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I held the flowers up to my nose. They smelled like fall. He could have bought a dozen roses to show off. I think the fact he restrained himself and went with native wildflowers spoke volumes. A simple gesture by Simon, and yet I couldn’t stop smiling.

I jumped. “What the—” Two faces pressed against the glass door, smushing themselves. I thought when we hit our thirties, we’d somehow turn into respectable adults. But as Jon and Amanda fogged up the window, I knew better. We’d always be giant children.

“Why are you two so weird?”

“We learned it from you!” cried Jon.

They darted away from the door as I pushed it open.

Before I had crossed the threshold, Jon stole the flowers from my hand.

I wanted to protest, but when I saw his t-shirt had a beefy unicorn on its hind feet wearing a leather harness, I paused.

The ‘Unicorns are Real’ text across his belly made me chuckle.

Jon took a deep whiff of the flowers, his mustache wiggling as he fought off a sneeze. “Understated, but thoughtful. I’m thinking Mr. Straight is more flexible than I thought.”

Amanda leaned against the counter. I could tell by the roll of the eyes that she was about to dispel any myths about ‘Mr. Straight.’ If it were anybody else, I’d have shushed them, but out of the three of us, Amanda had the best gaydar.

“From the howls I heard, Jason is the flexible one.”

“I wasn’t that loud!”

“Sheryl could hear it over the blow-dryers. I had to tell her a coyote had gotten into the mill. A whole pack of them.”

The heat rushed to my face. As soon as I blushed, Jon gave me a hug. “You get your freak on, Mr. Cowan. I approve.” He joined Amanda at the counter. “And now you’re going to tell us everything.”

There was no point in resisting. Normally, I’d play coy and act as if nothing happened.

If they were lucky, I’d allude to the events.

Honestly? I didn’t want to play coy. If it had just been a romp in the backroom, I might not want to scream from the rooftops.

Simon had bought me flowers. How could I not want to talk about him?

I spent the next half hour telling them about his first visit to the store.

Jon wanted more detail. Amanda told him to save the masturbatory fantasies for later.

They heard about how he approached us in the park.

Amanda cheered for the wingmen, promising to buy them coffee. They even got to hear about the quarry.

Jon picked up a stack of fliers and fanned himself. “Does he have a brother? Inquiring minds want to know.”

“Before Jon pronounces you husband and husband, I have questions.”

“Don’t ruin it,” Jon begged. “I’m already planning the joint bachelor party.”

Jon loved love. He spent his evenings watching sappy romance movies.

If he could live in one, he would. I feared whatever man he dated would never compare to the characters he watched.

Amanda, on the other hand, brought a healthy dose of pragmatism to the table.

Usually, I’d tease Jon, but this time, I was on his side.

“Let’s look at the situation.”

“She’s about to ruin it.” He threw his hands up in the air. The unicorn on his shirt rode up, exposing the hairy belly. Jon went back to sniffing the flowers, entering his fantasy world.

“One.” She held up a finger. “Is this more than a phase?”

I had the same question, or at least I did before he asked me out. Did Simon realize asking me out with the wingmen listening meant the whole town knew about it?

“If this was a phase, he wouldn’t have asked me out in front of the guys.” I mulled over the situation a moment longer. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s confirmation this isn’t a phase.”

Amanda held up a second finger. “Let’s ignore that he’s fresh out of a marriage. Does the ex know?”

That hadn’t even crossed my mind. I went to speak and stopped. Huh, I didn’t know the answer to this one. He said things had ended peacefully between them, but in my experience, exes didn’t always approve of being dropped for the opposite sex.

“Strike one,” she said. “This kid?—”

“Lucas.”

“Lucas. Jason, are you ready for somebody to call you daddy?”

“Usually, he’s the one?—”

“Ew.” Amanda held a finger up to Jon’s lips. “Don’t put that image in my head.”

Much to my mother’s dismay, I had never thought about having kids of my own. It wasn’t like I could swing by the store and pick one out of the litter. After hearing horror stories of gay men trying to adopt, it sounded like a world of anxiety and heartbreak. But…

“I’m warming up to the idea. I love working with the kids at the elementary school.”

“You get to give those back at the end of the day.”

She had a point. “Okay, let’s say I’m open to exploring the possibilities of fatherhood.”

Jon gave Amanda a jab to the ribs. “Did you hear that?”

She nodded.

They both laughed.

“What am I missing?” Why was I friends with them?

“That was the sound of your mom jumping in the car and driving to the toy store.” Amanda had heard the many speeches from Mom about settling down. It always ended with her demanding grandkids.

“Hear that? The car is full, and she’s heading to the candy store now.”

“I hate you both.”

“She already has a ‘World’s #1 Nana’ shirt,” Amanda added. “You know we’re right.”

I grumbled. “You are.”

It was Jon who broke up the interrogation. Putting the flowers on the counter, he threw his arms around my neck. “Jason, do you like him?”

His addiction to love needed a dopamine hit. Simon had spent the night dancing with us. His face lit up while we got close and personal on the dance floor. I had thought it wishful thinking until he jumped into the quarry. He surprised me at every turn, and I… I wanted more.

“I like him. I really like him.”

Jon reached for my hand before spinning me about. When he pulled me back in, not even his beard could hide his bright red cheeks. Jon had gotten the love story he needed.

“You’re both so sappy,” Amanda grumbled.

“Somebody’s cranky that a cute girl shot her down,” Jon said.

“No… maybe.”

Jon stepped back, making space between us for her to join.

When she didn’t move, he shot her a dirty look.

Her head shook back and forth as she gave in and wiggled between us.

They were the weirdest friends I could ask for, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It didn’t matter the victory. They’d always be the ones I wanted to celebrate with.

Without them, Firefly wouldn’t be bearable.

“Wait!” Jon forced us to stop our awkward group dance number. “You never answered. Does Simon have a brother?”