Page 12 of Pocket Full Of Posies

Sticking the end of the tape to the top of the stems, just under the blooms where they gather, I start slowly wrapping the stems, Kai’s hands bumping into mine where he attempts to help.

“That sounds dirty. You know that right?”

“What?”

I look up into his sparkling ruby eyes and think back to what I said. Oh wow, that did sound dirty. And from the grin on his lips, he’s enjoying my blunder.

“Anyway,” my voice comes out high pitched and squeaky as I turn back to focus on our work, “you can’t use too much, or you’ll end up with a mess like before. Just use a little at a time. And make sure to wrap it tight, but not too tight.” I rattle on more instructions trying to ignore his knowing chuckle.

Kai shifts off the stool he’s sitting on and stands, moving behind me to wrap strong arms around either side of me, placing his hands over mine. They still in their winding and my entire body tingles under the warmth of his looming presence behind me.

“Keep going. I want to make sure I get this right,” he murmurs into my ear, his warm breath rustling my hair.

Clearing my throat, I try to focus on the task at hand, literally, but I can’t speak. Whatever caused me to ramble before has now turned my tongue to stone. Together our hands wrap the stems and I reach for the short strand of ribbon I precut for him. He holds the small posy of flowers while I crisscross the ribbon a couple of times before tying a bow, Kai’s finger holding the knot without asking. The entire episode takes place in complete silence.

Once it’s finished, Kai’s hands rest on the table at my sides and I turn in the circle of his arms, holding his posy, a small bouquet of mismatched flowers; one petite pink peony, a few stray jasmines, and even a daisy. All mixed together with stray strands of long grass and leaves.

“Well, here you go. All done.”

I hold up the posy for his inspection, imbuing it with my magic. The blooms perk up and open their pedals, releasing their floral scents. He doesn’t move, other than his eyes, to angle down to where I hold it in the small space between us, lips parting to flash his pointy canines.

“Perfect. You should do this professionally.”

The joke eases my tension and I relax, leaning against the table behind me. Just as I think Kai is going to release me from his hold and step back, his tail caresses my ankle. Circling and sliding up to my calf.

Parts of me that usually remain dormant, except when I’m alone, spark to life. My nipples instantly harden as a breath catches in my throat. If I weren’t holding onto the flowers for dear life, I fear I might have reached out and ran my hands up the bare expanse of his chest.

What in the love of mother earth is going on?

I don’t have the slightest clue, but I need space, distance from Kai and his skin and heat and musky man scent. Oh crap, he smells so good. How had I not noticed before?

“Here you go,” I say an octave too loudly and forcefully thrust the flowers into his chest, forcing him to remove a hand to grab them before they fall.

With his arm removed, I have a clear path of escape and take it. Quickly scurrying back to the opposite side of the table, picking up a flower and cutting its stem before placing it in the vase where I have the flowers for the bouquet arranged.

“I’ve never made a bouquet before,” Kai muses, turning the flowers in between his fingers. “Maybe you could hire me on? You know, for the busy season. I’m sure everyone would love my work. Look at this, I’m a floral genius.”

He is in fact not a floral genius, but I appreciate his dedication to trying. Tucking his masterpiece into the back pocket of his jeans, Kai claps his hands and rubs them together like a villain mastermind.

“Ok what’s next, I’m on a roll here.”

“Well first off what you just made is called a posy. You might want to get the terminology right before you go announcing yourself as a floral genius.”

Kai looks at me quizzically, his lips quirked to one side. “Posy? Isn’t that a flower?”

“No. A posy is a small bouquet. So, what you have right there is a pocket full of posies.” I point to the flowers poking out from his back pocket. It really is ironic he happened to tuck them in his pocket.

“Like the song?”

“Exactly like the song. Except that was referring to bubonic plague victims that carried around posies in their pockets to cover the smell of their rotting flesh.”

Kai’s eyes go comically wide, and I’ve managed to make his jaw go slack for once. I bite my lips between my teeth to stifle a laugh. I don’t think there are many people who can catch Kai off guard.

“You’re joking right?”

“Sort of. It hasn’t been proven, but there were speculations about it. I kind of like the creepy history of it.”

“You’re a little weirdo, aren’t you?”

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