Page 34 of Devoted

She chuckles and then straightens her spine. “I promise.”

“Okay, here.” I hand her the royal purple gift bag stuffed with lavender tissue paper and follow her into her kitchen where she sets it on the counter and removes the tissue paper from inside.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she says as her eyes pop up from the contents of the bag and she glowers in my direction.

“You promised you wouldn’t take offense,” I argue.

“I’m not offended, but I am confused,” she replies as she withdraws the plethora of breath fresheners from the bag. Gum and mints of every flavor Target had available scatter across the counter as she dumps the contents of the bag once she realized how many options there were. She veers up at me again and places a hand on her hip. “This is where you would explain.”

I lean forward on my elbows, organizing the mints and gum into piles as I bask in my creativity. “So, I was going to get you flowers…”

“Flowers are nice...”

“Yeah, but there weren’t any at Target I deemed good enough for you.”

“You went to Target for flowers?” She asks, clearly amused.

“I was there grabbing other items and I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Anyway, since the flower selection was abysmal, I decided they weren’t really necessary. But when I went to check out, I saw the display of mints and decided this was a far more practical purchase.”

She twists her lips to prevent her from smiling. “So, when you said I wasn’t allowed to take offense, were you implying that I would believe that you’re trying to tell me that my breath stinks?”

I stand up tall and point a finger in her direction. “Bingo.”

“So that’s not what you’re saying?”

“Nope. Instead, I saw this as an opportunity for the both of us.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Okay…”

“Well, you think that cinnamon gum is disgusting, and I feel the same about your orange flavored Tic Tacs.” I pause and she laughs through an unrestrained smirk. “So I figured, why don’t we try all of these different breath fresheners and see if we find one we like better than those?”

Her smile builds as she grants me a puzzled look. “You are a strange man.”

“Come on—I thought that was ingenious,” I scoff and then make my way around the counter, placing my hands on her hips, pulling her into me so I can smell her strawberry shampoo and that citrus body spray she tantalizes me with at the hospital every time she walks by. “Then we can compare notes and it will be like a fun surprise to see if we find something we both enjoy.”

“You would be willing to give up cinnamon gum for me?”

“Only if you’re willing to find something other than the candy you claim are mints.”

She reaches up and runs her fingers along my smooth jaw before dragging them down my neck, lighting my entire body up. “I think I could do that. Thank you. This is the weirdest but most unique gift anybody has ever bought for me.”

“And more practical than flowers, right?”

She shrugs and then steps back as I reluctantly release her from my grip. “Flowers are still nice. But yes. And this sounds like it might be fun.”

“Oh, the real fun hasn’t even started yet, Jess. You ready?”

She nods and then makes her way towards the front door, grabbing her purse and coat before we leave and she follows me down to my car.

“I have to say, you being cryptic about the entire day makes me nervous.”

“I thought we agreed you didn’t need to be nervous around me anymore,” I say as I pull out of her apartment complex.

“I’m working on it. It would help though if you told me where we’re going. I have to say, I didn’t envision being in stretchy leggings on our first date.”

I reach over and grab her hand, pulling it up to my lips and kissing her lightly. “I know it’s not fancy and over the top, but that’s not really my style. I value experiences over flashy meals. That’s something my mom used to always stress to me. Expensive cars and clothes, meals, etcetera. only hold their value momentarily. But memories last a lifetime.”

She sits back in her seat and examines me with a soft smile on her lips. “I love that. And I’m sorry if that came out wrong. I didn’t mean this wasn’t good enough—”

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