“Isn’t it Obvious?” Part Three

“Isn’t it Obvious?” Part Two “Isn’t it Obvious?” Part Four

“Isn’t it Obvious?” Part Three

If you haven’t read the first two parts, here is Part One and Part Two.

“Hello, Jasmine! Did you bring your boyfriend with you?”

Jasmine resisted the urge to slap herself in the forehead. “No, Granny Mae. Dylan is just a friend.”

Dylan winced beside her. Jasmine grimaced and shrugged. Not only had she dragged Dylan all the way over to her grandma’s apartment, but Granny Mae was embarrassing the poor man yet again.

“Granny Mae, I just stopped to ask you a quick question.”

“Do you want some cookies? I’ve got a fresh pitcher of tea in the fridge, too.” Granny Mae walked back to the kitchen, ignoring what Jasmine just said.

“We can’t stay long.” Jasmine called after her.

“That sounds great.” Dylan said at the same time. They exchanged a look. Dylan shrugged. “I’m just trying to be polite,” he whispered.

Granny Mae returned to the living room with two glasses of tea and two plates of cookies. So much for a quick stop. Jasmine checked the time on Granny Mae’s bird clock. They still had twenty minutes, but that didn’t leave much wiggle room for chit-chat.

“I got some flowers for my birthday.” Jasmine practically shoved her phone in Granny Mae’s face. “Aren’t they pretty?”

“They’re gorgeous.” She narrowed her eyes at the screen. “Love and friendship.”

Jasmine coughed on her bite of cookie. “What?”

“Pink roses are a symbol of friendship and red tulips of love. Pink peonies symbolize romance and prosperity.”

Her mouth opened and shut, but Jasmine was thunderstruck. Were the flowers a romantic gesture after all? “Maybe someone just picked the bouquet because it was pretty.”

Granny Mae shrugged and handed her phone back. “You’re probably right. But it looks like a declaration of love to me.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Dylan. “I’ve always loved a good friends-to-lovers story.”

Dylan’s face turned a bright shade matching the roses in the photo.

“Well, thank you so much for the cookies.” Jasmine stood abruptly. “I hope we’ll see you tonight at dinner.”

“Dinner?” Granny Mae shook herself out of her romantic reverie. “Yes, yes. For your birthday. I won’t forget.”

“Come on, Dylan. Let’s get you to that meeting.”

Dylan grabbed the rest of the cookies in one hand. “Thanks, Granny Mae.”

“Bye, bye, you two!”

Jasmine didn’t dare lift her eyes from the sidewalk, lest she see the expression on Dylan’s face. He must be nearly as humiliated as she was. Granny Mae was definitely implying he had given her the flowers, and as a romantic gesture, no less. But if the bouquet was from Dylan, he would have said so right from the start.

She chewed on her lip as she thought. Who in the world would want to make a declaration of love? Was there anyone who might possibly have a crush on her? Someone who knew today was her birthday?

Her mind spun for a moment before an idea occurred to her. “The barista!”

“What?” Dylan froze, his hand in midair. He’d been reaching for her door handle on his car when she’d made her outburst.

“I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of who might possibly want to give me a romantic bouquet.”

“And you think a barista sent them to you?” His eyebrow raised as he pulled open her door.

“Kyle from the cafe.”

“You think Kyle sent them to you?” His voice was incredulous.

“He always flirts with me when I get my latte, and I’ve been talking all week about my birthday.” It all made sense when she thought about it. Kyle had been making eyes at her for the longest time. He never forgot her favorite drink. And he was always complimenting her outfit or her hair.

“You don’t think that’s just his personality? Kyle is pretty friendly with me, too.”

“Does he call you ‘gorgeous’ when you wear pink?”

“Well, no, I can’t say he does.”

Jasmine clicked her seat belt and crossed her arms. “Let’s hurry back to the library. You can head up to your meeting, and I’ll stop by the cafe to press Kyle for information.”

On the drive to work, Dylan didn’t speak. He clicked the radio on to a soft pop station and only spared her a couple brief glances. Jasmine couldn’t read his mood. In the short time she’d known him, she thought she’d come to understand him fairly well. But right now she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He seemed to be upset with her, but for what reason, she had no idea. Maybe he was nervous about making it back in time for his meeting.

They pulled into the parking lot with five minutes to spare. Her legs just about matched Dylan’s in length, but Jasmine struggled to keep up with his pace as he raced toward the front door.

“You sure you want to do this?” Dylan grabbed her elbow right before they walked inside.

“I’m not going to accost him or anything. I’m just going to ask if he knows anything about the flowers.”

Dylan gave a curt nod as he opened the door.

She winked and waved before walking up to the counter of the coffee shop. “Hey, Kyle!”

“Twice in one day.” Kyle raised his eyebrows and flashed her a grin. “How’d I get so lucky?”

Jasmine shot Dylan a look over her shoulder. See what I mean? Dylan gave a tight-lipped smile before ducking his head and charging up the stairwell.

“Well, it’s my lucky day, too. Someone gave me a gorgeous bouquet for my birthday.” She waited a moment to gauge his reaction.

Kyle stared back at her with a blank, friendly expression.

“I just have no idea who might have given them to me.” She leaned on the counter a little, smiling.

The door opened, and Kyle’s attention shifted immediately to whomever was behind her. Jasmine turned just in time to see a young woman wearing a sunny yellow tank top breeze into the cafe. She swung her long black hair over her shoulder and made a beeline for the counter.

Kyle greeted the woman with a big kiss. Right on the lips.

Oh.

Only ten minutes ago, Jasmine hadn’t thought anything of her feelings towards Kyle. She hadn’t even had any feelings for Kyle. But the blow to her ego was real.

This is what comes of assuming someone has a crush on you.

Jasmine should’ve known better.

“Sorry, did you want to order something?”

Kyle’s question snapped her to the present. The blinding beauty of his girlfriend stunned her for a moment. Jasmine blinked. “Uh, you know what? I just remembered, I have a … thing.” She waved her arms towards the library front desk. “I’ll see you later.”

Jasmine couldn’t get out of that cafe fast enough.

What was I thinking? Of course Kyle didn’t send me those flowers.

All day she’d been trying to find the person who’d sent the bouquet, and she wasn’t any closer to discovering the answer.

Maybe I’ll never know.

…

Come back tomorrow for Part Four!

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