This chapter is a little longer than the others, but I didn't want to leave any of it out, so I hope you don't mind. As always, thanks for your votes and comments!
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She took her things to the bathroom and came right back, reaching for the covers she had pulled down before. Once she had them in her hands, she got back on the bed and pulled them up over the two of them.
Turning to kiss Wes again, she said, "Thank you for the flowers, and for the delicious supper, and for everything. I know it's still kind of early, but can we just stay here like this? There's no place in the world I'd rather be than here with you."
Wes kissed her again and replied, "I was thinking the same thing. The world doesn't need us tonight. Let's hide out here and forget about everything else!"
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Alex and Wes fell into a very comfortable routine. They were trading nights staying in each other's apartment. After Wes cooked for Alex on Monday, she took her turn on Tuesday, preparing sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. They did manage to make it to the store together to get toiletries for each other's apartment, so they didn't have to bring things like toothbrushes each night. Wes joked with Alex about how sure he was that there would be feminine products in his apartment soon, but he reasoned that if he was going to have a woman there every other night, that was part of the package.
They also shopped for groceries to prepare for Wesley's weekend at his dad's apartment. Being a toddler, Wesley was a big fan of chicken nuggets, corn dogs, mac and cheese and chocolate donuts, so Wes made sure to have those things on hand. Alex was a little concerned about the fact that it was all pre-processed foods that were not the healthiest, but Wes just laughed and said that it was his weekend and he wanted to spoil him as much as possible.
Friday finally came. Alex and Lori walked out to their cars together after school was dismissed. Alex turned to her friend and said, "I'm really excited about our date tonight. It's going to be fun having a reason to go out again."
Lori laughed. "You should be excited because you have a new boytoy to show off! I hope you know I plan on stealing him for a dance or two this evening so we can get away from you to talk about you."
It was Alex's turn to laugh. "I'm not surprised. I'm trying to decide if I should warn Wes about you before we get there, so he'll be ready for anything you throw his way."
"Don't worry, I'm not about to do anything to scare him off. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time - a LONG time, and I wouldn't dare do anything to change that!"
Alex grabbed her friend's arm. "Thanks. I think you're going to like him. I know I do! See you at 7:00!"
Once she got to the apartment, Alex went straight to her closet to figure out what she was going to wear for their date with Lori and Jeff. She settled on a cream-colored tank top crochet dress with a scoop neckline and put a denim jacket over the top. She dug out her cowboy boots - something she never got to wear much with Anthony, since he wanted nothing to do with the country/western scene.
Wes texted her at about 5:30 that he was home, so Alex walked to his apartment, where he was waiting for her at the door. The smile on his face let Alex know that he approved of her ensemble. They kissed as she came inside.
Wes said, "You need to help me pick out what I should wear tonight. I'm afraid I don't have anything that will match what you're wearing, but I figure you can look to see what I have and pick out what you want me to be seen in."
Alex laughed. "Really? Are we to the point that I should be picking out your clothes? If you're fine with it, I am also."
As they walked to his closet, Wes confessed, "Once I hit college, I got rid of a lot of my country clothes I wore in high school.
Alex looked through his shirts and found a brown polo that would set off well against her cream crochet dress. She thought about pairing it with blue jeans, but then noticed a pair of khaki slacks and grabbed those for him. It turned out to be an appropriate choice since he didn't have any cowboy boots, so he slipped on a pair of brown leather Rockports. Alex sighed when she saw his choice.
"We're going to get your countrified back up, son, if you're going to hang out with me! Hopefully everyone will look up at you when they see you and not down at your feet."
Wes chuckled as he replied, "Whatever - they're going to be looking at you in that killer dress anyway. They'll only see me because they'll be jealous of me being with a hottie country girl like you!"
She walked over to give him a kiss. "Keep saying all the right things, sir, and you might just get lucky tonight!"
Alex and Wes pulled into Murray's a little before 7:00. Lori had reserved a table for them since the club was usually very crowded on weekend evenings. Jeff and Lori were already there, and the hostess took them back to their table. Lori's smile revealed her excitement in meeting the man who had made her best friend so happy the past two weeks.
