had feelings for his best friend but that she liked another guy and that this guy whoever he was had asked for her number. It was only a matter of time before he lost her altogether and he knew it.
Dante lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling in the dark, he knew he had to tell Lulu the truth but now that she liked this new guy there was no way she would feel the same way about him. But he just couldn't stand seeing her with that guy. 'What if she was wrong and he was lying to her about everything, that was a possibility, right?' he thought to himself as he went over to his desk and wrote down the guys name on a piece of paper so he wouldn't forget it. He was going to do a little background check when he went into work the next day. It was a good idea and he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it himself, but if it would spare her the pain of learning that this new guy wasn't as honest as he said he was then it was definitely worth it.
The next day he fired up his computer and typed in the name "Brent Davidson" and let out a groan as he realized that the guy had no prior criminal records, not even so much as a parking ticket. He was everything she had said he was and now that he knew it it made him feel like he had lost her for good. Why now when he finally realized that he had feelings for her, did this new guy have to show up and ruin things. If this new guy hadn't showed up he might have had a chance but now he would never know how things would have turned out.
****
Lulu was just kicking off her shoes after a long day of work when the phone rang, leaning over she picked it up on the third ring. "Hello," she said as she leaned back on the couch.
"Hey Lulu? It's Brent from the other day."
"Oh hey," Lulu said immediately sitting up with a smile on her face.
"So I was wondering if you had plans for Saturday?"
"No as a matter of fact I'm free."
"Alright well how about I pick you up at 7?"
"Sure sounds good."
****
Dante was sitting at the bar nursing his glass of beer, when someone covered his eyes with their hands. "Am I supposed to guess who this is?" he asked knowing full well it was Lulu he could smell her lavender shampoo as soon as she touched him. "Lu, I know it's you I mean who else would sneak up on a cop when his back is turned. Lulu stepped out from behind him and took a seat next to him.
"Can I have a beer too Coleman," she said as she turned to look at Dante. "So where have you been for the past week, it's like you've been avoiding me."
"No I've just been busy with work lately."
"Ah well I have some news that guy that I told you about he called and we went out on Saturday."
"Oh that's great."
"Come on aren't you happy for me?" she asked seeing the look on his face.
"Of...of course I'm happy for you. Why wouldn't I be?"
