Chapter 33: Woo the Girl

Tuli

The morning after, I found myself with nothing to do. Boredom was creeping in. I took Mr. Biggles, who was in a grumpy mood, out of his cage and settled him on my lap as I switched on ~Family Guy~.

He seemed to be giving me a stern look with his tiny eyes before deciding to burrow under my blanket and go back to sleep. I gently patted the small lump that was him.

“You’re up early,” Daniel yawned, poking his head out from Megan’s room.

“I woke up around five. Tried to fall back asleep for an hour. Didn’t work, so here I am,” I grumbled. “Did I wake you?”

He shook his head. “I wish Megan’s bed wasn’t facing the windows. The sun was so bright it woke me up. There’s no way I can fall back asleep with that light in my face.”

I nodded. “That’s why my bed is tucked in the corner where the sun doesn’t reach.”

Daniel groaned. “You’re lucky.”

He then wandered into the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge and pantry. “How about an omelet and some hash browns?”

My stomach growled at the mention of food. “That sounds amazing,” I murmured appreciatively.

He got to work. Soon, the air was filled with the aroma of eggs and peppers. My stomach growled even louder.

Mr. Biggles must have heard it because he poked his head out from under my blanket to give me another stern look. I rolled my eyes and got up to put him back in his cage. “There you go, grumpy. Heaven forbid you spend time with me.”

He scurried inside his tunnel, disappearing from sight. I went to wash my hands, then sat back down just as a very sleepy, very grumpy Megan emerged from her room. “Why are you two up at seven?”

I smiled at her. “Good morning, sunshine.”

She ignored my comment and joined me on the couch, taking my blanket and wrapping it around herself. “Rude,” I joked.

She only grumbled in response.

“Sis, you’ve lived with her for almost two years now. How do you not know she’s not a morning person?”

“Oh, I know,” I replied, “I just like to tease her about it.”

Megan grumbled again, “Shut up, both of you.”

I laughed and got up from the couch to grab the comforter from my bed. I sat back down and snuggled under the blanket, enjoying its warmth.

Megan scooted closer to me so we could stay warm together and watch ~Family Guy~.

We sat there for about fifteen minutes before Daniel came out into the living room.

“Breakfast is ready, you two. Come sit at the table,” he announced.

We were too comfortable to move. He stared at us, waiting. After another moment, he clapped his hands and spoke again. “Up, kids.”

“No,” Megan and I whined in unison.

Daniel chuckled. “Fine, but if you make a mess on the couch, don’t come crying to me. You make the mess, you clean it.”

He went back into the kitchen to grab our plates and placed them on our laps. My mouth watered.

The omelet was smothered in cheddar cheese, with more oozing out the side. I could see bits of pepper, onions, and ham.

Daniel had even put ketchup on my hash browns. Just the way I like them.

I took a bite of my omelet and moaned from the delicious mix of flavors. Megan made a sound of appreciation as well.

“Daniel, you and your sister need to open a restaurant together, I swear.”

Daniel sat down with his own plate and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. “We could,” he agreed after swallowing, “but I’d have to go back to school, and Tuli might have to change her degree.”

“I’m not planning on changing my degree anytime soon,” I replied. “I need to get my degree in graphic design.”

Megan pouted, and Daniel laughed at her expression. “If we do open a restaurant, you get to eat for free,” he promised, patting her head. “But you’ll have to be patient.”

“Fine,” she muttered. She stopped complaining, though, as she took another bite.

We watched TV in silence, the only other sound being our forks scraping against our plates as we ate. I ate slowly, savoring my breakfast.

Daniel went back for seconds; he ate quickly. Megan scolded him for grabbing a second helping, but he defended himself. “I’m a big guy,” he protested, “I need the extra food.”

“Yes,” I teased, “that’s why he doesn’t cut back on the beer.”

Megan and I laughed.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little beer belly.”

“It won’t be little if you keep drinking every night,” Megan pointed out.

“You two are so mean to me,” he complained, sitting back down.

Megan reached up to ruffle Daniel’s hair, and he smiled, then went back to eating his food. By that time I was done and went to wash my plate.

The doorbell rang just as I put my dish in the dishwasher. “Isn’t it a bit early for visitors?” I wondered.

“Some people are up earlier than we are,” Daniel pointed out.

“True,” I mused.

The doorbell rang again. I rolled my eyes and went to answer it.

A man wearing a pink polo and a pink baseball cap that read ~Lil’s Flower Shop~ was standing there with a bouquet of yellow roses.

