Chapter 14 Labels #2
[No regrets allowed with you and me, baby! Send me those days and I'll make sure you're no longer a campfire virgin.]
[I can't with you, Leon. Fine, I'll check my diary tomorrow.]
[Speak tomorrow "kiss emoji"]
[Night.]
Hmmm, no kiss emoji, but that's ok. I know he liked kissing me. Guess I just need to remind him tomorrow, lucky I know just where to find him around 10am. I log off and go to bed with a perma-smile.
I'm standing outside the coffee shop off Madison Square at 9:45am sharp, waiting for Dexter.
I stopped by my favorite flower shop this morning and grabbed a small pot with a Hoya plant, also known as a double heart.
I'm giddy with excitement at the thought of giving it to him.
I noticed he didn't have any plants in his apartment, so I'm hoping that with this I'll share a small part of myself in his space.
A lot of people know it as a small, cute heart-shaped plant that is sold primarily on Valentine's, but what they don't realize is that it's actually a climbing plant that can grow quite tall and it also produces small clusters of the cutest pink flowers.
While it takes several years for it to grow to that stage, I figure Dex will just have to have me at his place every now and then to take care of it.
All it will really need is a lot of sun, which Dex's place can provide with its ample windows and natural light, as well as a weekly light watering.
More logistics go into stemming, repotting and ensuring it grows supported and in the right direction, but those are all things I can do for him.
It's really the perfect plan to ensure I keep getting the invite.
He wouldn't just leave the poor plant to die, right? Evil mastermind, who?
I finally see him turning the corner after a few minutes, but he looks distracted and doesn't notice me until he's a couple feet away. I decide to go with a cheeky opener.
"We really need to stop meeting like this." I say with a giant grin.
He looks skeptical. "Right, all these happy accidental meetings."
"I know, right?" I tell him and lean in to kiss his cheek with a one-arm hug around his shoulders.
He's stiff for a second before relaxing into me.
This is the best feeling in the world, breaking down Dex's walls one by one.
What I really want is to kiss his mouth, but I don't know how he feels about PDA, so I keep it PG for now.
I pull off of him and enjoy the blissed out look he gives me, before extending the small plant pot between us.
"For you." I exclaim proudly.
"Uhm, thanks? I don't really know how to take care of plants, though. Will you tell me what to do?" He asks shyly.
"I can do you one better and show you, whenever you feel like having me over again. I can teach you how to take care of the little guy, or I can do it for you whenever I'm over." I hold my breath waiting for him to respond. Luckily, that gets me a small smile.
"Hmm, such a selfless good samaritan you are."
"Yes, of course. I'm always happy to help the less fortunate care for their plant babies. It's just who I am as a person." This gets me a small chuckle.
He slowly turns his body to the side, his eyes never leaving me. "Coffee?"
"Yep," I pop the P. "Was just waiting to pass custody of the pot before grabbing some."
He holds the door for me to go in first, but then joins the line at my side instead of standing behind me. This day just keeps getting better and better!
There are three people in front of us and, as we advance, he keeps stealing glances at me. I turn my head towards him to give him the opening to say what he's clearly keeping on the tip of his tongue.
"I have ten minutes... if you wanted to have coffee here?" Dex finally tells me.
"Yes, absolutely!" I scan the tables and am happy to see one open in the corner. "Go grab us a table and I'll order. Flat white, right?"
"Yeah, that's great. Thanks." He brushes his hand on my arm as he goes and my skin tingles beneath my shirt.
I watch his tight butt walk to the table and take a second to admire the beautiful man that he is.
I want to call him mine, I don't do casual and I want us to be exclusive.
Thinking again about him sleeping with other people makes my gut churn.
I need to play this right and bring it up at the right time, but I also need to do it as soon as possible.
I walk the tray with the coffees to the table where Dex is watching me and take a seat opposite him, while casually hooking my ankle behind his foot.
As expected, the action takes him by surprise, but he doesn't pull away.
"So..." I start, unsure where I'm really heading. "You're sending me the days you can take off today, right?”
"Yeah, haven't had a chance to check the diary, but it's likely going to be the first or second week of September."
"That actually works great, I'll be done with the gala by then and although we'll be going into preseason, Kaylee should manage an extended weekend without me." Things are really looking up, I mentally do cartwheels in my mind.
"Ok, but don't book anything until I confirm. You can be... enthusiastic." He tells me with a small smirk.
"Only for you." I say truthfully, but give him a quick wink.
"God, you're cheesy!" He wants to look exasperated, but he's smiling wide, showing me a glimpse of his beautiful teeth. Every part of this man is perfection.
"I promise I won't. In the meantime, could I reserve all future dates, please and thank you?" I start pushing a bit to see where it takes me.
"What do you mean?" He asks, slightly confused.
"Well, as you may be aware, I'm in the process of wooing you and, before I can whisk you away to magical lands and show you the best sides of Leon, I was thinking maybe you only date me in the meantime?
You know, it's only fair to give me a full shot to sweep you off your feet.
" There, I think I phrased that well. Casual has left the building and I'm too far gone at this point.
Dex is onto me though, he raises a brow and smiles conspiratorially.
I'm about five seconds away from squirming when he finally graces me with an answer.
"I don't usually date, Leon. Actually, it's better to say I never date and still wouldn't, if a stubborn mountain of a man didn't bulldoze in my life. "
My smile returns to the point that my cheeks hurt. "Just to clarify, you know for transparency, I'm the bulldozer?"
"Yes, you big doofus. I have to go though, I'll text you later.
" He gets up to kiss my cheek the same way I did to him earlier, but I turn my head and catch his lips instead.
Our corner is not in direct view of the rest of the cafe, but we're not really hidden either, so I keep it brief.
He chases my lips a moment before he straightens and lingers, brushing his fingers over mine.
Then he picks up the pot and leaves me sitting there with hearts in my eyes, wondering how I ever got so lucky.