Chapter 8 Wanna fix this moment

Stevie looked in the mirror. 'This will do'. She wore a simple but elegant dress and flats. Though for a moment she had doubted just to wear a pair of her boots. She didn't really look forward to this evening. Being around Alex was way too awkward and somewhere she hoped he wouldn't be there, but if he would she would try to block her feelings and be just his mate as she always had been. 'Stevie, are you ready?' She heard Jodi yell from outside

Kate, Jodi and Stevie had arrived at the truck stop. Pulling at her dress, Stevie and Jodi walked in. 'Oh I see Luke', Jodi said immediately. Stevie rolled her eyes knowing that her blonde friend would leave her behind. Jodi looked at her quickly. 'I'll go' added with a 'sorry but I know you understand' look. 'Thanks for keeping me company', Stevie replied annoyed as she saw Jodi walking away. What did she saw in that Morgan? He seemed to bring nothing but trouble lately.

'Hey Stevie!' She looked around and saw Alex and Dave standing near the improvised bar.

'Well hello, you look pretty', Dave said, though he wasn't the one she wanted to hear this from. Alex gave her a soft smile, which made her look away shyly, but she recovered quickly. 'Hey where's Kate?' Dave asked while he looked around for the little Drovers girl. 'Oh she tries to find a save parking place for her Ute. You know how she is when it comes to her car.' 'Ah, I wouldn't park my Ute in a dark alley either', he smirked. Stevie shook her head amused.

As Alex went to get some drinks Dave moved closer to Stevie. He had a serious look on his face. 'Stevie, can I ask you a favor?' She nodded. 'Alex is a bit down lately and it would be great if this night brings a smile on his face again, so ...' Stevie comprehend him immediately. 'Is it Jaz?' She asked. 'Uhm something like that', Dave replied not willing to go into details. He already had said too much. 'But don't tell Alex'. She softly smirked. 'I won't, you can count on me'.

'Here you go!' Alex stretched his arm to pass over the bottles of beer to his friends.

'Ah there's Kate!' Dave looked at a searching Kate, who just had entered the truck stop. 'See you two later', he said giving Stevie a wink. He walked off to Kate, leaving Alex and Stevie looking a bit uncomfortable at each other. 'So, it does look pretty impressive here. Terry has done a great job', Stevie said to get the conversation started, intending to ignore her feelings for the rest of the evening, wanting Alex to have a great night.

It was getting pretty crowded and Stevie had dragged Alex to the dance floor. They amused themselves while dancing. Dave and Kate had just got a drink after getting all thirsty from the bizarre dance moves Dave had made, and watched the couple. 'Good to see Alex and Stevie having a good time', Dave said pleased. Kate agreed. 'Stevie can use that.' Dave looked informing at Kate. She still looked at the pair, and when she saw Dave's face she doubted to say anything more.

He gave her another stare. 'Ok, don't tell anyone I told you this but I caught Stevie all upset when she was cleaning the shearing shed this week. I even think she had been crying.' Dave looked a bit confused. 'Why?' 'I'm not sure, but Meg said Stevie and Jasmine had some words.' 'Jasmine?' Dave even looked more confused. Kate looked at him. 'Why do you make that sounds so ... so ...'. 'So like, she ... again?' Kate nodded. That was exactly what she meant. 'Well Alex didn't really had a great week either, and she caused it.' They both looked wondering at each other. What was going on with their friends?

In the meantime Stevie and Alex just enjoyed each other's company. Meg had noticed that joy too and she wondered if there was really more to the couple, as she remembered Jasmine's words.

Stevie noticed Alex was a bad dancer, but it made her laugh as he just let go, not caring what others would think. She was succeeding in making him have a good time and it made her have a good time too. Terry had just put on a new song and as she heard the lines she started to think about her feelings for Alex again.

- song playing: Dixie Chicks – Cowboy take me away -

I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of blue bonnets
And a blanket made of stars

Oh it sounds good to me
Yes it sounds so good to me

Cowboy take me away
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the wild blue
Set me free oh I pray
Closer to Heaven above
And closer to you
Closer to you

She looked at him smilingly. He smiled back and she realized how much she loved his smile and his lovely eyes. 'Good song!' Alex shouted. Stevie nodded.

The music had been uplifting so far. 'Well ladies and gentlemen, let's have some romance!', Terry yelled through the microphone. A song started to play and for a moment Stevie and Alex looked a bit uncomfortable at each other. 'Well, let's dance to this Steves', Alex said. He seemed more comfortable than Stevie as he came closer and wrapped his hands around her waist. Stevie needed to take a deep breath and smirked a bit shy. Just enjoy, she thought to herself.

She lay her arms around his neck and they softly slowed on the music. She looked at him and they both smiled. This felt perfect, Stevie thought when she looked down again and moved even closer laying her head against his chest. Alex enjoyed it. He didn't thought he would have so much fun this evening and it all was Stevie's work. He felt glad she was acting pretty normal again after last talk. Maybe her reasons where true. He looked at her again, noticing how sweet she looked tonight.

Stevie loved how Alex held her. Butterflies had taken over her stomach and once in a while she looked up and saw his sweet smile. She wished they could dance like this forever. She looked up again and their eyes met and they held the gaze just a second longer than usual. Stevie's heart skipped a beat, for a moment she was thinking of kissing him. It was definitely what she wanted; feeling him even closer, feeling her lips touching his.

But she couldn't. This was probably not the right moment at all just after Jasmine's visit. This was probably not the thing Alex wanted to happen, so she looked down again. Holding him tight, hoping that moment would ever come.

A new song started to play and the first notes sounded familiar to Alex. Though he couldn't place it right away. He looked down at Stevie who gave him another sweet smile and all of a sudden he remembered. It was Claire and his song. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a sec. But when the lyrics started to reach his ears he couldn't continue dancing.

Did I tell you that I love you today?
Have I looked into your eyes?

He couldn't be here. He let go off Stevie and it surprised her. She looked questioning at him and saw an upset face that moved away immediately, finding his way to the door. She stood there nailed to the ground.

Cause I've taken down that last remaining wall
and showed myself to you

As I am
All my faults
All my thoughts
All my yearning

She saw how further he was from her; the faster he made his move through the crowd.

Oh I love you
Always have and always will

There was only one thing that came to her mind. She had to go after him.

And I wanna fix this moment

She finally had made her way outside the truck stop and saw Alex starting his black Ute and drive off. There was nothing she could do. She looked around. Why didn't I take my own car? She saw Kate's Ute parked along the side way and she ran inside. She needed Kate's car; she needed to go after him.

A bit out of breath she found Dave and Kate. 'Please Kate, I need to borrow your car!' She looked upset and almost demanding. 'Stevie, I don't think ...' Kate wanted to say it probably wouldn't be a good idea, but she saw Stevie's begging eyes and looked at Dave right after. 'It's Alex isn't it?' Dave asked. Stevie nodded quickly, still half out of breath. 'I need to go after him.' Kate had grabbed her car keys and gave them to her friend. 'Here, go and find him'. Stevie took off as fast as she could, leaving Dave and Kate worried.