“I told you I could install a camera so you don’t miss it,” Karim added.
“I know, darling,” Julien reached back for Karim’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “But that ruins the fun. There’s something magical about catching it in person.”
“I hope you do,” Luis said. “Are the blooms nice?”
“Oh yes, very fragrant white blooms. You’ll have noticed I have a thing for white flowers,” Julien said. “And Karim indulges me terribly.”
Karim grunted. “It’s not like flowers are hard to come by.”
But his nonchalance wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Let me show you the rest,” Julien said, arm wrapping around Luis to lead him back toward the garden. “I have a few more rare ones, which were, in fact, hard to come by. But Karim is nothing if not dedicated.”
For the next half an hour Julien toured him through the flowers, pausing only when he lacked information that Karim dutifully filled in. The whole time Karim did his best to seem aloof, but every time Julien turned to him, he gave the man exactly what he asked for.
By the time they returned to the living room, Luis’s heart felt like mush in his chest.God,what would it be like to be loved like that?
“He really is a jack of all trades,” Julien was saying about Karim as they sat. “Karim even dabbled in music at one point.”
“Oh?” Luis asked. “What instrument?”
“Guitar,” Karim supplied, but he seemed a little guarded about it. “But not–not anything serious.”
Luis sat forward, curious. “What’d you play on?”
“A Fender Stratocaster,” Karim said.
“Oh! I have a Fender Acoustasonic,” Luis said excitedly. “I looked at the Stratocasters through. Might get one in the future,but currently I like the range of the Acoustasonic.” He was talking too fast now.
“I’m uh, not familiar with that one,” Karim admitted. “I dabbled in the ‘70s.”
Oh. Right. Sometimes Luis forgot their history stretched… further back than the years on their faces.
“How long have you been playing?” Karim asked.
“Since I was a kid,” Luis said. “One of the neighborhood kids got a guitar one year and let me mess with it. I fell in love immediately.”
“You good?” Karim asked. Luis could tell he wasn’t trying to be a dick, that was just the way he talked, but Julien still gave him a look.
“I’m decent,” Luis said, forcing the words out. “I can play a lot of stuff.”
Karim looked at him shrewdly, “AC/DC?”
A laugh burst out of Luis, surprised.
“What?” Karim groused. “They’re one of the best rock bands to ever exist.”
“No, yeah, I know. I agree,” Luis said, trying to squash his own smile. “I just didn’t expect it from you. Didn’t know you were an ‘80s classic rock fan. But yeah, I can do AC/DC.”
Karim stared at him a moment longer, then turned back to his phone. “Alright, cool.”
Julien had a small smile on his lips looking between the two of them. “I’m less up on current music,” Julien said. “But maybe you’ll play for us sometime?”
Luis flushed at the idea. “Oh, uh. Maybe,” he stumbled awkwardly. He’d only ever played in front of Cassie before.
“If you’re comfortable,” Julien said, then seemed to pick up on Luis’s discomfort, because he changed the subject. “So, I think cards are not on the menu tonight, but what about a movie?”
Karim perked up from his phone. “Can we watch something fun?”
