Chicago Love ✔️

Chapter 51: A Visit to Chicago

Thank you for the 1k reads. Glad you are liking the story, and the relationship we have built here. Thanks for keeping this as the top #AlexBowman story on the website.

The season wrapped up with a 17th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway. The month of November also brought forth a fun time with family for Thanksgiving. 

OF course, the off-season brought forth a new type of focus as final preparations for the Chili Bowl took priority. With some long days and nights, all three cars were ready to go for the biggest event of the midget season in January. 

Now with a couple weeks to spare before then, Alex knew there was only one place he wanted to be. It was why he booked himself a flight to Chicago, and found himself taking a Uber from the airport to the 21st district police station. He knew it may had seemed weird to the driver, but he didn't care. It would be worth it once he saw Hailey.

He hadn't told her that he was coming. he wanted this to be a surprise considering they hadn't seen each other since November. He could already see her pulling him in the first discrete location for some fun of their own, knowing he'd enjoy every single moment. 

He walks into the district, seeing a middle-aged woman at the desk. He didn't need to read the name plate on the desk to know who she was. He had heard enough stories about her from Hailey. This was the woman that inspired Hailey to be a detective. This was the woman that saved Hailey when her family restaurant was robbed at the age of seven. This was either going to go very smoothly, or he would get the snarky side of Trudy. 

"I am looking to see Detective Hailey Upton," Alex states as he catches her attention, or maybe not as her eyes don't even leave the piece of paper that she was looking at on her desk. He hadn't ever been bothered by a secretary before, but his anxiety was beginning to rise with the behavior before him.

"May I ask who you are?" She questions, which almost Alex want to say duh as soon as she asked. Of course she would not be willing to just hand her over without knowing who was there. Hailey worked for an elite unit. She probably only answered certain concerns directly.

"Alex Bowman." He watches as the eyes finally do leave the page, looking straight up at him. She then reaches for her glasses, taking them off as her eyes do not leave the man before her through the entire process. He was just looking to spend time with his girl, but knew this was probably going to be the first of the interrogations he would face for their relationship. It was just par for the course in dating a detective. 

"So you're the infamous Alex Bowman that has been requiring Hailey to fill out weekend free-bee passes from work. You're the person that she is so attracted to and in love with that she runs off every weekend to see. You're the person that she comes back from the weekend smiling about, and the smile only seems to return when she's leaving to see you again on Friday night. You're the guy that just turns left who has seemed to capture the heart of one of my beloved detectives." Alex couldn't help but smile in hearing the assessment of him by Trudy. It had a lot of positives that he was not about to let go of. The fact she was smiling just due to spending time with him brought the same feeling back to him. It made him more excited to see her reaction to his surprise visit even more.

"Yes ma'am, that would be correct. I also didn't tell her that I was coming today. I wanted to surprise her." He knew he did not need to share the information, and wondered whether it was appropriate. Were they even allowed surprise visits from family and friends? Would that cause Trudy to shut his request down immediately? However, he also wondered if sharing it would allow her to help him make the surprise even better by how Trudy notified of Alex being there. "We haven't seen each other in a month, and I've got a couple weeks before the Chili Bowl. I figured I would surprise her and spend time with her here in Chicago."  

"Chili Bowl?" Out of everything he had said, he was not expecting her to question that comment. Was that a necessary detail right now?

"It's the biggest quarter midget racecar event of the season, takes place in January in Oklahoma. It's one of my favourite events of the year. How can you go wrong with a week long of racing for the biggest prize of the season with some of your best friends? The parties are just as good as the on-track product. Never lost a party there, and don't intend to do so either." He then pauses, taking a deep breath, trying to figure out if she was even caring to listen to the details and how she was taking in what he had just said. Again, there should be something different to be focused on here. "I don't want to take up all your time as you're busy so I'll stop there. May I see her, please? I would appreciate it. If not, well, I can hang out and wait for when she gets off work." 

"I hope you realize that being a detective is not standard hours, or even close to a 9-5 job." Alex nods his head, having watched another police crime drama shows to know that. He also knew from talking to Hailey that sometimes you were working round the clock to ensure that criminal was stopped as soon as possible.

"I guess it's a good thing that my job does not have standard hours, either." He watches as Trudy leans a bit forward, still taking in every bit of him before her. It was clear that she hadn't come close to deciding whether she liked him or not, and that was okay. It was just the first meeting. He would just have to work at winning her over.

"Take a seat over there on the bench. I'll buzz up and see if she wants to come down for a visitor."