It seemed to pacify Sage enough for the moment. “There’s something else though,” he said, and though his tone was hesitant, he didn’t give Derek time to think. “I met someone I think you’d like, and I want you to consider going on a date with him.”
Derek sat up a little straighter, his brows dipping into a frown. “You didn’t promise him I’d…”
“No,” Sage said, putting up his hands in surrender. “I’m an asshole, but I’m not an asshole. He goes to my gym.”
Derek pulled a face. “Okay, that’s so not my type.”
“He’s an accountant,” Sage replied with a tiny knowing smile. “But he also works out with me a few times a week, and he’s hot as hell. I also know for a fact he’d be interested in you.”
Derek bristled at that because it meant the guy had hit on Sage, and since Sage wasn’t ready to date, he was just punting his cast-offs toward his twin. “I don’t know, man. If he’s into you, then he won’t like me.”
“He isn’t,” Sage told him, crossing his arms. “I mean, he thinks I’m hot, which is a big plus for you, but he and I have been talking over the last few months and he’s into all the crap you are. Same music, same art shit, same movies. Here let me…” Sage grunted as he twisted his hips up and dug his phone out of his pocket. He tapped at his screen for a few seconds, then displayed a Facebook photo of a fit guy with tanned skin and dark curls under a backward cap. He was wearing a muscle shirt and tight jeans, and his smile was very bright. Sage hadn’t been lying—the guy was very attractive. Unfortunately, Derek’s mind was slightly occupied with someone else, and it was hard for him to focus on someone who wasn’t Basil.
“You said he’s an accountant? So why isn’t he into you? You know, with all the math shit?”
Sage laughed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know, dude. I mean, he’s cool with numbers, but I don’t think he wants to like sit and talk quarterly reports at the end of the night or anything. Just…just think about it, okay? Let me know, and if you want to give it a try, I’ll help set something up.”
Derek knew he should at least consider it. He had no promises, no prospect of a future at all with Basil. He’d delivered the drawing and the guy had been utterly perfect, but it was the second time Derek walked away without a number. And hell, they could befriendly now, and there was every chance they’d see each other in passing, but he couldn’t count on there ever being more.
It was foolish to think he’d stumbled on some epic romance that was written in the stars. It only made sense to let Sage do this for him. He certainly wasn’t any good at doing it for himself. He took a breath, then met his brother’s gaze. “Go ahead,” he all-but grunted.
Sage looked momentarily startled, then chanced a tentative smile. “Seriously?”
Derek sighed, letting his head fall back again. “Seriously. Might as well rip the bandage off, right? So just…if he wants to, yeah. Let’s do it. You can give him my number or whatever and it…it could be good, right?”
“Right,” Sage said. He reached out and gave Derek’s wrist a gentle squeeze, right where Basil had touched him before, and he suppressed the urge to tug his hand away because he didn’t want to lose the ghost of that comfort just yet. But he didn’t. “It could be really good.”
Basil had been dodgingboth texts and Facebook messages from Jay who seemed to think that although Basil had run out on him, he was owed a chance to do the date over. The very thought made his stomach squirm, and he threw himself into work, staying late nearly every day the week after Derek had brought Kevin by the shop.
It was hanging in his office for now, and he found himself working on some digital arrangements, but mostly staring at the near-perfect sweeps and smudges of charcoal that somehow brought the drawing to life. It was almost as though Basil could reach up, and the octopus would uncurl a tentacle and wrap it around him.
Seeing Derek in the shop like that had startled him in a way he hadn’t expected, and his face when he’d been talking about his father had nearly shattered Basil in two. He didn’t have to be well-versed in reading expression to see the pain in Derek’s eyes, to knowthat he’d suffered more than a person rightfully should, and Basil had only just managed to suppress his urge to take Derek in his arms and hold him until he smiled again.
Still, he wanted to do something. Not just to cheer Derek up, but maybe to introduce himself to the shop, to meet the others and experience it. He wasn’t exactly vying for a tattoo, but he was half considering throwing together a bouquet—something highly fragrant for the front of the shop, and using that as a way in.
Maybe he’d be obvious, but at this point, he wasn’t sure that he cared. He didn’t think he’d ever go for a hearing guy again—especially one not fluent in ASL, but he found himself wanting to make some kind of effort. Friends for sure. Friends was safe, at least. Friends was far easier to leave when it all eventually became too much.
Without really thinking about it, Basil moved to the back room and began to carefully arrange something to bring over to Irons and Works the following afternoon. He had some white Hyacinth and some Boronia already cut, and he tucked those between sprigs of Jasmine and as an afterthought, added a yellow rose in the center. It was hardly the prettiest bouquet he’d made, but when he tipped his nose low over it, the fragrance was gentle, but lingering. He wasn’t sure any of them would appreciate it, but he could only hope.
When he was finished, he tucked the bouquet in the cooler, then resolved to grab it around lunch and sneak out without his sister realizing what he was up to.
DodgingAma was easier than he anticipated, as they had a large group of bridesmaids come in for some bouquet tests right around noon, and Basil was able to grab the flowers and sneak off to the shop without his sister being the wiser. He felt a little foolish, hurrying down the street with the bouquet tucked in his arms, but he ignored the curious stares in passing cars and pedestrians, and made his way to the little shopping center around the corner.
He could see the tattoo shop from the parking lot, and he hesitated before crossing the pavement and heading to the door. He saw the little glowing orange Open sign in the window which sat next to a horizontal blinking sign which read TATTOO in bold capital letters. The window was all-but covered in pasted advertisements for local bands, skateboarding competitions, tattoo expos, and piercing parlors. But beyond that, he could also make out a quaint shop with a small lobby, a front desk, and beyond that, what looked like partially sectioned off stalls with chairs and tables.
He took a breath then entered the shop, and over the counter, a tall woman with long black hair stared at him curiously. Her mouth was moving, but her wide smile made it hard for him to begin to understand what she was saying, so he quickly set the bouquet down on the table and pulled out his phone for the customary, pre-written greeting he kept saved.
Hi, I’m Deaf, I hope typing is okay. After a second, he added, I’m look for Derek.
She took the phone, read the message, then carefully set it down before signing with beginner’s speed, ‘My name is Katherine, is it okay to use ASL?’
Basil was startled for a second, then remembered about Derek’s boss and his daughter, so he shouldn’t have been too surprised. ‘ASL is fine, thank you,’ he answered.
‘My daughter is hard of hearing,’ she signed to him. So, she must be the wife, the mother of the child. ‘I’m taking ASL 3 now and I’m still slow, sorry.’
‘You’re perfect,’ he corrected her with a smile. ‘Your daughter will have great parents.’
She flushed, glancing away for a second like she couldn’t take the compliment. When she looked back, her green eyes were a little watery, but he did her the courtesy of pretending not to notice. ‘Are you here for an appointment?’
