I took the vase from his hands and brought the flowers close to my nose, smelling the scent that was present in every residence I stepped into. It was fresh, floral, bringing beauty into a place where the sun didn’t shine. For a second, I forgot about how terrible I looked and just appreciated the gesture. “That was very thoughtful, Deacon. Thank you.” I placed them on the table beside the door so I wouldn’t have to walk away.
He continued to stand there.
“I’d invite you inside, but my place is…a bit messy right now.”
Instead of saying goodbye and leaving, he lingered. “I don’t care what your place looks like.”
I didn’t want to be rude to him when he’d come all the way over here to bring me flowers, so I stepped back and let him enter my apartment. “Alright.”
He stepped inside, took a look around, but didn’t say anything.
“I’m just so busy, I don’t have a lot of time to clean…”
He faced me, his hands in his pockets. “I came here to see you. Your apartment doesn’t matter to me.”
I smiled slightly and shut the door. “Well, you didn’t have to come all the way over here…but thank you.” I grabbed the vase of flowers and put it on my coffee table, quickly gathering all the paper plates with old burrito wrappers and shoving them into the garbage can. I came back to him, my arms crossed over my chest.
“I also wanted to know if I could take you to a nice dinner, even though that still doesn’t come close to what you did for me.”
“Deacon, you don’t owe me anything. I was happy to do it.”
He ignored what I said. “Have you eaten?”
“Oh, you want to go right now?”
“If you’re hungry.”
A knock sounded on the door.
His eyes moved to the entryway. “Are you expecting company?”
“Yes.” I grabbed my wallet, opened the door, and paid the pizza guy for the cardboard box. “Thanks. Keep the change.” To make my humiliation worse, Deacon had now seen me order a whole pizza just for myself. “I already ordered dinner.” I set it on the table.
He stared at me, the sexiest man to ever be in my apartment. With jeans low on his hips and his shirt tight on his chest and arms, he was strong and slender, his jawline tight and chiseled. His dark hair matched his shirt, which brought out the color of his eyes.
Since we weren’t in our usual element, I didn’t know how to behave around him. I didn’t know how to read him. I was just so uncomfortable with the way he caught me off guard. I wished he’d texted me first, given me a five-minute head start.
He didn’t leave. He continued to stare at me.
“Take a seat. I just need a minute to change.” I headed to my bedroom.
“You don’t need to change for me.” He lowered himself to the sofa, his back perfectly straight.
I wasn’t going to sit beside him looking like a troll. “It’ll just be a minute. Help yourself to the pizza if you want some.” I made it to my bedroom and quickly changed, pulling on a purple dress with a jean jacket. When I got to the mirror in my bathroom, I almost screamed in horror.
I looked like hell.
My makeup was smeared, my hair was frizzy, and I had a smear of chocolate in the corner of my mouth from when I’d stopped at the bakery on the way home.
Shoot me.
I quickly fixed myself up, brushed my hair until it was smooth, redid my makeup entirely, and finally erased the shitshow that was on my face before. After a quick spray of perfume and another application of deodorant, I went back into the living room.
He was exactly where I left him, sitting straight and unsupported, his knees apart with his hands resting on his lap. He wasn’t on his phone.
I moved to the couch beside him, crossing my legs and keeping space between us. The pizza was forgotten because I was embarrassed enough already. “The flowers look great there.”
He stared at them for a while before he shifted his gaze to me.
I stared back, unsure why he lingered. He’d showed his gratitude so well. He didn’t need to waste any more time in this filthy apartment. Thankfully, he didn’t ask for a tour because I would have denied him. If he saw the pile of old dishes in the sink, he’d probably be disgusted. I mean, I was disgusted by my own apartment. I just had no time to clean it.
He continued to stare.
I stared back.
“Can you not talk?”
My eyebrow immediately rose at the rude thing he’d just said.
“I want to say something…”
My fire died away when I understood.
“Everybody wants something from me.” He continued to stare at me as if he hadn’t noticed the way I grew offended at the first thing he’d said. “Valerie wanted my money. The world wants my mind. Derek wants a father to take care of him. Never in my life have I had someone who does so much for me…who has my best interests at heart. My parents raised me and they were good to me, but it’s not the same.”