Alex said, "Lori and Jeff, this is Wes."
Jeff was closest to the couple and stood to shake Wes' hand as he said, "Very nice to meet you." Lori walked around Jeff's chair to give Wes a hug. She stepped back and said, "I'm so glad to meet you! I feel like I know you well already because Alex won't stop talking about you!"
Wes looked at Alex, who simply shrugged. Wes replied, "Uh oh, I hope it's only been the good things!"
Lori laughed. "Yes, just the good things. In my book, you were already a good guy when she told me it was you who bought my M&M's. You earned a lot of points doing that!"
They all sat down and ordered their food. During the meal, Wes learned that Jeff was a financial planner at a national brokerage house. He also found out about Lori and Alex's friendship, which started with both being brand new first-year teachers in the same grade, their classrooms across the hall from each other. That first year had been tough for both, but through the moral support they offered each other, a friendship built that continued to this day.
As the dinner part went on, Wes realized that there hadn't been many opportunities for Alex and Lori to expand their friendship on a social scene. He could see the excitement between the two at being out where they could enjoy their friendship away from the rigors of the classroom. He and Jeff were content to listen to the two best friends share. But he was glad when during a pause in their conversation, Jeff turned his way.
"Wes, tell us a little about you - well, other than what Alex has already shared with Lori!"
"Well, it's a similar story to Alex's. I grew up in a small rural community about three hours northwest of here. Kid in a small school generally does everything, so I played the sports that were available to us. I was a pretty good small school tight end and defensive end and was put on a couple of league and class first teams, but I wasn't quite big enough to take my skills to the college level. But that was fine, because I was starting a difficult program in college, and I didn't need any distractions.
"Of course, you know by now that there was one big distraction, but that turned out to be a blessing. Up to this point, Wesley has been my entire life. Now I have someone else that is also filling that role, and for that, I'm blessed."
Wes reached for Alex's hand and gave it a squeeze. Lori picked up on it, and replied, "We're here to have a good time, but let's not have TOO good of a time!" Her comment made everyone laugh.
About fifteen minutes after they had finished their meal, the house band made their way to the stage. As they started playing, the two couples headed for the dance floor. They chose to stay close together, although they knew that the floor would be crowded, and they might get separated.
About twenty minutes into their first set, the band began their first slow song, covering George Strait's "I Cross My Heart." It was the first opportunity Alex and Wes had to dance slowly together, and they made the most of it, holding each other tightly as they swayed to the music. During the first chorus, Alex could hear Wes singing along with the band - "I cross my heart...and promise to... give all I've got to give to make all your dreams come true."
Alex looked up at him in surprise. "I didn't know you could sing!"
Wes smiled back at her. "I may be holding a few skills back. I didn't want to overwhelm you right away with all the things I can do!"
"It's too late for that - I'm already overwhelmed, and I can hardly wait to find out more. Sing some more for me, please!"
"Of course. We may have just picked one of the songs for our wedding!"
He sang, and at the end of the song, they kissed and headed back to the table. Alex didn't want Wes to see that she was wiping a tear from her eye as they returned to sit down. Lori and Jeff joined them shortly thereafter.
Lori spoke up. "You two looked pretty comfy out there on the dance floor. It's almost like you've been dancing together for a long time."
Alex started to say something, but Wes interrupted. "It's amazing how my graceful dancing ability can make it seem like both of us are excellent dancers!"
Alex looked at him sternly and replied, "Oh really? Remember what we talked about earlier? You're going in the wrong direction!" She wanted to look mean but couldn't help it when a smile broke out.
Wes played the game anyway. "Er...what I meant to say was that it's Alex's great dancing skills that are saving me!"
Lori and Jeff weren't in on the joke, but they laughed anyway, and Lori knew that whatever was going on between Wes and Alex, he was scoring points with her.
The band took a break, and then began their second set. The two couples were enjoying time talking with each other, but when the first slow song of the second set started, Alex and Wes got up to head to the floor, but Lori stood up also and pointed at Alex, saying, "My turn. You can dance with Jeff if you want."
Lori took Wes' hand and said, "C'mon, let go."
