Page 11 of Tongue-Tied

Once the customer walks off with his order, I sidle up to Austin and hand him a flower. “What’s this for?”

“It’s the invite to our Poli House mixer.” Then I hand him the other one. “Before you miss this chance, catch up to that guy you can’t stop staring at.”

“What?” He glances over my shoulder. “No! I can’t… I wouldn’t…”

“You have a lull in customers, so this is the perfect time.”

I nudge him toward the walkway, where he takes a few confident steps, then freezes when the guy stops to throw something in the trash can.

Austin squares his shoulders, then starts walking again. Except he trips on a crack in the sidewalk, stumbles, and the flower goes flying. Christ.

I jog to him to make sure he’s okay, but he’s already standing and patting his knees.

By this time, the guy is staring, his eyes wide. “Everything okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Austin’s face is so inflamed you can barely see his freckles.

“You dropped something,” I say to the dude, still in help-out-Austin mode.

“Huh?”

Catching on, Austin points to the flower.

The guy shakes his head. “No, that’s not mine.”

“That’s a flower for the Poli House mixer this weekend. We’ve been passing them out all morning. It’s your ticket to get into the party.”

Austin, who’s now holding the flower, juts forward. “So, um, you want to go in case…I mean, in case you can make it.”

“I’m not sure if I can,” he says but takes the offering.

Austin sputters. “It’s not a prob…it’s no big thing. Just forget it.” He turns away, the apples of his cheeks ruddier than his hair. “Feel free to hand it to someone else, then.”

The guy nods, holding my gaze for entirely too long. “I appreciate the invite though.”

“Yeah, sure. Maybe we’ll see you there after all,” I add since it wasn’t a flat-out no. And though I have a sneaking suspicion the guy is confused about which of us invited him, I ignore it. This is about Austin building more confidence.

Once he’s out of earshot, Austin mutters, “I’m over your dumb ideas.”

“What? He took the flower. He didn’t say no, so there’s still a chance.”

He rolls his eyes. “Just take the L on this one. Besides, does it even matter?”

“Guess you’ll never know until you show up.”

“Not only did I knock into the guy once, but I fell in front of him too. Kill me now.”

“He didn’t seem bothered by it.” I shrug. “Whether you realize it or not, you’re adorable.”

“Take your adorable and shove it.”

“I’m sorry,” I reply, feeling like a terrible friend. “Do you want me to stop? Finding opportunities for you, I mean.”

“I just…” He shakes his head. “It’s true that pushing me out of my comfort zone isn’t always a bad thing because I can get stuck, and you know that more than anyone. But maybe instead of springing stuff on me, give me a heads-up?”

I screw my eyes shut because he’s right. Twice this week I saw an opportunity and leaped on it, wanting desperately to help him and hoping for the best. “You’re right. I need to remember you’re more methodical than me, even if I see an opening.”

“Thank you.” He blows out a breath. “Gotta get back to work.”

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