“My childhood best friend lives in Staten Island with his wife and three munchkins. I see them every month for dinner. And I can’t forget my King Tattoo Brooklyn crew.”
“I love that you’re still friends with your childhood friend,” I say. “My best friend from school lives abroad since her husband is in the Army, but I was lucky to meet Sally the summer after high school.”
“You work together, right?”
“Yeah, we do. If I count the two cooks, there are around ten of us at the restaurant.”
Spade gives me a delighted smile that sends my pulse racing. “Our crew is a bit smaller than yours, currently at seven people. We just had a new starter two months ago when one of the women from our St. Louis location moved to the City.”
“You said you are good friends with your coworkers?” I ask curiously. I want to know more about Spade’s everyday life and the people who are important to him.
His face splits into a wider grin. “I freaking love them, to be honest. You would, too, if you met them.”
“Tell me more about them.”
“There’s many stories to be told, so here’s a brief intro. Our shop manager, Jax, started dating our receptionist, Soph, last year. It was a whirlwind romance if I have ever seen one. They hated each other one moment, and then I blinked, and they were happily in love.” Spade chuckles light-heartedly.
“That sounds like a romance novel plot.”
“It definitely was. And then, right after they got together, Nelly and Dom, our two tattoo and body modification artists, finally realized that they should do something about their mutual attraction, so now we have two couples working at the shop. Then there’s Rogue, our token British bloke who’s something else. Just last week, he decided to dye his blonde hair icy blue, and well, he wasn’t wearing plastic gloves, so his hands were blue for days.”
I snort at the image in my head. “That’s too funny. Was he like a Smurf?”
“Pretty much. But never tell him you think he’s funny, or it’ll all go to his head. It’s big enough without all the praise.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
We walk further into the fields as the lights turn on, creating shadows and a new atmosphere around us. Dare I say this moment right here with Spade feelsromantic?
I suddenly stop as I realize something he told me earlier. ”Does it ever get awkward working with couples?”
“You’re still thinking about what I said about our crew?”
“Yeah, I mean, I like to repeat conversations in my head, finding things I missed the first time,” I admit and start walking again.
“But yeah, two couples. It surely is different.”
“What do you mean?”
“They are all loving and shit around the shop. I don’t mind, but there are days when it’s hard for me to see people in love because my dating experiences haven’t been the best.” He runs his hand through his hair on the side without stitches. “Fuck, that made me sound like a loser who doesn’t want others to be happy. I do, I really do. It’s just that I wish it was me, you know?”
I nod in understanding. “I know the feeling.”
“There must have been someone special,” he comments, and I almost snort again.
I shake my head instead. “No, I haven’t really dated for various reasons.”
“That shouldn’t make me feel happy, but I like that you haven’t.”
His admission makes my entire body buzz, yet I’m feeling a bit peeved that he would say something like that. “I can’t believe you said that about my dating life.”
“There’s a reason behind what I told you. You see, if you had dated some dickhead in the past, I’d have to hunt them down and thank them for letting you go so I can be in this moment with you. But I don’t have time for that, as I want to spend every second here, right next to you.”
A pleased smile takes over my face as I replay his words in my head. It sounds like he’s having similar thoughts about me that I have about him, right? I also want to spend all my time with him as long as possible.
“Where did you go just now, my sunflower?”
“Sunflower?” I croak.
