What The End Looks Like | ✓

26: dean

I was intently chopping all the bell peppers at the kitchen counter when I hear a loud uproar out in the day room. I set my knife down to see Lacey wearing a giant coat and a pink hat that matches the flushed tone in her face.

She didn't say she was stopping by today?

My heart squeezes painfully seeing the way Chase lights up after seeing her. He kisses her on the cheek and it takes everything in me to stay where I am. She hasn't talked to him yet.

Everyone here loves her. Jonah told me that as long as she brought cookies again that Lacey was always welcome. Vince likes that she puts me in my place.

Linc gives me a weird look because he heard everything that happened last Saturday and I shake my head, silently telling him not to say anything. I got quite the earful the next day after the girl he'd planned on screwing had left after all the fighting that went on between Lacey and me. And then Chase kisses her on the cheek. This is great.

I pour the peppers into the sauce pan to sauté before continuing to prepare the chicken. I decided last shift that I was going to make quesadillas today because they're easy enough to prepare.

I can't help but glance up to see what they're all doing and I catch Lacey staring at me. She gives me a smile that causes my heart to skip a beat. I return it with a small one that no one else notices. Stolen kisses and secret smiles. That's what we have right now. Just until she talks to Chase. Then I can stop acting like her best friend because I'm so over that.

After seeing Paige with Maddox, it became pretty clear to me that the reason I couldn't commit to Paige was Lacey. I can blame it on Maddox all I want before I met Lacey, but after? I couldn't get her out of my head.

I'd fully intended on just being her friend, that's all I thought I had time for. When I invited her to that dinner at Hayes and Sephine's, I had no idea that this is where we'd be three months later. I don't even know what came over me and caused me to invite her. Lacey was just another damsel in distress and I've never invited any others to family dinner.

Being around Lacey makes everything in my life make sense. She makes sense to me. I don't know how to explain it.

Avoiding her last week was hell. Literal hell when I wanted to do nothing more than talk to her. Not that talking was the only thing I had in mind, but I missed Lacey.

She is stubborn and it drives me nuts that she sees everything so simply. Everything is black and white to her and I'd like to try and see it that way too. Maybe just maybe she can show me how to do that.

I shake my head, trying to focus on this chicken before I cut one of my own fingers off. Stupid chicken.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" Lacey asks with amusement clear in her voice. Her parka is still wrapped tightly around her and I'm surprised because it's not even that cold outside for this time of the year.

"I have no idea."

She cracks a smile, "I don't know either. I just wanted to try and make you laugh."

It does cause me to laugh because it's exactly the kind of thing she would do. "You're something else."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a man in uniform."

"Lace, I hate to break it to you, but I'm not wearing a uniform right now," I reply, focusing on cubing the chicken. I've got to get this done since we could quite literally be called out at any second.

"We can fix that," She says cheekily.

And then I'm very aware of the fact that Chase is watching us from across the room from where he's talking to Jonah. I lower my voice and avoid looking at her when I ask my next question. "When are you going to talk to him?"