Did You Order Flowers? (Ianthony AU)

Chapter Six.

Ian waited. He waited for Anthony to call or text him, just waited for something. And he definitely got something. 

He was running late for work, and he rushed in all flustered and dressed lazily- but he nearly stopped dead when he saw Anthony leaning against the counter and talking with Melanie. He was wearing a white t-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans that both just accentuated every asset his body had- and Ian was wearing sweatpants and an ill-fitting sweater that looked like it was from the $5 bin at Target. As per usual, Ian felt inadequate next to Mr. Tall and good looking. 

Not that he thought he was ugly, not at all. It was just hard to feel confident when you're dressed like someone who just walked in off the street and the other guy in the room is dressed like a model off the front of a magazine. 

Ian gave a small wave when Anthony saw him. Anthony heard Ian approaching and immediately turned away from Melanie, strangely enough only having eyes for Ian. It was like Anthony was blind and Ian was the only thing he could see when Ian walked behind the counter to stand beside Melanie. 

Ian cleared his throat, avoiding Anthony's intense gaze that was glued on him. "So what are you doing here?" It may have been abrupt- and Mel clearly thought he was being rude considering the way she drove a kick against his shin- but Ian was really curious. 

Anthony raised an eyebrow and smiled, bringing a hand up to fiddle with one of his lip piercings. "Just came in for a visit. But Melanie was telling me some cool things about you." Ian turned to face Melanie with a warning burning in his eyes. But she just shot him a mischievous wink as she plunked the pile of Shakespeare Ian had been reading down on the counter. "And she showed me all the reading you've been doing." Anthony tapped a finger repeatedly against his chin while smiling cheekily. "Quite the coincidence, eh?" 

Ian felt his cheeks heat up, making him rub a hand over the back of his neck to attempt to ease his awkwardness. "I- uh- yeah. Funny.. coincidence," he muttered, desperately wanting to glare at Melanie and reprimand her for embarrassing him in front of Anthony. "Anyway, how's business going at the tattoo shop?"

Anthony grinned, obviously knowing the way Ian was trying to change the subject. "Business is as usual I guess, but there's a flower tattoo design with your name on it," he subtly said, hinting towards how Ian was interested in the tattoos every time he came to visit. 

But Ian was shaking his head, making his hair do little bounces. "Nope, must be the wrong Ian."

Anthony just grinned, locking Ian into a trance when their gazes met. Ian always found himself liking brown eyes for how warm they were, and Anthony's were exceptionally nice with the different shades of brown and gold swirling in them. But the pair of them must not have realized how long they were holding one another's gaze, for Melanie was waving a hand in front of Ian's face to bring him back from the land of daydreams. "Look, if you two are going to make out, at least give me a warning so I can either leave the room or grab a camera," Melanie said while trying to hold back her laughter. 

Ian and Anthony flushed in matching pink blushes, feeling a flood of embarrassment. "Mel," Ian hissed, "we weren't going to make out."

But Melanie shot Ian a wink, backing away to head to the backroom. "I'm gonna go touch up the arrangements that need delivered, I'll leave you two alone." And then she was giggling as she darted inside the backroom, leaving Ian to have to explain Mel to Anthony. 

"Sorry about her, she's weird." 

But Anthony grinned again, showing off the dimples in his cheeks. "Being weird is a good thing." He reached across the counter, giving Ian a tap on the nose with his pointer finger. "You're weird, and I think that's a great thing."