“Hi there, Sweet Girl.” He smiles in greeting.
“What are you doing here, Kash?”
“Well, that’s obvious. I’m here to see you. I brought these for you.” He holds a bouquet of yellow flowers.
“What are they?” I don’t think I’ve seen flowers like this before. They almost look like carnations or some kind of daisy.
“They’re asters.”
“They’re beautiful. Thank you, Kash.” I accept the flowers from him, raising on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Smiling down at me, he shrugs. “It’s no big deal, Sunshine. I woke up today and realized I hadn’t bought my girl flowers yet, so I decided to fix that.”
Ignoring the first part, I wave him to follow behind me. “Mara went to the bank, but I can put these in the kitchen real quick while we aren’t busy.”
“Do you know much about asters?” He’s leaning against one of my prep tables, watching me grab a glass jar to fill with water.
“Nope. Can't say I’ve ever heard of them,” I admit.
“They’re a star flower,” he starts. “Well, they come from the Greek word for star, but close enough.”
Turning, I move the vase toward the back of the kitchen on top of a shelf. I didn’t hear him move, but I can feel him behind me.
“They represent patience, love, and wisdom,” he continues, “which all seems to be a perfect fit for us because I’m so in love with you and your intelligence.” He spins my body toward his and tilts my chin up. “And your patience with me.”
“Kash, I?—”
“Mila!” a voice cuts in. Pulling out of Kash’s grip makes me feel more hollow than it should. “Sorry.” Joelle looks between the two of us. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, but there’s a customer out front asking for you.”
“It’s fine,” I assure her. “I’ll be out in a second.”
Nodding, she heads back out. I take a step away from Kash and turn toward the front. “Sorry. Duty calls,” I apologize flatly.
“No big deal, Sweet Girl. I know you’re working, just, umm…” He pulls a white card from the bouquet and hands it to me. “Just make sure you read that at some point. Bye, Mila.”
A big part of me wants to tell him to stay. To hang out, and I’ll join him in a bit, but I don’t know what I want. I miss him when he’s not around, and I think I’m starting to figure it out, but until I do, it has to stay this way. It’s not fair for me to be hot and then cold. Not even Kash deserves that.
Walking out to the front, I feel Kash’s gaze on me as he stands at the register, paying for whatever he’s picked up to satisfy his sweet tooth.
“Mila!” a new voice booms, pulling my attention away.
Looking toward the voice, the shock must be evident on my face. “Marcus? How are you?”
Standing on the opposite side of the counter is the man I never gave a second thought too after our disaster of a date. There’s no way I was going to go out with him again, so I blocked his number and then deleted it. I’m purposefully avoiding Kash’s questioning gaze. He’s moved off to the side, but he’s put himself in clear earshot of this conversation.
“I’m good. I was hoping you’d be here today.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Well, how about a second date?” he questions, stepping closer to the counter. I can’t believe he came all the way here for this. It's been a couple of months already and I’d forgotten all about him.
“Oh, I don’t think I can.” How do I let him down nicely? He’s nota super awful guy— okay, fine, yes, he’s a little irritating, but I don’t want to be mean.
“Well, why not? I thought we had a connection.” He leans over the counter, his aftershave clogging my senses.
“Because she fucking said no,” Kash’s voice cuts in firmly.
Turning to the source, Marcus’ face turns ugly. I have no doubt he’s making a judgment based on Kash’s appearance. I was going to be nice and let him down in private, but with Kash here, that’s not an option.
