Don't Open That Door - GoM 1

2

Convincing Stu to add Daughtry to the jukebox was a moral victory Alex would savor for a long time. It was a Tuesday night and she and her friends were the only customers in the bar, so Alex had a chance to play her favorite songs. She could feel Stu's eyes stabbing her back from behind the counter, outraged at her heresy. She smirked at him on her way back to her friends.

Stu snorted and went back to mopping glasses, grumbling, "This ain't no rockanroll."

It was a special night: Markus and Alice were moving in together. About a year ago, Markus had bought what had been the Palmer's outstanding house on the cliffs, between the lake and the road, just past the wooden welcome sign. It needed a lot of work and things moved slowly. Until George moved to Bold Peak. He took on the restoration and the house was finished in half the scheduled time.

At any other time, Markus would have invited them over for dinner at the new house, to throw a little opening party. But Ian Blake was coming to town on Wednesday. He was old friends with Markus and would stay with him. So the house opening dinner would have him as main guest. Which meant a formal evening on Thursday night.

"Heard Major Dick is going?" said Bass. "Really, Markus. Never thought you'd befriend the royals."

"Only a few of them," Markus replied, amused. "Mayor Dickinson and a couple of his officers. George's gonna be there too, so there's still hope."

"When he's gonna be sitting by his Chicago Big Money?" said Jack. "Forget it."

"Hey, I'm hurt," George protested.

"It's gonna be business-business-business all night long," said Sandy. "I'm actually happy I don't have to be there."

"And that's my best friend," said Alice, huffing. "Leaving me all alone when I need back up the most."

As they kept their banter going, Alex found George's eyes on her. She swallowed a sigh and smiled at him. It was about time they had the conversation she'd been stalling for the last weeks.

When she was discharged from the hospital and resumed her normal routine, George also resumed his old habit of dropping by to say hi to her every morning, He stopped at the bookstore on his way to his office across the street, bringing her fresh coffee from Jill's.

The week before she'd accepted dining out with him. They'd spent a nice evening full of small talk and easy jokes. He hadn't even tried to go into anything remotely personal and it seemed everything was clear and fine between them. If Alex hadn't known him better.

George had come up with his own explanation to what Alex had done back in October, when The Guardian had taken him. And now he was only stepping on safe ground, to make her drop her guard before even suggesting the possibility of getting back together. Alex was well aware how selfish and cruel it'd be of her, not to speak up before she was forced to reject him.

That Tuesday night, Ollie's truck was sleeping over at Mike's repair shop. He and Claire wanted to go to Guglianno's for some 'epic pasta', so Alex lent them the Hilux. Not like any of them really needed a ride. Guglianno's was only one street away from Stu's, and both places were hardly half a mile away from the Corbans home. But those were the standard distances between places in Bold Peak, and it was broadly accepted as normal to drive everywhere, no matter how far.

For once, Alex thought that being on foot could come in handy. She killed her ale, paid Stu as she sang It's Not Over on top of her lungs and turned to her friends to say good night.

"You're on foot tonight, right?" asked Bass.

She nodded. At any other time, she'd be annoyed at their friends being such snoopers. But that night she was counting on it.

"I can give you the ride," said George.

Alex had hardly nodded again when he had already left his ale and a bill on the counter.

The others watched them leave together like they'd used to and didn't think of joking about it.

"Wish they'd get back together," Alice muttered.

"She did risk her life to save'im," said Jack. "That sure means something."