Clover | ✔

Chapter 02: Bittersweet

In the end, Evan hadn't been able to go back to the flower shop and cancel his date with Sascha. He figured, it was only a lunch date, he could get through it and just forgot the whole mess had ever happened. So, after leaving Drew (who kept laughing every time he looked at Evan) to buy his aunt some flowers, and dropping off his own bouquet at his co-worker's small celebration, he headed back to the flower shop to pick up Sascha.

By the time he got to the shop it was nearly one o'clock and Sascha was cleaning up and getting ready to close up for the day. He looked up and smiled when he saw it was Evan.

"Oh, you're here," Sascha said, pausing in his sweeping.

"Yeah, guess I'm a bit early." Evan glanced at the clock, still about ten minutes left before one.

"It's fine, I can close up a bit earlier," Sascha told him, moving behind the counter. "I'll be done in a minute."

Evan nodded, still standing awkwardly by the door. "Right, I'll wait for you outside." He didn't waste any time in stepping out.

Just as he'd said, Sascha was out of the shop and locking up in just a few minutes, and Evan took the time to discreetly observe him. Sascha had a slender frame, a bit on the short side for a man and with a face with a shape that wasn't masculine in the least. But there were small hints to his gender (and Evan supposed that explained why Sascha had no breasts whatsoever, though Evan had always blamed the apron the florist always wore) like his voice for one, Evan had never thought it to be very feminine, but it was still very soft and not very low pitched. It just had a boyish sort of quality to it, and Evan hadn't thought much of it.

"So where are we going?" Sascha asked once they were in Evan's car.

"Just to a cafe a few blocks over," the other man answered.

"Oh, that sounds nice," the florist commented.

Evan was aware that he wasn't being very talkative, but he couldn't really help it. He was still pretty freaked out from finding out Sascha was a man.

It wasn't long before they had arrived at the cafe, a cozy little business with the scent of fresh coffee and warm pastries. Evan always liked visiting the place on the weekends for a nice breakfast or sometimes for a quiet lunch without Drew pestering him.

The waitress politely asked them for their order and then walked off to get their food, leaving them alone, and Evan didn't know what to do. He just couldn't help but give Sascha curious looks, wondering how he had gone three weeks without noticing he wasn't the pretty girl he'd thought he was.

"So, did your friend like the flowers?" Sascha asked after a while, attempting to end the uncomfortable silence.

"What friend?" Evan asked, still a bit distracted.

"The one getting the promotion."

"Oh! Yeah, she did, she was really happy to get them," Evan said, recalling the flowers he'd given to Julia earlier.

"I'm glad she liked them." Sascha looked truly happy to hear his flowers had been well received.

Evan really couldn't help but smile a bit, because he had always liked the dedication Sascha showed in regards to his shop.

"How did you decide to get into the flower selling business anyway?" he asked.

"My parents owned a flower shop, so I grew up helping out with the store. Guess that's how I really grew to like plants so much, so I decided to try opening my own shop," Sascha explained.