Alive Again

The two men left it alone, and Alex asked if she wanted to stay for dinner.

She agreed, and they went into the kitchen together to make a salad and garlic bread to go with the spaghetti and meatballs Alex had made earlier in the day. She talked about the officer who had asked her out and how hot he was.

“He has the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Like they had to be fake—they are so blue. And his hair was cut short but inky black, and he had a panty-dropping smile. I mean wow.

“Even though he is a cop, he has this bad boy air about him,” Lorelai gushed.

“So, he is everything you dated in high school and at the start of college? Like Travis Malone?” Joel smirked.

She thought back to the guys she dated and grinned and shrugged.

The threesome had a great evening, and she left after helping with the dishes to run to the grocery store for some lunch items for the week.

They stood at the door as she backed out of the driveway and down the road.

“Do you really think she has turned the corner? Like she can finally move on from that animal and what he did to her?” Alex asked his husband.

“I haven’t seen her like this since him. I don’t want to get my hopes up, Alex, but maybe…” Joel said with a quiver in his voice.

“I hope this is the start of something good. You would love her if the old Lorelai came back to us.”

Alex pulled his husband into his arms and hugged him, praying that he was right. He loved Lorelai, the woman he met four years ago and mentored and worked with every day.

He could envision the way she used to be and the fun she and Joel had growing up by the stories they told.

The way she was now was so totally different from what he had heard from JJ, his family, and hers.

He knew for sure that he would never forget the way she looked in the ambulance when he found her at her apartment: battered, broken, and bloody.

He shook that image from his head and closed the front door to their home and locked the bolt. He followed his husband into the kitchen to get lunches and coffee ready for school tomorrow.

Lorelai sang along to the songs on the radio as she drove to the grocery store for some items for lunch.

She parked and hopped out. She grabbed a small basket and walked up and down the aisles, looking for the lunch fixings she needed.

She had her favorite roast beef and was trying to decide on a flavored tortilla for her wraps this week when she felt someone bump into her, making her drop her basket.

“Shit!” she mumbled as she bent down to pick up her purchases.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention! Are you okay?” a deep voice said.

Lorelai looked up and was shocked to find the hot cop right in front of her.

He recognized her immediately and flashed his grin at her, making her heart rate speed up in the best possible way.

“Well, well, well! Lorelai, I have to say that this is the best trip to the store I have had in a long time!”

She swallowed and looked at him. “Officer, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you. I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry! I was more at fault than you. I was just getting some things for dinners this week. What about you?”

“Umm, Lunch fixings for me. I have some SAT prep sessions for my juniors during my lunch hour, so I have to bring it this week…”

“I hated the SAT, so good luck to you! Have many takers?”

“Um, my two prep classes are full, so hopefully I will be useful to them.”

“I have no doubt you will be. But you know what this means, right?”

She swallowed again and shook her head in confusion. “No, I’m not sure what you are talking about…”

“The deal you made me earlier today, about our date. You said that when I met you again, you would say yes when I asked you out. So, Lorelai, would you go out with me?”

She was stunned and thought she was going to really have a panic attack at his words, but her heart and breathing remained steady. “I did say that, didn’t I? Well, okay…I guess yes…”

Aaron grinned even broader. “Excellent! Now, how about if you give me your number and I will call you tomorrow with some details.”

Lorelai could do nothing but nod her head. She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote her number on it, then handed it to him. He gave her his card after slipping the pen from her hand and writing his cell number on the back.

It read: Aaron O’Shay, Sergeant K9 South Division.

She looked back at him and smiled weakly. “Umm, so…”

“I will call you tomorrow, Lorelai. I better go; Thor is waiting in my truck. Sleep well!”

She nodded, hating that she felt like such an idiot for the way she was acting. He flashed the grin that made her weak in the knees and walked to the front of the store to pay for his purchases.

She watched him walk away in black joggers and a tight-fitting long-sleeved t-shirt. She could tell he was very well muscled. She loved watching his ass as he moved.

She felt a stirring in her gut that she hadn’t felt in years, and it scared her. He was sex-walking and he was way too good for her.

He would soon figure that out, so she would memorize this moment and keep it for as long as she lived.

She grabbed the tortillas and went to the front to check out. She then went to her small SUV.

She sat for a minute, letting the heat fill the car some, and sent a group text.

Alex was reading in bed and Joel was doing some sit-ups when the text came through. They read it and looked at each other and grinned.

“Miracles really do happen,” Alex said.

Joel just grinned and wiped the tear that rolled down his face.