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Carlton Lassiter is a good deal more observant than people give him credit for. Sure, he’s oblivious on some things, but he knows what’s going on around him, and he does know that O’Hara and Spencer have been dancing around each other for years, close enough that their toes have brushed on occasion.
He looks at her, sometimes. He sees her grin stupidly the second Spencer walks in the door - Guster in tow - watches her duck her head so the two of them won’t see. He sees Spencer cast longing looks, can tell that the casual come-ons aren’t really very casual. He sees the two of them keep up their dance, even though they both know what they really want.
At first he thought it was just lust, the frisson that automatically appears when two attractive people acknowledge each other’s existence and attractiveness. He’s seen them growing into friends, and he knows there’s something else there. Carlton can’t quite catch it, and when he can, he’s not entirely sure what it is. He’s not sure if they know either, and if they do, they’re shying away from it, always keeping up the dance. A shield of overconfidence and flirtation for Spencer, of amusement and exasperation for O’Hara.
Sometimes he wonders idly if they’ll ever stop dancing and face what they’re running away from. Sometimes, he even thinks he might know what it is they’re running from. He doesn’t know why they’re running, but it’s probably because they’re young (although really, when Carlton was their age he was well and truly grown up) and don’t know how to get serious.
O’Hara never talks about it, and God knows he doesn’t ask, but he can tell sometimes, when the Chief lets them know she’s calling in Spencer, and her eyes brighten and darken almost at the same time. She might not know, might not want to know just yet, but Carlton has a theory, and as long as O’Hara’s his partner he’ll have her back and watch them dance. He suspects it won’t be long now before the dance turns into something more, and he can’t help but feel a little happy for O’Hara.
He thinks Spencer might just be her Romeo.