Page 21 of Say It Again
When Daniel spun around, a flower delivery man stood at the entrance, holding a bouquet of long-stemmed midnight calla lilies tied with a white ribbon.
“Those are for you,” Madeline said. “I can tell.”
He shook his head, eyes glued to the flowers as one of the instructors walked them to the back. “No, they’re not—”
“Daniel,” the girl said, poking her head into the office. “These are for you.”
His hands shook as he reached for them. Up close, they were wildly pigmented and, judging by the beauty and the quality, also wildly expensive. He scrambled to read the card.
Daniel Greene Hard-to-Get-Over-Poor-Chester III,
You’re dazzling.
“Who are they from?” Madeline asked.
Daniel fell into his seat, whisked the bouquet to his forehead, and dipped dramatically backward as if he felt faint. “This fucking guy.”
“I assumed that much.”
“He is so perfect, and I cannot figure him out. I meet him at a party, he comes on hot and heavy—stop me if this is TMI—then we have our first date, and he doesn’t even try to sleep with me—TMI? Stop me—like, at all. He drops me off, kisses me good night, and goes home. What gives?”
Madeline gave him a funny look. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a first date, but isn’t that how it’s supposed to go?”
“I suppose if you’re a character in the Bible, but I thought we were all sex-positive nowadays. Free love and free the willy. It makes me feel like he’s not that interested in me.”
“Not interested? Well, the flowers would beg to differ. Don’t confuse disinterest with old-fashioned courtship, my love. It sounds like you might just have yourself a gentleman.”
“A gentleman?” He squinted and sucked his lower lip between his teeth. “What’s the difference between a gentle-man and, like, a rough-man?”
“The difference is that a gentleman takes his time and does what he does without expectations. A gentleman will put in the effort to make you feel special.”
He thoughtfully hmphed. Well, that was… new. Was it possible he needed to reevaluate his standards? Maybe there was a correlation between diving into bed with someone and his history of misconnections with men. “Is it possible I’ve never met a gentleman?”
Madeline shrugged. “It’s probably a dwindling tradition. So maybe hold on to that one.”
I intend to. He smiled as he twirled for the door but caught himself. “Oh, and hey, I’m sorry for, you know, checking on the printer. Give me just a little time, and I’ll get back to you.”
She smiled that people’s princess smile of hers. “I believe in you.”
He plopped the flowers into someone’s leftover plastic gas station cup and found his phone to see it’d been sweetened with a text message from Aaron:
What are you doing tonight? Besides letting me cook you dinner.
Daniel grinned down at the screen.
Going to this fancy place for dinner where I heard the food is so-so, but the chef is really hot. Send me your address.
When his phone pinged with a location, he zoomed in on the map. It pinged with another message.
I’m just a few blocks from your studio.
Good, then I can walk. It will give me more time to figure out how I’m going to thank you for the flowers.
But he’d been dancing for six hours. He could probably use a shower.
Any chance I can get hot and naked at your place? I mean, shower at your place?
Any chance you can speak without innuendo?