Page 5 of Picking Daisies on Sundays

His face lit up. “How’s that going by the way—designing?” he asked, sincerity in his eyes and smile.

“It’s good,” I said, “I love it.” Trying to keep myself from rambling, I stopped there, unsure of how much longer I could hold this discussion without asking him a million questions and sounding insane. Not my best quality while I tried to discretely adjust my top in the process.

Did my boobs look okay?

“I’m sorry, by the way,” he winced, referencing to his beer hitting my head, as he reaches for my forearm to enforce his sincerity. The small touch sent goosebumps up my forearm, something I hadn’t experienced in what felt like years. It felt moreintimate than any of the sex I had in the past four years. “Let me buy you a drink. Dirty Shirley, right?”

My lips parted in surprise as I said, “Yeah,” despite the drink in Gabe’s hand that was waiting for me.

I followed Levi up to the bar as he made room for us, trying my best not to stare at his long stature as he walked. Or at his lips as he ordered their drinks. Or at his hands as he touched his hair. It was like I was back in high school; my mind reeling as I stood in his presence.

“Are you still going to NYU?” I asked as he leaned against the bar.

“You remember?” A flicker of surprise in his face.

“Of course, you don’t give me enough credit, we were best friends,” I said softly. But I was fully aware that he heard me from the look on his face as I saidbest friends, despite the rowdiness of the people drinking around us.

“We were,” he said, nodding his head at the memory. “Are you still living with your mom and aunt in the West village?”

“How do you know I live in the West Village?” I asked with confusion. The last thing I expected was Levi to remember anything about me, let alone where I was currently living.

He laughed as if he was trying to prepare himself for what he was about to admit. “I called your mom the day after graduation to find out if you were still moving into the city. She gave me the address in case I ever wanted to stop by.”

My chest tightened. He had never stopped by.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that information, and honestly, I wish I hadn’t known it at all. I already struggled the past four years wondering what he’s was doing, so knowing that

he’s had this information all these years and did nothing with it…it left a pit of anxiety growing at the bottom of my stomach. With the old feelings rising to the surface, I refrained from responding and waited for him to continue.

“How are they—your mom and aunt, I mean,” he asked, tripping over his words. Was he nervous?

“They’re good,” I said smiling. “Aunt Mandy is running the flower shop and my mom is designing, as usual. How are your sisters?”

His face lit up with joy, “They’re great. Claire and Rhea just entered the 3rdgrade, and Sarah’s getting married, actually.”

I gasped, “To who?Don’t tell me it’s Jeff,” covering my mouth with anticipation.

“You’re not helping the situation,” he said dreadfully, running his hand over his jaw with a groan.

“Oh my gosh, it is Jeff,” I said urgently, trying not to laugh at thishorrifyingnews. “Why would she ever agree to that?” I asked with intense curiosity. I was always invested in his sisters’ lives. I still remember going over to his house in high school and being sucked into their rooms to catch up on all the gossip happening in kindergarten for an hour before I even saw Levi. Sarah was only a year below us, so we usually talked about the cutest guys in class. I never admitted to her that I thought it was her brother.

“Because she’s tired of the dating world—those were her exact words,” he said shaking his head, obviously stressed over the engagement.

“Are you dating anyone?” The words were out before I could process what I was saying.

His eyebrows raised. He hesitated before answering. “No. Are you?”

“Not at the moment,” I said.Not at the moment? What was that supposed to mean?

He obviously didn’t think much of it because he responded casually, “That’s good.”

God, this conversation was going into a territory I wasn’t dressed properly for. I think this is the type of conversation I needed to be prepped on before I was allowed to speak freely.

The first time I saw my childhood crush in four years and I was wearing ill-fitting clothes. Someone please save—

“Levi?” Our heads turned at the sound of his name.

“Bella,” Levi said, color coming to his cheeks.