“Isn’t it Obvious?” Part Two
This year for my birthday, I wrote a story just for you! Haven’t read Part One? Here it is!
“What are you doing?”
Jasmine lowered her phone to see Dylan sneaking glances at her as he drove toward the west side of town. “I’m posting pictures of the flowers on my social media pages.”
“All fifty of them?”
“Only three.” Jasmine smirked at her friend even though he wasn’t looking her way anymore. “I need to reach a lot of people if I want to find out who sent me my mystery birthday bouquet.”
“You think the person who sent those is on social media?”
“Everyone in the world is on social media except you, Dylan. So, yeah, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet.” She lifted her gaze to the road. “Turn here.”
“What about tacos?”
“We can get them after we see my parents. This will only take a minute.”
Dylan pursed his lips, but he flicked on his blinker and made the turn.
Jasmine’s parents ran a pediatric dental practice. The outside of their building matched the rest of the businesses in the strip mall—red brick, large windows, black trim around a glass door. But the inside was bursting with color and sound. A large television in the corner played the latest animated movie released for streaming, chairs in bright primary colors lined the walls, and two play tables stacked high with building blocks sat in the middle of the floor.
“Hi there, Patty.” Jasmine greeted the receptionist closest to the door. “Are either of my parents available?”
“They’re both on lunch. I think they’re in the break room if you want to walk on back.”
“Thanks!” Jasmine pulled Dylan’s elbow, ripping him away from the TV screen.
“I haven’t seen this one yet,” he muttered.
They walked past an x-ray room and several exam chairs before coming to the break room. The space was designed with adults in mind and was painted a brownish gray instead of the bright yellow of the hallway. It only contained a round table, four chairs, a fridge, and a microwave. A window across from the door overlooked a flower bed and some parking spaces.
“Well, hey there, birthday girl!” Jasmine’s mom hopped up from eating her microwave meal to give her daughter a hug. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until tonight.”
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” Jasmine squeezed both of her parents and waited for them to hug Dylan, too. “We just popped by to ask if either of you gave me birthday flowers. I got a huge bouquet at my desk with no signature on the card.”
Her mom and dad exchanged a glance. “Well, no, sweetie. It wasn’t either of us.” Dad answered her, but he looked at Dylan.
“What about Granny Mae?” Mom asked. “She’d love a visit from you, and then you could ask her.”
Dylan grimaced. She needed to let that man eat soon.
“Good idea, Mom. I’ll ask her. And I’ll call Vicky, too.” Jasmine backed out of the room. “I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Don’t forget.” Mom waved. “Will you be there, too, Dylan?”
“Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t miss it.”
Her mom grinned. “See you tonight then.”
Back outside, Jasmine squeezed Dylan’s arm. “Let’s eat some birthday tacos now.”
“Yes!” Dylan raced to the car and swung the door open for her. “Come on, let’s go!”
Their favorite taco stand was only a couple minutes away, but Jasmine figured she had enough time for a text to her sister. Vicky responded right away, as usual.
“Flowers? Wasn’t me.”
Jasmine waited while she typed again.
“Sure they weren’t from a boy???”
“Um, yes, what boy would send me flowers?”
“You know.”
Her cheeks grew warm. She risked a quick glance to Dylan beside her. He smiled back.
“I don’t. And if you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about, we are just friends.”
She sent another message to make her point perfectly clear. “Just. Friends.”
“Sure…”
Vicky could be infuriating sometimes. “See you at Marcoletta’s tonight. Bring your friend.”
Jasmine huffed and slumped back in her seat.
“Everything okay?” Dylan’s gaze flitted back and forth between her and the road.
“It’s just Vicky.” Forcing her cheeks into a smile, Jasmine returned Dylan’s glance. “She didn’t send the flowers.”
Dylan nodded. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually.”
The car turned into the parking lot of the best food truck in town. Smoky and spicy scents wafted on the breeze. They breathed deeply and sighed with delight.
“I’m so sorry I made you wait for lunch. What was I thinking?” Jasmine raced to catch up with Dylan as he made a beeline for the counter to order.
“Two pork carnitas, one shrimp, and one carne asada, please.” He placed their usual order and pulled out his wallet to pay.
“Are you sure?”
He smiled at her. “My treat. You can buy some for me on my birthday.”
Jasmine handed a few dollar bills to the cashier. “And two aguas frescas. Lime, please.”
They rarely indulged in eating out together, and Dylan had been so nice to her today. Jasmine wanted to treat him with a delicious drink to go with their tacos. She caught his eye as she handed him the beverage, and her heart warmed when he grinned at her.
