“Exactly! That’s exactly what I’m thinking. We’re in this thing together. We’re representing our people. If we let personal stuff come between us—if we broke up, or did something that hurt the other, and then had to keep showing up to work? It could be...” I was going to say “heartbreaking” but then I remembered my sister calling me a drama queen and swap the word for “painful.”

He reaches forward and takes my hand in his. The current is still there, but now that we’ve identified it, it’s more bearable. “So, it looks like we’re going to have to agree not let it go beyond the ‘like’ stage.”

“Looks like it,” I agree, and catching his eyes, see something that reminds me of Arthur’s story. I see Siaka’s goodness. And it makes me happy that I was chosen to work with him. That I have all this time in the future to spend in his presence. That, in itself, feels like a gift. I shouldn’t need more.

“So, we can hang out outside of work,” I begin.

“We should,” he says. “We need to know each other better to avoid more of these misunderstandings.”

“Definitely,” I agree. “What do you like to do?”

He’s silent for a moment, thinking, then his eyes light up. “Hey, I know! We’re both from Paris, but you haven’t been here for five years. Let’s take turns choosing a place we don’t think the other person’s been to. Something secret or out of the way.”

“Or maybe so obvious that we haven’t ever bothered to go?” I add.

We smile at each other and both say, “The Eiffel Tower.”

“Okay, I’m going to add to that ‘doing something we’ve never done,’” I say, the spark of an idea forming in my mind. “So it doesn’t have to be location-specific. But since it was your idea, you have to start first. I’ll need more time to come up with a plan.”

“I’ve got the perfect place in mind,” he says, grinning. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

“They don’t really need me any more on patrol,” I say. “Charlotte thinks we’ve exhausted leads from my numa hangouts, and Kate says my time is better spent on research.”

“I’ll help with the research,” he says, “if it could earn us some hang time.”

Seeing his smile, I make a resolution. If it takes forcing a platonic friendship to keep this person in my life every day, then so be it.

I go to the place in my mind where, despite myself, a little seed of hope has been growing, pushing its way toward warm sunlight. I pluck it by its roots and crush it between my fingers. There is pain, but not as much as if I had let it bloom.