Felix smiles. “I know. It is why I trust you with my heart.” He lifts my hand and places it on his chest over his heart. “It is yours, mon amour.”
“I will treasure it.”
He kisses me again. “I will see you tonight. Text me when you are off, and I will meet you.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too. Have a good day, Apollo. I will count the minutes until we are together again.”
He leaves, taking my breath with him. I shake my head, scratching my scalp as I try to compose myself again. I remember the box and open it to see a gorgeous white cake with glazed strawberries on top. It’s small, as if made for just a few people. There’s a card taped to the lid. I pull it off and open the little envelope.
Apollo,
Mon amour, mon chouchou, mon rêve,
You are my love, my sweetheart, my dream. I show my love through my craft. I heard from a little bee that your favorite cake is strawberries and cream. I hope you enjoy my interpretation. Why your favorite cake? Because you deserve it.
Kisses,
Felix.
My heart flutters in my chest. He heard me. He made my favorite cake. He must have called Lucien to find out what it was. It’s even cute he confused bee with birdie. I like his version better. I open my drawer and grab a plastic fork and dig right in, nearly moaning in pleasure. Oh my god. It’s incredible. So light, perfectly sweet, decadent.
He shows his love through his craft. Well, Felix, I show mine with grand gestures. I can’t wait until tomorrow.
I’m going to blow his mind.
Felix
I twist in bed to gaze at Apollo while he sleeps. I always wake up before him. Last night was much needed. A week without being in his arms was too much, but now, being with him again, I feel restored.
My fingers crawl through his silky hair, as black as it ever was. He looks so peaceful right now, and it fills me with joy to know how comfortable he feels with me.
His eyes flutter open and he smiles. “Morning, gorgeous.”
“Bonjour, mon beau."
“What does that mean? You’ve said it before.”
“My handsome, basically.”
“Ah, I like that. What can I say to call you pretty?”
“Ma belle.”
“Is it appropriate to say to a man?”
“You can say anything you want to this man.”
“That’s good to know. I hope you don’t mind, but I planned a little outing for us today.”
“I think that sounds nice.”
“Good. Want to get up?”
“If we must.”
After getting dressed in jeans and a slouchy blue sweater, I put on some wedge boots, and just a little makeup—gloss, winged eyeliner, and mascara. Smiling at my reflection, I release a contented sigh. I’m so happy right now.
When I come out, Apollo is on the couch, clearly texting someone.
“I’m ready.”
He looks up, smiling, but it quickly fades. “Wow.”
“What?”
“You just look…fuck. You look so good.”
“Oh.” I shake my head. “I thought maybe you didn’t like it.”
“I don’t think you could do anything I don’t like, but you look super-hot. The blue is a really nice color on you.”
“Merci. Euh, you look...good enough to eat. Which happens to be accurate.”
Apollo laughs. “I’ll take you up on that later.”
A few hours later, after a nice morning window shopping, Apollo stops in front of a restaurant.
“Lunch?”
“Yes, I’m starved.”
“Good. Me too.” He pats my leg. “This place is supposed to have really good Greek food. I don’t know if it can compete with my mom’s, but we’ll see.”
I laugh. “Let’s find out.”
We walk inside, and even though the restaurant doesn't seem very busy, Apollo gives the host at the front desk his last name. Reservations on a Sunday afternoon?
“Right this way, Mr. Onassis,” the host says with a beaming smile on his face.
Apollo takes my hand and leads me through the restaurant to a small room. The place is all blues and whites just like Greece, and as I gaze out the windows at the beach below, I feel Apollo nudge my arm. I turn as the host opens a sliding door. My mouth falls open when I see all our friends from both shops.
“Apollo, I hope this is not a surprise party. It is not my birthday.”
“No, baby, it’s not. Come on.”
We enter, greeting everyone, who seem to be acting as though it’s perfectly normal behavior to meet at a Greek restaurant in South Beach on a late Sunday afternoon. This isn’t brunch after a night out, but I decide to just go with it.
An hour goes by of chatting, drinking, telling funny stories about various customers. I meet a new man, Mitsu. I learn he’s Nix’s friend, but something tells me he’s interested in Grey because he hasn’t taken his eyes off him since we got here.
After our lunch plates are cleared, Apollo surprises me again by standing to get everyone’s attention. My brow furrows as I glance around the table. Luca winks at me while Jude gives me a smile and slight nod.
“Thanks everyone for joining us here,” Apollo starts. “Felix has no idea why I wanted this, but I’m about to tell him.”
I smile, but my stomach is a jumbled mess.
“It’s hard to believe it wasn’t that long ago when you came back to Miami. I was excited when your brother told me about it. I had fond memories of you. I remembered you as being creative, sweet, vibrant. I wondered how you had changed in ten years. I wasn’t even remotely prepared for the man you'd become.” He laughs softly. “I think I fell hard almost from the beginning. I tried to resist, but you were the definition of temptation. It didn’t take long for me to give in to your charms.”
I chuckle, avoiding everyone's gaze as my cheeks turn pink. “Apollo…”
“We’ve talked about a lot of things in the past few weeks,” he continues. “We both knew it was important for me to talk to Lucien about our budding relationship. I always knew when I went to him, I wanted to be able to tell him it was more than a crush. More than just attraction. I wanted to tell him it was love.”
I nod, but my legs are shaking. Where is he going with this?
“Then we talked about our past relationships and what was always missing. You told me that I was missing. The more I thought about that the more I agreed. The missing part of my love life was you. I was waiting for you.”
Apollo takes my hand, smiling.
“I called Lucien, Felix. I told him I was dating you, and that I wanted more with you. I told him I was in love with you.”
My mouth falls open. “Amour…”
“I’ve known it for a while, but the first time you said I couldn’t say it because you had just rocked my world.”
I hear soft chuckles around us.
“Then the second time, you were afraid I would just say it back because you said it first.”
I nod as my eyes cloud with tears.
“So, I wanted to make sure that when I did say it, you would know I was clear, I was intentional, and I wasn’t prompted by anything. I invited our friends because they’re like family to me, and I want them to know that you’ve changed my life. You’ve made me so happy. You filled the hole no one else could. I love you, Felix Marchand. I love you, and I want the whole world to know that you’re my man. You’re my person I was waiting for.”