First responder, second love

Chapter 10

    "Chris, can you please clean the table, before you start to play with your Legos?" I hear a voice saying in the house. I just rang the bell, and I'm waiting at the door for a few minutes now. I decided to pay Eddie a visit, after he drove me home last night. My shift at the hospital starts in about two hours, enough time to thank him with homemade cookies. It looks like I'll be making a habit of baking cookies, and I'm happy about it. Eventually, the front door opens and Eddie stands in the doorway.
    "Hi, is everything okay?" he admittedly asks.
    "I'm fine, I just wanted to thank you for last night."
    "That's really not necessary, Sammy."
    "Well, I think it is, and I brought cookies," I tell Eddie with a box filled with baked goods in my hand.
    "Please do come in," he says with a smile, and lets me in the house. I step through the door and stay in the hall. "Are you coming?" Eddie asks surprised.
    "I just wanted to drop these off."
    "Are you in a hurry?" he asks, and I shake my head. "Well, then you have time for some tea." I follow Eddie to the kitchen, where he makes two cups of tea. I put the box with cookies on the kitchen counter and take a seat at one of the stools at the counter.
    "Dad, can I play with my Legos now?" a young boy asks while he walks into the kitchen. The kid wears a yellow shirt with blue stripes, blue jeans and some glasses. He has blond curly hair and a big smile on his face.
    "Did you put the stuff on the table away?" Eddie asks the boy.
    "Yes dad."
    "Then, it's okay." The boy smile at his father, but before he turns around, he looks at me. He looks at me for a few seconds without saying a word. And after a little while, a smile appears on his face again.
    "Hello, I think I know who you are," he says all of a sudden. I look at the boy, but I have no idea what to say. How does this kid know who I am, does he really know who I am, and how would he know that? Has Eddie told him about me, but why would he?
    "What do you mean, Chris?" Eddie asks his son surprised.
    "I have seen a picture of her," the kid answers.
    "Where have you seen a picture of Sammy, Christopher?" The kid looks at his dad and back at me. He probably has no idea what the problem is and why his dad wants to know so bad.
    "On Buck's phone, I saw a picture of you and Buck on it," he tells us eventually.
    "Of course," I answer with a relive. Buck having pictures of me isn't that strange. They definitely made some pictures when they went out drinking. And Christopher was probably snooping on Buck's phone. Kids do that, right? I take a sip of my tea and open the box with cookies. "Would you like one, Christopher?" I ask while I hold one of them in the air.
    "Yes, please." I hand him the cookie, and again he smiles at me and takes a big bite. I take a bite of my cookie too, and take a sip of my tea after.
    "Are you Buck's girlfriend?" I hear the boy, to my surprise, ask. I hear Eddie laugh a little.
    "Why do you think that? Does Buck talk about me?" I ask curiously. I know that this is kind of pathetic. Am I really asking a child for help about my love life? But to be honest, this is way less scary than talking to Buck himself. I don't even know how to talk to him after last night. Am I just going to ignore what happened and act like it never did?
    "He does, not like a lot, a lot, but definitely enough," Christopher tells us.
    "Well, how about that," Eddie reacts with a little smirk.
    "Can I play now?"
    "Of course, son. When Sammy needs love advice, she will come to you." The kid looks at his dad for a second before he walks into the living room.
    "I told you almost the same thing last night, Sammy. You and Buck like each other, but apparently, you only talk about your love life with eight-year-olds."
    "Very funny Eddie." I take another cookie out of the box and start to attack it admittedly.
    "Do you want to talk about it, or are you just going to eat the entire box?"
    "I know, okay, I know I messed up last night, by storming out after that kiss. But I'm just not ready, not now."
    "Not ready to date Buck, or dating in general?"
    "I don't know, I don't think I'm ready to share things with someone."
    "Why is that, might I ask?" I look at Eddie, who is still leaning against the counter. He takes a sip of his tea and looks at me, giving me time to collect my thoughts. I know he means well, just like my friends are. Kevin keeps texting me, asking me to get coffee, a drink or if I would like to go for a walk. He lost one of his best friends too.