I frowned. “I thought I heard someone ringing the buzzer,” I said. “But I guess I thought I imagined it. I was in the shower,” I added.
“You’re so spacey,” Angela said. She rolled her eyes. “Go and see. I promise, you’ll like it.”
Cramming my feet into an old pair of slippers, I went out into the hall. When I saw, what was waiting for me, I gasped. An enormous display of white roses, shaped perfectly like a cube, was waiting for me. It was easily the most beautiful display I’d ever seen. When I saw, the card marked with ‘June,’ I shivered.
“Can you help?” I called. “These things are heavy!”
The flower cube had a convenient little pedestal stand and Angela and I worked hard to push it into our apartment. Soon, the whole flat was filled with the delicious scent of roses.
“You’re lucky I like floral scents,” Angela said sarcastically. “That’s the biggest bouquet I’ve ever seen!”
“I know.” My mouth felt dry and I walked in slow circles around the cube of white roses, gently brushing the tips of my fingers against the petals.
The card read: “June – I can’t wait to be with you again. You’re even softer than these roses. Thomas.”
I blushed. “I can’t read this out loud,” I confessed. “You read it.”
Angela held the card in her hands. As her lips moved over the words, she blushed and her mouth formed a small ‘o.’
“Wow,” Angela said. “He really likes you!” She laughed. “And I hope you didn’t do anything that would make my dress need to be dry-cleaned.”
“Definitely not,” I said quickly. I recounted how Thomas had touched me in the restaurant and in his car. “But it didn’t go further than that,” I said, blushing hotly. “I wanted it to, though.”
“I bet,” Angela said dryly. She tucked the card down into the beautiful white roses. “These really are gorgeous,” she said. She sniffed. “No one has ever even sent me carnations,” she added sourly.
I laughed. “Want me to ask Thomas if he has any single billionaire friends?”
“Oh, could you?”
We burst out laughing together. “I’d feel so weird,” I said. “Ugh!”
“So, how was your day?”
I shrugged. Something told me I shouldn’t bring up Andy, but I couldn’t help mentioning it.
“It was so creepy,” I added. “It was like he was so persistent, but he wasn’t even being nice about it! Like, why the heck would he want anything to do with me when he has this much disdain for me?”
Angela eyed me for a long time. “June…someone sent you this,” she added, pointing to the white roses. “And you’re thinking about going on another date with that loser?”
“I don’t want to,” I said honestly. “I just…well, I don’t really know what to do. I feel like I have to! He wouldn’t take no for an answer, Ang.”
“Call him and tell him that it’s off,” Angela said. “He can’t possibly back you into a corner when you’re just on the phone with him.”
I sighed. Just as I was about to reach for my phone, it started to buzz. I leapt up in excitement when I saw Thomas’s name on the caller identification.
“Hello?” I was flushed and breathless as I answered.
“Hello, June.”
“I love the flowers!” I gushed quickly. “They’re so, so beautiful, Thomas! I’ve never seen anything like them before!”
Thomas chuckled. “I’m glad you like them,” he said. “I picked them out with you in mind.”
I squirmed and flushed, biting my lip.
“June, come out to dinner with me this Saturday,” Thomas said firmly. “I’ve got this great new wine bar – you’ll love it. Lots of vintage blends and little tapas.”
“Yes,” I said instantly, not even thinking about it. “Yes, I’d love to.”