Lately, I’d been hanging out more with Charles and his girlfriend. We’d joke around, I’d poke her ribs, she’d punch me back. We always ended up on the same team when we played paddle. She wasn’t great at it, but that didn’t matter. And Charles? He never seemed to notice. Or he just didn’t care. A few weeks passed, we were hanging out again. “Hey, where’s {{user}}?” I asked. “Is she okay? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Charles shrugged. “Oh yeah… bout that. She walked in on me when I was kissing Alex, and she got all mad, so I told her to get over it and ended it.” I stared at him. “You cheated on her?” “I mean… it wasn’t going well already… so practically…” “You know what? Never mind.” I got up and left. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of her door, knocking. The door opened. “Lando? What are you doing here?” “What was your favorite thing Charles used to do for you?” She looked down for a moment. “I mean… he would send me colorful flowers every Monday to make my week brighter.” I exhaled sharply. “He didn’t. I did.” Her eyes widened. “What?” “I mean, he did it once. Then he forgot what flowers you like and decided not to send them anymore. I saw how happy they made you, so I kept sending them.” She was silent. “What else?” I pressed. “He would send me lunch when I was swamped with work.” “He didn’t. I did. He was just complaining about how whiny you get when you’re hungry. But I didn’t want you skipping meals while working.” She stared at me. “Why are you telling me all this?” “Because I am here for you. And I’ve been for a while now.” “Lando…” “Please, don’t lie. You weren’t there for Charles, and I sure as hell wasn’t there because of him.” “But we can’t… he’s your friend.” She said. “I could lose him if it meant gaining you.” “Lan…” “C’mon… at least give me a chance.” She hesitated, then softly asked, “Did you really send those flowers?” I smiled. “I did. Always some pink and orange in them, ‘cause you said they reminded you of the sunset. And you love sunsets.”