Chapter 20

"So you never told me how your date the other night went," I found myself asking, breaking the silence that had fallen as we settled into the small, quiet space of my car. "Have you decided whether you're dating yet?"

I heard rather than saw Alex's hesitation. "Um... yeah," she said eventually. "I think we are. Now." Whether she intended it or not, her words were heavy with implication.

"Ah." I let a few seconds tick by, maybe a few too many, before speaking up again. "Well. Congratulations are in order, I suppose."

"Well, I wouldn't... I mean, thanks," Alex said. I was unsurprised to hear little in the way of the giggling enthusiasm one would expect from someone enjoying the first blush of romance.

Alex wasn't the most emotional of people - well, that wasn't entirely true. She could certainly get passionate when discussing projects for the students, or when we were deep in conversation about politics over drinks. She just never seemed to demonstrate any strong emotions about her relationships, at least, not that I had seen. It seemed a bit incongruous, but I knew plenty of scientists who were over-analytical when it came to matters of the heart. It didn't really track, though, with her previous assertion that her tastes ran to wild, artistic types. Perhaps this latest relationship was her 'growing up' and changing her ways. I wondered idly what the 'old' Alex, this fictional character who was slowly growing in my mind, would be like in a relationship. I wondered whether she put the same passion into her romance that she did into her work, and I must have been having a private smile to myself at the road ahead of me, because after a while Alex spoke.

"You've cheered up," she said. Then, more curiously, "Penny for them. Or, I don't know, whatever that is adjusted for inflation?"

"Hah," I replied, glancing over at her briefly. "Must be a couple pounds at least by now. I was just... thinking of how nice it must be, going through the first stages of a relationship, experiencing all those feelings..."

"Mm, must be. I mean, sure, yeah."

"Or maybe you're past all that now? I mean, it's been what, months..."

"Wee-ell..." Alex hummed. "We've been taking it pretty slowly."

I'll say. I don't think I could've waited six months before reaching a point where I could finally say I was dating someone - not that I'd jump into bed with just anyone, but I'd certainly have called it quits before then. "Well. Whatever works for you, I guess. I'm glad you're happy." And I was. Alex deserved it.

 

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