Page 43 of Petals and Plot Twists
“Hey, Sophie sent me down to let you in. She’s up on the rooftop watering her garden, but you’re welcome to wait for her up there.”
“Oh, awesome,” Jake says. “Sounds good.” He walks toward me, and I lean back, holding the door open so he can cross in front of me into the building.
“Cool place,” he says. “Are you and Sophie neighbors?”
“And friends,” I say. “We went to high school together.”
“Oh, cool. Locally?” Jake asks. “Sophie and I haven’t talked about where she’s from.”
“Yeah. Sweethaven High.” I motion toward the stairs. “You want the stairs? Or a really old elevator? It’s four flights.”
“Stairs are cool,” Jake says. “I skipped my workout today. It’ll be good for me.”
I try my best to take the stairs at a reasonable pace, but it’s possible I take them a little faster than usual, and by the time we reach the top of the third floor, Jake’s huffing, his breath coming in short bursts.
I am only slightly ashamed of how happy this makes me. I rarely have the opportunity to be that guy. I can never bench the most or run the fastest. But I swam distance in high school—still swim at the gym when I have the chance—and I’m built for endurance. I can climb stairs all day.
“What about you?” I say to Jake. “Are you from around here?”
“Nah, from Charlotte, actually,” Jake says. “I’m just here for my residency.”
My ears perk up when he mentions Charlotte. Would it be weird if I asked him how he liked the city? “Residency?” I ask instead. “You’re a doctor?”
He takes a deep breath as we finally reach the top of the fourth floor. “Yeah. A pediatrician over at Springs Memorial.” He looks over his shoulder and glances down the stairs. “Man, apparently I need to work on my cardio.”
I fight a groan. The guy isn’t just a pediatrician. He’s a self-deprecating one who is making it harder and harder for me to hate him.
“Just one more flight,” I say as I lead him down the hall and to the back stairwell that accesses the roof. I wait just inside the door just like always, but Sophie won’t need me this time. Not with this guy. Herickdetector might be broken, but mine isn’t, and Jake seems like the real deal.
Still. What are the odds any one of the men Sophie brings up here will actually trigger a bloom? I lean against the brick wall behind me and think about the data I’d need to figure it out. The numbers will change depending on a few different factors. Age limitations, proximity, relationship status. But the biggest factor is something unknown, and that’s a major hindrance to me finding an actual statistic.
Does the flower bloom for one single soulmate?
Or could there be multiple possibilities?
Does it guarantee a happy ending? Or does it just promise the potential for one?
I’m still thinking through the different variables, forming potential equations, when the door squeaks and Sophie and Jake appear.
My heart starts pounding as I take in her expression. She looks happy, comfortable, but she doesn’t look as starry-eyed as I would expect had the flower officially bloomed for her and Jake. But they’re leaving together, so…does that mean it did?
Maybe she’s just walking him out?
Jake eyes me as he passes by, but I’m not going to apologize for still being here, no matter how genuine he seemed when we first met. Sophie is my best friend, and he’s a stranger. I won’t take chances.
I make eye contact with Sophie, and she offers me a hesitant smile.
“You okay?” I ask, and she quickly nods.
“Yep. Just headed to dinner.” She starts down the stairs, hand gripping the railing, but I call her back.
“Sophie.”
She turns and looks over her shoulder. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
Then she’s gone.
I breathe through my nose, slow and steady, and count to ten. When the fourth-floor access door opens, then clicks closed, I count to tenagain.They’re either taking the grand staircase or the elevator down to the first floor. Either way, I want them well and truly gone before I leave the stairwell.
