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“You? No. You never just smile,” she says accusingly.
I laugh softly, knowing she’s not wrong. I haven’t had much of a reason to smile in the time that I’ve worked here. But she better get used to it with the way that man makes me feel.
The front door chimes with a new customer, and I look up just in time to see Sander walk through the door.
My mood almost instantly deflates, leaving me a little on edge. I never know how he’s going to act these days, and now that Bodhi and I or seeing each other, it feels a little odd to allow sander to continue to entertain thoughts of the two of us.
“Afternoon, ladies,” he says with a bright smile.
“Officer,” Teagan says in lieu of a greeting.
“Please, Teagan, you can call me Sander,” he says, chuckling lightly.
“I know,” she says with a wink, and I think Sander might actually be blushing.
If only Teagan would ditch her loser, wannabe gangster, boyfriend and go for Sander instead.
“What can I get for you, San?” I ask, throwing him a line.
“Uh, just two iced teas and a club,” he replies.
“A whole one?” I ask.
“Yeah, Beau and I are going to split it,” he says.
I nod and turn to assemble his order, making sure to put extra napkins in the bag for both of them.
“Walk me out?” he asks after paying.
“Yeah, sure,” I say, and Teagan nods to let me know that she’s got everything covered.
“I wish I had an extra couple of minutes to talk, but we’ve got to head back to the station,” Sander explains as we reach the cruiser. He passes the brown paper bag containing the sandwich through the window to his partner, Beau Larson, before handing off the iced teas.
“Oh, was there something you needed to tell me?” I ask, tucking my hands in the front pocket of my apron, confused on why he asked me out here if he couldn't talk.
“Kind of, but nothing that can’t wait, I guess,” he says, nodding his head from one side to the other.
“Oh, okay. Well, I guess you could always text me?” I offer, curious despite myself.
“I was actually hoping you were going to take me up on that offer for lunch one of these days,” he says, chuckling, though it sounds forced.
I’ve been so in my head the last couple of weeks, I know I promised him we’d hang out, and the longer I push it off, the weirder things are going to become. I just need to bite the bullet and give in. Maybe then he'll back off for a little while.
“Well, I have the day after tomorrow off. Maybe we can do brunch or something?” I ask, hoping to get the encounter over as early in the day as possible while still having time to head over to Bodhi’s.
“Actually, that works out perfectly. Beau and I swapped shifts with Wells and Banks, so I have the morning off. You sure you don’t want to do breakfast instead?” he asks, suddenly invigorated.
“I close tomorrow, and you know how I am If I don’t get my sleep,” I say.
He laughs, nodding his head.
“Yes, I am fully aware of the absolute terror you become when you don’t get your beauty sleep,” he says, poking fun, reminding me so much of teenage Sander in moments like this.
It makes me a little sad. Because of my actions over the last few years, I lost out on a really great friendship. The part of me tells me he’s trying to keep that alive, only for him to turn around and make me question his intentions.
“Yeah, well, what can I say?” I shrug my shoulder, and he just smiles.
“Okay, well, I better get out of here, but I will text you tomorrow,” he says.
