“Good choice.” Jase ambled to the cash register with the bouquet. “I made it just for you.”
“I can’t believe I’m buying flowers,” Eli said with a huff, already pulling his wallet from his back pocket.
“Your other options are the discount florist, where you’ll get shitty carnations, or the grocery store, where they’ll die in two days.” Jase tied a ribbon around the vase. “You ever taken care of orchids before?”
Eli leveled a glare at him. No, but he’d figure it out.
“That’s what I thought,” Jase continued as though Eli had actually given a response. “Give ’em a little spritz of water every day or so to keep them happy.”
“Put them in water.” Eli tugged out his wallet. “Got it.” Marlee would know what to do with them.
“Add an ‘I’m sorry’ when you hand ’em over,” Brek suggested. “Even if you don’t think you did anything wrong. Just consider it pre-payment for whatever shit you’re gonna say later that’ll piss her off.”
Eli had absolutely no intention of saying anything that would “piss off” Marlee. Not again.
“The order of the hand off and apology is important,” Dean added. “You don’t want to seem like you’re using the orchids in place of the apology.”
“You are all full of it,” Eli said.
“You are now in the land of committed relationships. You are a dude. One plus one equals you always have something to apologize for,” Jase concluded.
This shit was exactly the shit Eli had wanted to avoid by avoiding relationships.
More than avoiding relationships, he wanted to avoid making Marlee sad again. He’d do whatever he needed to do so that didn’t happen.
Eli grabbed a fifty-dollar bill and dropped it on the little plastic mat advertising whatever online network the shop belonged to. His glance snagged on the corner of plastic sticking out from behind the rest of the cash as it tumbled out of the confines of his leather wallet. He hadn’t thought about the yellow condom in a SpongeBob package since he shoved it in there over a month ago.
“What the fuck is that?” Brek leaned over the counter, catching a glance at yellow packaging.
“Souvenir.” Eli snatched it up, shoving it back inside. “From Vegas.”
Brek’s lips pressed into a smirk. Jase raised his eyebrows. Dean coughed into his hand way too pointedly. They’d all gotten a good look.
“It’s nothing,” Eli grumbled.
“Aye, aye, cap’n.” Jase was sporting a full grin now.
A laugh rattled Brek’s chest. Dean just shook his head.
Eli took a deep breath. He was officially the guy who bought flowers for his wife as an apology. Because they were married.
“Marriage,” he said it under his breath. Tested it out. Checked how it felt.
“You okay there, Romeo?” Dean asked. “You’re looking a little pale.”
“Paler than usual.” Brek leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Those fifty dollars do something to scare the shit out of you?”
“It was SpongeBob. I’m pretty sure,” Jase said.
“I’m fine.” Eli grabbed the flowers and beelined for the cold air of the outside world. In the back of his mind, he vaguely heard Jase say something about change, but he was already forming an apology in his brain. Orchids. Apology. Then they’d see what happened next.
Chapter Sixteen
Marlee: Mom offered money so I don’t have to work at the flower shop.
Sadie: Trust fund back on?
Marlee: No. Just money so I don’t have to work at the shop.
