Chapter 24: A Choice to Make
Rose walked into Storm Chargers and she saw Dustin duck under the counter to get a tool that he had dropped. She walked over to the counter. "Dustin?" She called. She jumped slightly when a large smack could be heard from underneath the counter. She winced, she knew that Dustin had hit his head.
"Ow! Dude that's going to be a killer headache," he groaned.
"Ouch, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
Rose smiled as she patted the sore spot on his head. "Poor little Dustin he hit his head on the counter," she fake mourned.
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Dustin mumbled.
"Sorry. Have you seen Hunter?" She asked.
"Yeah, he and Blake just took off to the track."
"Oh…he was supposed to meet me here today."
Dustin saw the disappointed look on her face. "So, what were you and Hunter going to do?" He asked.
"Oh…the usual, just having lunch together," she replied.
She then went towards the door. He ran from behind the counter. "Hey, Rose," he called. Rose looked up.
"Yeah?" She asked.
Dustin was cleaning his hands off as he ran up to her. "I know I'm not your boyfriend, but how about just two friends hang out and have lunch?" He asked. Rose smiled.
"Sure, sounds like fun," she replied.
Dustin smiled as he led her to a place where they could eat and actually talk.
After lunch they walked through the park. Dustin looked over at Rose. "Hey, Rose. Are you happy with Hunter?" He asked. Rose looked up at him.
"Of course I am. What kind of question is that?" She asked.
"Well, for the past few weeks you haven't looked happy," he replied.
Rose shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Hunter and I seem to be disconnecting. We're not like what other couples are. I mean, Hunter's loyal to me and everything. He tries to make things special when we get together, but when I look at him, he looks like he's missing something," she explained. Dustin nodded and Rose sat down. "I know his second deepest, darkest secret," she added. Dustin stood in front of her.
"What would be his second deepest, darkest secret?" He asked.
She looked up at him with sad eyes. "That he's in love with someone else," she replied. Dustin stared at her in disbelief.
"How do you know that?" He asked.
"I can see it on his eyes. He's got someone on his mind and I know it's not me."
Dustin sat next to her. "Well…what are you going to do?" He asked. Rose shrugged.
"I don't know," she replied.
"Well, you know if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here," he assured her.
Rose looked up at him with a smile. "Thanks, Dustin," she answered. Dustin nodded.
"Anytime, Rose," he told her with a grin.
Rose realized that they were really close and she pulled back, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Um, maybe you should get back to work, I don't think Kelly would like the shop to be closed down for long," she commented.
"Yeah…so, I'll see you later," he stated.
"Yeah, sure."
She got up and left. Dustin rubbed the back of his neck. "I must be losing my mind," he mumbled as he walked back to Storm Chargers.
Rose stood on a bridge and looked into the water. "What am I doing?" She asked herself. She then had an idea. She went to Ninja Ops to find Kimberly.
Kimberly was working on something when Rose came in. "Miss Hart?" She called. Kimberly looked up and saw the confused look on Rose's face.
"Rose, is something wrong?" She asked.
"Yes…no…I'm not sure." She replied.
Kimberly had Rose sit down. "Okay, just tell me what's going on for starters," Kimberly instructed. Rose nodded and took a deep breath. She told Kimberly what happened at the park. Kimberly sat back and just nodded her head.
"I don't know what to do, Miss Hart. I like Hunter, but I can't…" Rose trailed off.
"But you can't stop thinking about Dustin," Kimberly finished for her.
Rose nodded her head slowly. "I don't know what to do," she added. Kimberly stared at the confused, young woman.
"Rose, I can't decide this for you. What I can do is give you some advice that can help you," Kimberly informed.
Rose looked up at Kimberly. "What's that?" She asked. Kimberly stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Listen to your heart, it'll always lead you down the right path," Kimberly advised.
Rose nodded with a small smile. "Thanks, Miss Hart," Rose answered. Kimberly nodded with a smile. Rose stood up and left Ninja Ops.
Rose went back to Storm Chargers. It looked like Hunter and Blake were still at the track with Kelly. "Dustin?" She called. Dustin stood up, he was covered in grease. "Wow! So this is the real Dustin Brooks?" She asked.
"Yeah, well, this bike is giving me problems," he informed.
Rose set her purse down on a couch. "Here, let me see," she answered.
"Okay," he agreed.
Rose walked behind the counter and she looked at the bike. "What's the exact problem that you're having with it?" She asked.
"Well, it won't start. Tried changing everything and it still won't start," he replied.
"Okay," she answered.
Rose took off the over shirt she was wearing, revealing the light blue tank top she was wearing underneath. Dustin leaned back against the counter, trying to keep his eyes from wandering. "There, that should do it," she told him. She stood up and she tried to start it. To Dustin's surprise, it did start.
"Dude, no way! I've been working on that bike for weeks!" He commented.
"You had a few wires crossed, changing some of the stuff in there was good, but you just had those two wires in there crossed."
Rose picked her shirt back up and stood next to him. "Listen, Rose, I want to apologize for earlier," he told her.
"For what?" She asked.
"I was totally getting into your business."
Rose smiled. "It's fine, besides, I kind of came here to talk to you about that," she answered. Dustin sat back.
"Okay," he said slowly.
Rose cleaned her hands off and she sat next to him. "Dustin, for the past few weeks, Hunter and I have drifted apart…far apart," she informed.
"So, what do you plan on doing about it?" He asked.
Dustin was caught off guard when Rose put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. However, after a minute, he placed his hand on the side of her face and kissed her back.