Clover | ✔

Chapter 12: Dog Rose

The day that Sascha returned to work, Evan planned to visit the flower shop in the morning and maybe convince the florist to have breakfast with him at one of the surrounding restaurants before work. His plan, however, was ruined when he woke up late enough that he barely had time to even get to work. Evan sighed in disappointment as he drove by Sascha's shop, knowing he'd have to wait until after work to see the florist.

Work was dull that day, or maybe it was just because everyone was looking a bit down. Evan blamed it on the weather, because it was raining and it was dark and dreary, making it seem later than it was. By lunch time, Evan was ready to get out. It felt like he'd been there for days and his mind kept going back to Sascha.

"Where are you going?" Drew asked his friend as he watched Evan put on his coat.

"I don't know about you, but I'm taking full advantage of my lunch hour," the man told his friend as they walked to the elevator. Drew had decided he was too lazy to leave the building and would be buying lunch from one of the places that sold fast food on the first floor.

"Oh really, and where are you having lunch today?" Drew didn't have to think very hard to come up with an answer. Especially when Evan started straightening his hair using the reflective metal elevator doors as a mirror.

"Just around." Evan shrugged, straightening his tie.

"Would a certain florist be involved?" the other man asked, trying not to smirk as Evan's cheeks turned pink.

"You think you're so smart," he snapped with a glare, stepping out of the elevator. Drew snickered as he watched his friend walk off.

Evan grumbled all the way to his car about stupid co-workers and know-it-all friends, but became a lot more cheerful when he finally arrived at Sascha's flower shop. The shop was as warm and welcoming as always and as soon as he walked in Sascha looked over at him and smiled brightly, making him smile in return. The florist looked better than usual, but that was probably because it had been so long since Evan had seen him.

"Evan, this is a surprise, you don't usually come at this time," Sascha said from his place behind the counter.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to stop by earlier, but I was running late for work," he began. "So, I decided to stop by during my lunch hour," he finished with a grin. Sascha sighed and shook his head, but he was still smiling.

"You really shouldn't waste your lunch hour," he told the man.

"I'm not wasting it, I really wanted to see you," Evan hurried to say. "By the way, you look nice," he told the florist with what he considered his most charming smile. Sascha's cheeks grew red as soon as the words left Evan's mouth.

"Thank you, um, so, aren't you going to go eat lunch?" Sascha asked, looking a bit flustered. Evan tried not to laugh, but it was always funny to see the florist like that.

"I hope you're not kicking me out after I came all this way just to see you," he said, with mock hurt.

"Oh, no, I just thought, uh, never mind," Sascha said, looking down at the counter. Evan's smile widened a bit as he leaned forward, just inches away from Sascha's face.

"So, want to go out to get lunch with me?" he asked, staring at the florist's pink lips and doing his best to keep his mind from wandering.

"Lunch? I don't know," Sascha started.

"Come on, I'll buy, we'll go wherever you want," Evan tried. "Please Sascha, we can just talk for a bit, have a nice warm meal and then I'll bring you back, how about it?"