“Do you remember the first time we came here? Back when it was over in the food truck park?”
“Of course.” Dylan started to chuckle at the mere mention of the occasion. “And Vicky was dating that guy.”
“Eduardo.” Jasmine spoke his name with a deep voice and a slight accent. Her impression made Dylan snort.
Only a few days after starting work at the library, Jasmine had gone out for dinner with Dylan and a group of coworkers at the food truck park downtown. Jasmine’s sister, Vicky, showed up with her boyfriend by coincidence. Eduardo had always put on a big show of being a very suave Colombian man. With his thick dark hair, tan complexion, and slight accent, no one in their family had ever questioned him.
But the librarians were a curious group. Annie and Greg from the Reference Department had quizzed him endlessly about his background. Before Eduardo’s tamales had cooled, he’d been forced to reveal he was in fact from Columbia, Tennessee and had been faking his accent the whole time.
“Vicky was livid.” Jasmine took a sip of her drink. “I didn’t think she’d ever forgive me.”
“I don’t see why. She should’ve been grateful.”
“Well, it only took her a few days to find a new boyfriend, and all was forgotten.” Jasmine rolled her eyes. “She’s always been like that.”
“What? Bad at holding grudges?”
“No. A total guy magnet. She was the pretty sister growing up. I never had a chance with any of the boys in high school. And things didn’t change much in college.” Jasmine shrugged. “I had lots of good guy friends, but they were always interested in someone else.”
Dylan started to say something, but they were interrupted by the arrival of their tacos. They split the order, Dylan got carnitas and carne asada, and Jasmine got carnitas and shrimp. A picnic table sat in the grass nearby, and the two friends headed toward it as they sampled their meal.
“Mmmm. It’s been too long.” Jasmine spoke around her bite of shrimp. Cilantro and lime slaw with a creamy chipotle sauce danced on her tongue. Each taste was divine.
Dylan mumbled his assent as he chewed his steak.
Jasmine sat down, finishing the last few bites of her shrimp taco. She reached for the carnitas but was distracted by Dylan’s finger grazing her cheek. “Piece of cabbage.”
A strange sensation crept into Jasmine’s gut and left her feeling unsettled. Why had her heart skipped a beat when Dylan touched her face? She’d touched Dylan hundreds of times since they became friends nearly a year ago. Why was this any different?
“Um, thanks.”
She lowered her gaze, staring intently at her food and her hands as she took a bite of pork carnitas. She’d been down this path a couple of times before. A guy she was friends with showed her a little bit of attention and her mind ran wild. She’d nurse a growing crush only to discover that he’d never had feelings for her and would actually like to ask her roommate out on a date.
Dylan was just a friend, nothing more. If he’d ever wanted something romantic out of their relationship, he would have said or done something over the past year to let her know. One brush of the cheek was not enough to think he wanted to be her boyfriend all of a sudden.
Jasmine swallowed the rest of her taco. She cleared her throat and wiped her face with a napkin. “Any more stray cabbage?”
“Nope, all good.” He smiled at her and leaned on his elbows. “You about ready to head back to work? I have a meeting at two.”
Jasmine twisted her lips. “Do you mind if we make a quick stop at Granny Mae’s?”
Dylan groaned and threw his head down on the table.
“I promise it will only take a minute.”
“You know that’s not true.” One eye opened and glared at her accusingly. “Granny Mae always talks forever.”
She glanced at the clock on her phone. “We’ve got thirty-five minutes until your meeting. If we hurry, we’ll be over to Granny Mae’s and back with time to spare. Come on.” Jasmine stood and pulled Dylan’s shirt.
He slumped and plodded back toward the car.
“If you want to make your meeting, you’d better pick up the pace.”
Dylan didn’t respond but he did move a bit faster.
“You’re the best. You know that, right?” Jasmine met Dylan’s gaze as he opened her door once again. His pout turned into a reluctant smile.
“One more stop and that’s it. I can’t be late to this meeting. It’s my performance evaluation.”
“Got it.” She held up her hand in a show of assurance.
Dylan really was a great friend. No way in the world could she lose him. She’d just have to shove those pesky feelings back down. He was only her friend and nothing more.
Come back tomorrow for Part Three!
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://sarahannecrouch.files.wordpre..." data-large-file="https://sarahannecrouch.files.wordpre..." src="https://sarahannecrouch.files.wordpre..." alt="" class="wp-image-358" width="217" />Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.com