“Uh, can I help you?” I asked.

“Flower delivery for a…” He paused, checking his phone. “Tuli D’Amore.”

“That’s me,” I replied, “but I didn’t order any flowers.”

“Seems like you’ve got a secret admirer.” He gestured to the card dangling from the bouquet.

A secret admirer? The only person I could think of who might send me a gift was Jayce. Was he trying to win me over? I took the flowers from the delivery guy.

“Thanks,” I said.

He held out a small package. “This is for you, too.”

“Oh, thanks.” I accepted the package, surprised.

“Just need your signature,” he said, offering his phone.

“Daniel, could you find a vase for these?” I asked.

He came over to take the roses. “Sure.”

While he searched for a vase, I signed for the delivery on the guy’s phone, cursing inwardly at my sloppy signature.

I handed the phone back, and the delivery guy wished me a good day before leaving.

I walked over to the kitchen table where Daniel had placed the roses and set down the package. Megan joined me. “What’s in the box?”

“Not sure,” I said, “but we’re about to find out.”

I grabbed a steak knife and sliced through the tape. The box flaps sprang open, revealing a bag of sweet and sour gummy snakes.

Megan frowned. “That’s a weird gift.”

“But I love sweet and sour gummy snakes,” I said, laughing. “It would be weirder if it was something expensive.”

I opened the card attached to the roses.

~Tuli,~

~Hope your morning is going well. I was watching the sunrise yesterday and couldn’t help but think of you. I’m grateful to have you in my life. This is just a small reminder of that.~

~Enjoy your Sunday.~

~Yours, Jayce.~

I rolled my eyes. When did Jayce become so sappy?

But the bigger question was how he knew I loved yellow roses and sweet and sour gummy snakes. I’d never told him.

It was too strange to be a coincidence.

I was about to dismiss it when Megan spoke.

“Tuli, what’s going on? What’s this all about?”

~Oh boy.~

Daniel had promised to handle the situation between Jayce and me...but I was still nervous about how he might react to Jayce’s confession.

I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to tell Megan with him listening, but this unexpected gift left me no choice.

I glanced over at Daniel leaning against the kitchen counter.

His usually friendly face was twisted into a scowl, but he bit his lip and nodded at me, signaling it was okay to spill the beans.

“Last night,” I began, “after Jayce beat up my coworker, I told him Bradley had been sexually harassing me. Jayce almost lost it again.”

“Hold on,” Daniel interrupted, his face redder than before. “You were being sexually harassed and you didn’t tell anyone?”

~Shit~. I should have known that would set him off.

“Let me finish, please. Then you can yell at me.”

Daniel fell silent again, chewing on his lip so hard it started to bleed.

Megan noticed and gently pulled his lip away from his teeth. His eyes softened when he looked at her.

“Anyway, we started arguing. I was so mad, I was about to leave, but then he kissed me. And he told me he loves me.”

“WHAT?” Daniel and Megan shouted together.

“I know,” I said. “And he asked me to consider dating him.”

“What did you say?” Megan asked, recovering from her shock. Daniel was still too stunned to speak.

“I told him I’d think about it,” I said. “I guess he’s trying to win me over, hence the flowers and candy.”

“So, are you going to say yes?” Megan asked, her voice squeaky with excitement.

Daniel started to speak, but Megan cut him off. “You promised not to interfere.”

“What promise?”

Megan grinned. “I pretended to be asleep so I could hear your conversation.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Megan.”

She rolled her eyes. “Be mad all you want, but I’m old enough to decide when I need to go to bed.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” he grumbled, his anger deflated.

“After I’m done talking to Tuli,” she promised.

I was worried about where this was heading.

“Anyway. I have my concerns, especially since he’s a professor, but he told you how he feels, and now…” She gestured to the flowers. “Maybe he deserves a chance.”

“It’s too risky,” I protested.

“If you’re willing to keep it a secret, it might work.”

Daniel glared at her but didn’t say anything. I was tempted to escape to my room rather than continue this awkward conversation.

“For now,” Megan said, “let’s go shopping today. Your birthday is in two weeks, and we need to find you the perfect dress.”

“Uh, sure,” I mumbled, retreating to my bedroom. “After we all get some more sleep.”

I had a feeling she and Daniel were going to argue as soon as I closed my door.

And I had a feeling that something else would happen soon after. Something I didn’t want to think about for fear of making myself sick.