The evening came sooner than Elliot had thought. He closed the shop and headed to his small flat. He showered and changed into simple black jeans with a black shirt to accompany them. For a moment, he considered dressing up more to celebrate the occasion, but decided against it. When Victor noticed he was too excited to meet him again, who knew how he might react? 

Even though Elliot didn’t expect him to be homophobic, he had never seen him with a man before. Only a few girlfriends he had over time in high school. Not that he had been a womanizer, though. He actually always seemed like the devoted type, always tending to the other’s needs accordingly. It would have been nice if he had a chance to find a boyfriend as compassionate and attentive as him. How couldn’t someone fall for him?

“Not, that it ever helped me anyway”, he mumbled in front of the mirror. No, it certainly hadn’t. Every relationship he had tried to start since school didn’t work out because he ended up comparing them to Victor. Of course, none of them could turn into a person they were not. It wasn’t even fair from Elliot to expect them to do so to begin with, and he was completely aware of it. Hopefully, all the unrequited feelings wouldn’t hurt as much as they did right after high school.

He reached the sunshine bar a few minutes before their arranged meeting time. To his surprise, Victor already awaited him inside, seemingly happy to see him entering the building. He waved enthusiastically from a seat in the back that was separated with a few flower pots and high backrest from the other tables around them. 

Elliot had to admit, this place made a nice location to talk about. There were only a few customers to this hour and music in the background was rather faint, so it wouldn’t interrupt a conversation. The place itself had a dark wooden floor, a bar with a slight reddish nuance in it that was polished neatly, and comfy looking corner benches in separated sections to talk more privately. 

Elliot closed the distance and seated himself facing opposite to Victor. “Hey there. I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”

“Oh, no, don’t worry. I just got here half an hour ago”, Victor replied. “What would you like to drink?”

Half an hour? That basically meant he had been here about 40 minutes early. Wasn’t that a bit long considering a normal meeting in a place he could easily reach from anywhere in town? Elliot erased the thought and reached for the drink menu instead. “I think I’ll start with a tequila sunrise. What about you?”

“I’ll stick to a swimming pool. They are delicious here”, Victor declared. 

Elliot took the opportunity to examine him closer. He looked slightly more pale than he did when he walked into the shop today. Or it might just be the red shirt he wore this evening made it seem paler than the orange one. Hopefully, the rest of his day hadn’t been terrible, with him visiting his mother's grave. He wanted to ask him, offer to listen to him, but he worried he might dig up feelings Victor suppressed purposely if he did. 

The waitress came to pick up their orders and left right away, leaving the two young man to an uncomfortable silence. It was strange. After he had come here with all the courage he had gained, he had no idea what to ask without stirring in an open wound. 

“So, you are working in your grandma’s flower shop these days?”, Victor spoke finally up. 

“Ah, yes. Actually, it’s mine now. I inherited it from here”, Elliot answered. “Where are you working at now?”

“Just the local bank, nothing much. But I’m sorry to hear about your grandma. I know you were rather close, weren’t you?” Victor put his hand on Elliots, sending his heart out of tact instantly.

“Oh, no! Sorry, that was confusing. She isn’t dead, she just retired and left the business completely to me”, Elliot cleared up the misunderstanding. 

“I see.” Victor pulled back his hand and silence took control again. 

“So, you managed to get into the bank? That’s great. I’m sure you aren’t paid too bad in there.” Elliot tried to reignite the conversation. 

“Yes, it’s rather decent. They are also fine with me wearing colorful neckties despite the dress code, so I feel rather welcome there. I'm responsible for local businesses, so if you ever are looking for some sponsoring for events or anything, you can call me anytime.” 

“Thank you, Victor. That’s kind of you.” Elliot smiled slightly. It wouldn’t be too bad to have a contact with other businesses for greater orders. Or to have someone to call if he ever decided to renovate the shop with additional funds. Still, he didn’t wish to seem as if he intended to exploit Victor’s kindness.