Marigold came rushing out of the door, holding a bouquet. Huffing, she thrust the wildflowers against my chest. “I nearly forgot. I got an order this morning to deliver these to your shop.” She clasped her hands, swaying back and forth. “There’s a card.”
She wouldn’t leave until I read it. I took a whiff of the flowers, and they reminded me of the quarry, but right now, everything did that. They only needed a spritz of cologne to be perfect. I pulled the card out of the middle. I couldn’t imagine who would send me flowers… but I hoped they came from a burly chef.
“It’s a date, time, and address,” I said. I showed Marigold the card so she wouldn’t claim I held out on her. “Mysterious.” I took another deep breath of the flowers, hopefully hiding the warmth reaching my cheeks.
“Perfect,” she said, barely able to contain the squeal. “I hope he makes you blush like that all the time.”
Marigold didn’t wait for my reply as she spun about. Vanishing into the flower shop, I was left to my owndevices. Further down the street, I could see Bistro on Maine. To my surprise, its handsome owner stood in the doorway. With a quick wave, he ducked inside.
The blush intensified. “Oh, Marigold. He does indeed.”
“This is going to be brutal.”
I spotted Jon’s car as I walked down the sidewalk. I debated skipping the comic store. Did the ownerreallyneed to work there? Amanda had been covering more than her share of shifts as I worked on the convention. She’d put an ad in the paper for a new best friend if I didn’t let her get back to her comic.
I held the flowers up to my nose. They smelled like fall. He could have bought a dozen roses to show off. I think the fact he restrained himself and went with native wildflowers spoke volumes. A simple gesture by Simon, and yet I couldn’t stop smiling.
I jumped. “What the—” Two faces pressed against the glass door, smushing themselves. I thought when we hit our thirties, we’d somehow turn into respectable adults. But as Jon and Amanda fogged up the window, I knew better. We’d always be giant children.
“Why are you two so weird?”
“We learned it from you!” cried Jon.
They darted away from the door as I pushed it open. Before I had crossed the threshold, Jon stole the flowers from my hand. I wanted to protest, but when I saw his t-shirt had a beefy unicorn on its hind feet wearing a leather harness, I paused. The ‘Unicorns are Real’ text across his belly made me chuckle.
Jon took a deep whiff of the flowers, his mustache wiggling as he fought off a sneeze. “Understated, but thoughtful. I’m thinking Mr. Straight is more flexible than I thought.”
Amanda leaned against the counter. I could tell by the roll of the eyes that she was about to dispel any myths about ‘Mr. Straight.’ If it were anybody else, I’d have shushed them, but out of the three of us, Amanda had the best gaydar.
“From the howls I heard, Jason is the flexible one.”
“I wasn’t that loud!”
“Sheryl could hear it over the blow-dryers. I had to tell her a coyote had gotten into the mill. A whole pack of them.”
The heat rushed to my face. As soon as I blushed, Jon gave me a hug. “You get your freak on, Mr. Cowan. I approve.” He joined Amanda at the counter. “And now you’re going to tell us everything.”
There was no point in resisting. Normally, I’d play coy and act as if nothing happened. If they were lucky, I’d allude to the events. Honestly? I didn’t want to play coy. If it had just been a romp in the backroom, I might not want to scream from the rooftops. Simon had bought me flowers. How could I not want to talk about him?
I spent the next half hour telling them about his first visit to the store. Jon wanted more detail. Amanda told himto save the masturbatory fantasies for later. They heard about how he approached us in the park. Amanda cheered for the wingmen, promising to buy them coffee. They even got to hear about the quarry.
Jon picked up a stack of fliers and fanned himself. “Does he have a brother? Inquiring minds want to know.”
“Before Jon pronounces you husband and husband, I have questions.”
“Don’t ruin it,” Jon begged. “I’m already planning the joint bachelor party.”
Jon loved love. He spent his evenings watching sappy romance movies. If he could live in one, he would. I feared whatever man he dated would never compare to the characters he watched. Amanda, on the other hand, brought a healthy dose of pragmatism to the table. Usually, I’d tease Jon, but this time, I was on his side.
“Let’s look at the situation.”
“She’s about to ruin it.” He threw his hands up in the air. The unicorn on his shirt rode up, exposing the hairy belly. Jon went back to sniffing the flowers, entering his fantasy world.
“One.” She held up a finger. “Is this more than a phase?”
I had the same question, or at least I did before he asked me out. Did Simon realize asking me out with the wingmen listening meant the whole town knew about it?
“If this was a phase, he wouldn’t have asked me out in front of the guys.” I mulled over the situation a moment longer. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s confirmation this isn’t a phase.”
