Page 39 of Poetry of Flowers

I almost choked on my coffee and opened the door to not spit the drink all over my car.

“Are you okay-?”

“No, I’m not!”

I was still coughing. He could have at least waited with that kind of news until I was done drinking.

I needed a damn minute to process what he had just told me. Quiet Theo, who never showed any interest in the female body or even the male body, just casually told me he slept with our friend of almost ten years, the same girl he constantly made fun of?!

Am I in some dumb reality show?

“Alright, say that again.”

“Are you okay?”

“Not that, the part where you tell me you slept with Autumn Thatcher.”

Theo nodded, “I slept with Autumn Thatcher.”

“Shit, man,” I breathed.

“No, it wasn’t even that bad. Actually, I believe I really liked it. The way she made me feel was nice.” He slipped back on the back seat so that I had to turn to him again.

“How did that happen?”

My friend shrugged his shoulders, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“She messaged me out of nowhere and told me she was sad, and she wanted a distraction. Autumn asked me to play with her head like I always do. Something came over us, and we took it too far. In the end, I drove over to her house, and we undressed while still fighting. It just happened, and I left before she woke up the next morning. It was nice. I would like to do it again, but she’s being weird.”

That was... a lot.

It sounded like some boring porn, but not like something that would happen to Theo.

Which I didn’t mean as an insult in any way, he just wasn’t the type for those things. A one-night stand.

“What do you mean weird?”

He left before she woke up, that’s probably the reason why she was acting weird. Not even I had ever done that. Either I leave directly afterward or the next morning when we were both awake.

“Yesterday, I asked her when we were going to do it again, but she declined…”

I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.

When had things stopped being easy between us all?

“Let it rest, Theo, it probably was a onetime thing.” That was the only advice I could give him as I watched the girls come out with Remy, who waved at me. I smiled at the little boy as I watched Tillie lean down to him and press a kiss on the side of his head.

Her brother smiled at her and threw his arms around her middle, hugging her tight like he was scared to let her go.

No need to be scared, little man,I thought.I promise I’m going to keep her safe.

The protector - February 10, 2015

“No need to be scared” I tell my younger brother

Trying to be the shield he needs in this world.

I block all the words and the hands.

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