All or Nothing

Zack sat back, his head against the wall. His living room was full of flowers. Roses, to be exact. White ones, red ones, and even a few black ones. His office at work looked the same.

He was flattered, really, but his clothes were starting to smell floral, and people had given him weird looks on his way to the parking lot.

He didn’t need to read the cards on the flowers to know who they were from.

A month beforehand, Zack had met a man, a beautiful man. Zack was stranded on the beach, as he’d taken the bus and missed the last one that would take him home. Normally, Zack wouldn’t have minded, but it was getting dark, and Zack hated walking the streets at night.

Before Zack could freak out too much, Brian pulled up and asked if he could give him a lift home. Zack had thanks Brian profusely, and offered to pay for the petrol the stranger was burning up for him. Brian had laughed and told Zack to put his wallet away.

Brian was a kind-hearted man, ready to help anyone in need if he had the chance. When he’d seen Zack pacing the sidewalk, he felt he had to help the smaller man.

Brian was also extremely forward, and asked Zack for his number when he’d gotten out of the car. To Zack, Brian seemed to pose no threat, and gave the man his number.

They’d met only a week later, over coffee. Brian wanted to get to know Zack more, and offered to pay. Who really turns down free coffee?

And things went on like that. At least three times a week, they’d meet up and hang out for a while. Whether it be over coffee, dinner or even a movie, Zack accepted. And, if he was being honest, Zack felt an attraction towards Brian. He was handsome, sweet and really funny.

Over the weeks, Zack learned that he and Brian had many common interests, like music and movies. Though, their personalities couldn’t have been more different.

Zack was quiet, kept to himself. He was shy most of the time, and would rather follow someone’s directions, rather than lead. He’d do whatever his leader said, whether it be for Zack to throw out the trash, or finish someone’s paperwork. He did it, because standing up for himself meant standing out of the crowd.

Brian, on the other hand, was loud. He took control, and lead the way. He wouldn’t throw someone’s trash away. Sure, he liked to help, but that didn’t mean he would become someone’s lackey.

Even though they were different, they got along pretty well. The arguments they had were fun, and normally ended up with both of them laughing.

And, after a month of knowing Brian, Zack started to receive small gifts.

He woke up one morning, to find a giant teddy, almost as tall as him, on his doorstep. In its hand, was a note from Brian. All it really said was that he enjoyed spending time with Zack.

That teddy sat on Zack’s bed, the note folded and put in his drawer.

The roses turned up not long after the bear, and Zack wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Sure, each bunch had its own vase, so he wasn’t worried about that. He was worried about where to put them. Including the ones in his office, there were at least fifty bunches of roses. And each bunch seemed to hold ten roses, or maybe more. That was over a hundred roses, and Zack was at a loss.

He knew he wanted to have some in his bedroom. It’d be another reminder of Brian and his sweet nature.

It seemed rude to give away a gift, and he didn’t want someone else to have these flowers.

Zack spent nearly an hour finding a place to put the roses. His kitchen table had a new center piece, his lounge room had a few more than necessary, but there was nowhere else to put them. He’d considered putting a few in the bathroom, but he wasn’t sure how his friends for react to that. It was bad enough his lounge room smelled florally.