Sam’s face burned. “I don’t...we don’t even know each other.”
“I’m Urien,” he said as if that fixed the problem.
“Sam.”
“I know.”
Of course he did - the name tag. Everyone in town knew who Sam was.
“These are really...” Sam touched a dahlia petal, soft as silk. “They’re gorgeous. But I can’t accept…”
“Please.” Urien’s voice went quiet. “I grew them myself. It would make me happy if you took them.”
What was Sam supposed to say to that? The man looked genuinely upset at the thought of Sam refusing.
“Okay.” Sam accepted the bouquet, though he had no idea where to put them. “Thank you. They’re...really beautiful.”
Urien’s whole face transformed with his smile.
He didn’t even order coffee. Just smiled at Sam and left.
Maya materialized instantly. “Was that the third one?”
“Third what?”
“The third gorgeous man obsessed with you. Keep up, Sam.”
Sam looked at the flowers and then thought about Mabon’s ridiculous tips and Rux’s phone number, still saved in his contacts.
“I think you’re spying on me when you’re meant to be working, and they’re not obsessed. They’re just being friendly.”
“Right.” Maya plucked the blue flower from the bunch. “Friendly men bring elaborate garden bouquets to baristas they don’t know. It happens all the time.”
Sam had no response to that.
/~/~/~/~/
Urien came back on early Tuesday morning, and he actually ordered coffee this time.
“Flat white, please.”
Sam made it, grateful for the return to normal café transactions. No flowers today, though Urien kept glancing at the chrysanthemums Sam had arranged in a vase by the register.
“They look nice there.”
“They do. Thank you again.” Sam handed over the coffee. “Can I ask you something?”
Urien straightened, seemingly alert for some reason. “Yes. Anything.”
“Are you all friends? You and the other two guys?”
Urien frowned. “The...other two?”
“Rux? And Mabon?” Sam gestured vaguely, which was a silly thing to do because the other men weren’t there. “They’ve both been coming in and you all seem...I don’t know. Similar somehow.”
“We’re…” Urien paused. Something flickered across his face. “Yes, we’re friends, or rather, we live together.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Roommates?” Sam’s shoulders dropped, the tension he hadn’t known he’d been holding releasing all at once.
