A HEALTHY LOVE

CH. 13: The Secret Date (Part 2)

It wasn't easy to sneak off to the closet with her food order, but she managed to get there without anybody stopping her. When she entered the closet, Alex was already inside, with a wide smile. She had her cellphone out, which had alerted her to the completed delivery. "It's amazing what people can do from their phones these days" Alex commented. "Luckily, Chick-Fil-A accepts Green Dot. Have to admit though, I was worried they might not let the food in."

"This was the only time. I paid off Copeland in fries" McCullough said. The two woman sat across from each other on the floor. McCullough gave Alex the other half of the food before getting hers. Alex tried the chicken wrap, nodding with approval. "This is pretty good" Alex said happily. McCullough smirked as she ate a few bites of her own wrap, savoring the flavor. "It beats a peanut butter sandwich" McCullough replied. "Thank you, Alex."

"You're welcome,Artesian" Alex replied back. She took a few more bites of her wrap as she looked at McCullough with curiosity. "So, question..There's a B on your shirt, but you tell everyone that your name is Artesian."

McCullough turned red with embarrassment at the question "The B is for..Bambi" McCullough quietly. Alex coughed lightly on her fries as she laughed lightly. "Bambi? Like the animated deer?" Alex asked.

McCullough: "Yea, my parents were experimenting with the Pagan lifestyle when they had me. But Bambi always felt like stripper name to me. So,that use my middle name,Artesian."

Alex: "I can see that. I read in a magazine somewhere that your stripper name is the name of your first pet and the street you grew up on. My first, and only, pet was a goldfish named Goldie. I won Goldie from the fair, and he died a day later. So, that makes my stripper name Goldie Rosebush. Not the best, I know."

McCullough (chuckling lightly): "I had a cat once. Her name was Felicia."

Alex: "And your street?"

McCullough:"Mountainview Lane."

"Felicia Mountainview. Fuck, that's a good one. You win" Alex said with a light chuckle. Just like that Alex and McCullough started swapping stories of their childhood. They even swapped a few tattoo stories and talked about their taste in music. The awkwardness and pain that had manifested between them over the past few weeks were beginning to melted away. Alex was genuinely in the moment with McCullough, and she found she liked being there.

"I should get back to work. My break has gone on for ten minutes too long" McCullough realized. Alex stood up with her and helped her collect the garbage from their meal. "Yeah, I need to get back before count" Alex said.

McCullough: "Thanks for lunch..or dinner. Whatever this meal is suppose to be."

"Well, as Chick-Fil-A always says, it was my pleasure" Alex said softly. McCullough smiled lightly and stared at Alex as she considered kissing, but decided not to push her luck. "See you around" McCullough said softly.

"Sure" Alex replied. However, just as McCullough put her hand on the doorknob, Alex spoke up. "Hey. Do you,uh..play cards at all? I'm a big fan of Egyptian Rat Screw."

"I know how to play. We'd play all sorts of card games when I was deployed. It helped to pass the slower days" McCullough answered.

Alex: "Well, I have a deck of cards. We should play sometime."

McCullough: "I'll be around. Just tell me when."

"I'll let you know" Alex said. McCullough nodded happily as she exited swas gonehe closet. Once McCullough had , Alex smiled brightly to herself. Alex could no deny the feelings she was feeling for McCullough. She wanted to be around Bambi Artesian McCullough, perhaps more than she realized.