Page 57 of Rum & Coke

The bell rang, and I quickly thanked Kandace before dashing off to my classroom. The entire day I thought about what flower reminded me of Tessa.

I had no fucking clue.

I stared at the cooler of flowers in the grocery store for several minutes. I’d already gotten the steak, lobster, salad, garlic bread, a package of hot dogs for Colton, a bottle of wine, a bottle of Bacardi, Coca-Cola, chocolate milk for Colton, and chocolate cake, and now, I just needed the flowers. Every item I placed into my cart made me realize more and more that thiswasa date. I wasn’t taking her out, but we were going to be alone, just the two of us—and Colton, who would be engrossed in his cartoons or toys—and we’d be cooking dinner like a couple. I thought the idea of doing something so domestic with a girl would be frightening, but it wasn’t. I was actually looking forward to seeing a relaxed Tessa at home with Colt.

Just as I was about to grab the first bouquet of mixed flowers in front of me, a person stepped beside me and slid something into the cooler. I looked over at her, and noticed that it was someone who worked in the department. After she stepped back, I looked to see what she’d put into the fridge, and knew the moment I saw the pink and purplish flowers, they were the ones I needed for Tessa.

“Excuse me,” I said, getting her attention. “What kind of flowers are those that you just put in there?” Right off the bat, I knew the pink and white ones were lilies, but I didn’t know the others.

“They’re oriental lilies with lavender gillies, blue irises, lavender daisies, and purple matsumoto asters.”

The colors reminded me of cotton candy, and the moment I saw the flowers, I swore I could smell Tessa’s sweet scent filling the air around me. “Thank you,” I replied and reached for them. “They’re perfect.”

When Tessa opened the door, I couldn’t hide my smile, even after I noticed she was wearing a Giants T-shirt again. I’d missed her, and it had been less than twenty-four hours since I’d seen her. What was wrong with me? Gabe and Paul were right. I was scared to pull the trigger.

But it was also only a matter of time.

“Your chef has arrived,” I stated.

She grinned back and waved for me to come in. “Thank God, I’m starving. I had a small salad for lunch because I wanted to save myself for my surf and turf winnings.”

I’d never made lobster before, but what the lady wanted, the lady would get. It couldn’t be that hard. Plus, it was just the tail, and I knew how to make a bomb steak in the oven. “I’ve had a hangover all day,” I confessed.

She chuckled as she closed the door behind us. “Really?”

“Yeah. It was a good night.” I brought the flowers from behind my back and held them out to her. “These are for you.”

Her blue eyes brightened. “You got me flowers?”

I grinned. “They reminded me of you.”

Tessa chuckled. “Really?”

I nodded and stepped up to whisper into her ear. “Reminds me of cotton candy, and we know how I feel about cotton candy now.” I winked and then moved to where Colton was sitting on the floor in front of the TV, his attention on the iPad he was holding. I set the bags down and got in front of him, cupping his ears. “Hey, buddy. Do you want chocolate cake for dessert?”

He flapped his arms excitedly, and I grinned. “Good.”

“Feeding him sugar again?”

“You have to have dessert after dinner.”

Tessa chuckled as I continued to talk to Colton. “I also brought you this …” I dug into a bag and pulled out a volleyball I had brought from home. “In a few years, I’ll teach you how to volley back and forth. For now, you can play with it like your baseball.” He rocked back and forth in excitement, and I handed him the ball.

“You remembered,” Tessa stated.

I stood and picked up the bags. As I walked toward the kitchen, I replied, “Of course I did. I’m going to teach him everything I know.” I smiled and set the bags on the counter.

“So, what else did you bring besides lobster, steak, and chocolate cake?”

“I’ve brought a three-course meal, sweets. And hot dogs with no buns for Colt.” I’d remembered at the game that Colton had a hot dog without the bun and so I figured that was the safest thing to get for him.

Tessa followed behind me. “So, now you’re calling me ‘sweets’?”

“Want me to call you ‘candy’ instead?”

She grinned. “Just not ‘baby’.”

“Why not ‘baby’?”