Chapter 3
"Hey, Buffy, you've got a visitor."
Buffy started another song and left the booth and made her way out to the office. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Detective Antonio Dawson standing in the reception area. "Detective Dawson," she acknowledged.
"You've been very difficult to track down, Grace," he started.
She cringed when she heard him state her given name. "Ok, so you found me. You come to arrest me?"
He smiled, amused. "Should I?"
"I can't imagine why else you would be here." She held up a finger and left the room, stepping briefly inside the studio to start another CD. Antonio followed her, and looked around.
"So this is where all of the magic happens," he observed.
"Pretty much. So you're here why?" she asked, still unsure of why he was here.
"Well, I didn't have a number to call you, so I thought I'd come over to ask if you'd like to have dinner."
She bit her lip, trying to phrase a polite refusal. "I don't think so," she said.
"Don't date cops?" he challenged.
"Don't date married men."
"I'm not married anymore. My wife divorced me a year and a half ago."
"I'm sorry."
She felt bad for him. That was why he was at the zoo with Diego. It must have been his visitation weekend.
"So… dinner… Friday night?"
"Let me think about it," she conceded. She wanted time to investigate him and see if he was telling her the truth or not.
"Fair enough. I'll be in touch."
He left the station more confused than when he went in. He wasn't sure if she was giving him the brush off or if she was going to check her book and make sure that she was free. He wondered if he should have tried to get her number when they were at the zoo, but Diego wanted to see the polar bears and he didn't want to disappoint his son. Time with him and Ava was precious and he took his responsibilities as a father very seriously.
Buffy returned to work. Throughout the rest of her shift, she found herself wondering if she had done the right thing by not saying yes to a date with Detective Dawson. When they were at the zoo, she found him attractive, but she had pushed all thoughts out of him out of her mind when she thought he was married. The way her luck ran, all of the handsome men were either married or gay. It had been a while since she had even thought of dating that she had begun to think her current dry spell was going to last forever and she was going to wind up being one of those crazy cat ladies that everyone had joked about.
She wished she knew what District house he worked out of. At least if she knew that, she could call him and give him an answer.