Page 6 of Pride High 3: Yellow

He watched as Cameron read the front, which said,You won’t be-leaf how much I love you.His boyfriend looked up and already seemed on the verge of tears. “I always liked the dumb puns.”

“Me too,” Anthony admitted, feeling nervous about the inside.

Cameron opened it. He saw the willow tree first—their special place where they had first kissed, confessed feelings, and still cuddled up under to stay warm. Then his eyes moved to the left panel of the card, where Anthony had written more.

In my heart, I’m always celebrating Valentine’s Day with you.

The line was cheesy, but also reflected how he truly felt. The holiday didn’t make him believe in love. Cameron did. His boyfriend moved close. They both glanced around, relieved to see that nobody was paying attention to them. Anthony leaned forward to accept his kiss.

“I love it,” Cameron said, pressing the card to his chest before he examined it again. “I’m surprised how good it is!”

“You can thank the local public library for that,” Anthony said with a laugh. “And my mom for taking me there whenever they had an arts and crafts day.”

“You know what my favorite part is?” Cameron asked. “Seeing how good you are with kids.” His eyes darted to the side. “Although their parents might not thank you.”

Anthony followed his gaze. Most of the kids were making their own confetti now and tossing it into the air. The garden employees were exhausting themselves trying to contain the mess. “I’m sure it’s biodegradable,” he said with a smirk.

Cameron was still smiling at him. “You’ll make a great father.”

“Remind me to take another pregnancy test,” Anthony joked as they walked away. “Hey, I want to give you something else besides that card. What’s your idea of romantic? That uh… doesn’t cost money. I’m broke.”

Cameron thought about it a moment. “A massage would be nice.”

“You like those?”

His boyfriend shrugged. “I’ve never gotten one before. It just sounds good. And maybe a foot rub? For the same reason. I don’t know what I’m missing.”

Anthony laughed. “I’m not touching your feet unless they’re freshly washed.”

Cameron grinned. “What about the rest of me?”

Anthony pictured getting to squeeze and rub Cameron’s entire body. Even his feet. “Yeah,” he said, his voice squeaking. “I think we can manage that.”

And if the day kept going like this, Anthony would have to reevaluate his opinion of Valentine’s Day, because he was beginning to see more pros than cons.

CHAPTER 2

February 14th, 1993

Mindy nudged her friend and pointed, which would have been rude under other circumstances, but the mall corridor was busy enough that nobody would notice. “Right there!” she said excitedly. “He’s desperate.”

Keisha leaned closer, as if using Mindy’s arm as a targeting sight, before she laughed. “He probably works here. In one of the department stores. He’s got an ‘I hate my job, but at least I’m on break’ expression.”

“He’s a last-minute shopper,” Mindy said, shaking her head. “You can tell from the way his dress shirt is partially untucked and his hair is messed up on one side.”

“Almost like he rolled out of bed and realized what day it is.” She narrowed her eyes when the man stopped in front of a jewelry store. “The only question iswhosebed.”

“Even from here, you can smell his mistress on him,” Mindy said before covering her mouth. “Either that, or he’s been snuggling a bucket of old seafood.”

Keisha laughed. “Girl, you arebad!”

They watched the man enter the store and point at different items on display. He kept shaking his head each time the clerk checked the price. They couldn’t help laughing when he rubbed his temples wearily while his purchase was ringed up.

“I hope he spent enough to get himself out of trouble,” Keisha said.

“If he’s really two-timing, I hope he didn’t!” Mindy countered.

This had easily been the best Valentine’s Day of her life. She usually stayed at home and felt sorry for herself. Not this year. Thanks to the terrible date she’d gone on with Troy Mitchell, Mindy knew there were worse fates than being single. So she had decided to spend the holiday with one of her only friends who hadn’t paired up recently. They’d had a blast so far, first by window shopping for clothes together. Keisha had such an amazing fashion sense—seemingly able to make anything work, from the bold bright colors that popped against her ebony skin, to the grungy faded flannels she sometimes borrowed from her brothers. Keisha had found a woven headband on sale that she currently wore in her buzzed hair. Mindy had tried it on while attempting to affect the same level of confidence but had grimaced when looking in the mirror. Once they tired of shopping, they treated themselves to ice cream and finished it while watching the various couples on display. Like they were doing now.