Chicago Love ✔️

Chapter 26: Viva Las Vegas

Hailey smiles as she takes off her badge, shoving it in her jean pocket. She then takes her credential that she had picked up six weeks ago courtesy of Alex and fixates it to the same spot, clipping it to the edge of her jeans. 

She grabs her backpack, swinging it around onto her back, before making her way to where the official stood. She flashed it, earning a nod before heading inside with a smile. Her phone then comes out of her pocket, as she reads this week's directions as sent to her by Alex.

It had been another tough case with the Intelligence Unit. She knew she needed to get away, and think about anything but what they had dealt with all week. It was why she accepted Alex's offer to join him Las Vegas this weekend for the next race on his schedule. 

Or at least that is what she was telling herself when she accepted it. After all, she had accepted his offer each of the past four races since Kansas as well. It seemed every single Friday night, she was getting on plane to fly to wherever the next event on the schedule was. She never thought she'd be visiting Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, and North Carolina in the span of a month. 

She couldn't describe it. She wouldn't admit it to anyone. But there was something special about this Arizona boy that had her wanting to drop everything and be there for when he went to work each weekend. 

She would accept the text messages through the week. She loved his words of encouragement with her cases even if he did not know the full details. She enjoyed having someone to talk to outside of work that was not bothering her about the usual details that cop talk always brought on. 

Though then when it came to the weekends, there was something special about the touch of his skin against hers, those soft tender lips, and those sparkling eyes. She still found herself as nervous as the first weekend in Kansas but admittedly falling in line with the action on-track - except Talladega. There was probably nothing that could have prepared her for the chaos on and off the track that comes with going there.

She makes her way through the infield, continuous glances at her phones as she passes by the various markers and spots that he told her to follow. She used it for the first couple turns, though once she spotted the trailers and garage, the phone was shoved in her pocket. She had been going to the races for five straight weeks now. She did not need to know the perfect directions as she had gotten used to the sights to find in order to close right in on her destination.

"She's here again Willie," She hears, not even needing to turn her head to recognize who was saying those words. As much as they had been annoying the first week, she had to admit having enjoyed her time with Alex's teammates. They each had their own ticks and nicks, but they were fun to hang out with. She could tell at the end of the day, they cared about him and just wanted what was best. They just had their own way of going about it. Chase was the quiet one. William was the serious one who treated her like an older sibling would. Kyle was just full of the commentary. "Do we need to start planning their wedding?" 

"I'm pretty sure William will be walking down the aisle before I do," Hailey offers her own response with a smirk of pride in knowing how well it had probably landed. She had gotten used to seeing William with a dirty blond female, which she had gotten introduced to while in Texas. Erin, that was her name. She seemed like a total sweetheart from the brief time they had spent standing on the frontstretch together. "Pretty sure you should be helping him out first." 

"First - you hear that? It means that eventually we'll be seeing Alex and Hailey tie the knot." Hailey's cheeks go flush red in hearing the comment as she never thought she'd hear that mentioned together in a sentence. However, there is also apprehension felt immediately as her eyes turn to the ground. Was she ready to get married again? Did she really see that happening with her and Alex down the road? Yes, they were spending a crazy amount of time together. Yes, they enjoyed their time together. But were they really relationship material? 

"I didn't even realize that Hailey and Alex were dating," Chase offers as he walks by, as Hailey takes a careful deep breath. She could already tell where the questions were headed - and didn't know what she would say. How could she describe the relationship her and Alex had together? They loved each other. They cared about each other. They wanted to be in each other's arms all the time. They continually were stripping each other away from their clothes. Were they fuck buddies? Were they more than that? Fuck buddies - that almost caused her to vomit. There was no way they could be just that - but yet the fear was there as she thought of their happenings each week.

"She's been here every week for a month now," Kyle comments as he keeps his eyes locked on the blond before him. Hailey could tell he was analyzing every single move of hers, and the reaction she was having to the comments being offered. She just hoped she was passing their test of trust for their teammate. "You can't tell me they're not boyfriend and girlfriend and seeing each other that much." 

"They could just be really good friends that enjoy each other's company and have fun together," William offers in suggestion, as Hailey's eyes turn to focus on the youngest of the bunch. She knew that of all the teammates, William and Alex were the closest together. She wondered about the conversations they were possibly having together. Were they like those she was having with Kim about her apprehensions? "Ignore our pain in the ass teammate and his comments. Alex should be here any minute to see you..."