Second Nature (His Chance 2)

I pivoted around as much as I could without knocking the cat over, so I could look at Will in the backseat. “This is technically my first date, and I really don’t want to mess it up. If I think too far outside the box, he might not even be sure if it’s a date at all. Also, it’d be one thing if we were in L.A. and I could take him to one of my favorite hangouts, but I barely know San Francisco anymore.”

Will looked confused. “You mean it’s your first date, yours and Gabriel’s?”

“It’s that too, but I meant what I said. I’ve never gone on a date before.”

Phoenix asked, “How is that possible?”

“My life can basically be divided into two halves—before and after Gabriel. As a teen, all I cared about was partying, so dating was the last thing on my mind. I was a huge mess when he and I met and became friends, and that was followed by him shipping me off to rehab. With sobriety came clarity. I realized Gabriel was all I wanted, and I had no interest in random hookups or dating anyone else.”

Lorenzo asked, “But what if you’d never found him again?”

“I just had to keep believing it would happen. There were days in rehab when the hope of seeing him again was all that kept me going. Now that it’s actually happened though, I feel like I’m blowing it. All my focus was on finding him again, instead of figuring out what I should do after that.”

“Don’t worry, you’ve got this.” Phoenix pulled to the curb and said, “Let me help. To start with, how about getting him some flowers?” He gestured past me to a small florist’s shop, with containers of brightly colored blooms lining the sidewalk. “While you’re doing that, I’ll come up with some possible locations for dinner.”

“We’ll help, too,” Lorenzo said, as all three guys grabbed their phones. “Between the four of us, I know we can work some magic.”

“That’s really nice of you, but you guys don’t have to do this,” I said. “I’m sure you want to get on with your evening, instead of helping me with mine.”

“Come on, this is totally fun. I’ve always wanted to ‘Queer Eye’ the hell out of somebody,” Will said with a grin. “Lorie, see if you can find a nearby barber who can do a quick drop-in while Phoenix figures out a location for the date, and I’ll see about a wardrobe intervention. Riley, all you have to do is pick out some nice flowers, then put yourself in our hands.”

I thanked them before handing off the cat and climbing out of the SUV. Then I just stood there for a while staring at the flowers. Given all that variety, I decided against roses. They seemed too obvious, and I wanted Gabriel to know I’d put some thought into this.

Finally, I selected an exotic mixed bouquet in deep, dark jewel tones. I didn’t even know what most of the flowers were called, but it made me think of the way Gabriel had decorated his room at the resort, so I thought he might like it. I took it into the shop to pay for it, and the woman behind the counter wrapped it in dark purple paper and tied it with a black ribbon. I didn’t hate that.

By the time I returned to the Bronco, my friends had apparently made a lot of progress on Operation ‘Queer Eye’ Riley. “Can you message Gabriel and tell him you’ll pick him up at six-thirty? We have two more stops to make,” Phoenix said, as he pulled back into traffic.

“Sure. Anything else I should tell him?”

“You can tell him the dress code is dressy casual,” Will said.

I turned to look at him and raised a brow. “Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

“He’ll know what it means.”

“Okay, but I don’t think I can pull off whatever that is,” I told him.

“Leave it to me,” he said. “I’ve got you covered.”

Since Will was one of the best-dressed people I knew, I decided to trust him and sent the following message: Hey Gabriel. I’m planning to pick you up for our date in an hour. I’ve fallen into the clutches of Will, Lorenzo, and Phoenix, who’ve become my fairy godmothers for tonight. I’m not sure what to expect, but I’ve been informed the dress code is ‘dressy casual’. I’m totally lost, but I bet you know what to do.

Gabriel wrote back a few moments later: Sounds great! I love excuses to get dressed up. Should I meet you in the lobby?

I replied that I’d come upstairs to get him, and then I glanced at Will again and said, “He’s getting dressed up. It’s nice that he’s excited about it, but unless we’re about to go out and buy me a suit, I’m definitely going to suffer by comparison. Also, you know I can’t afford a suit, right?”