2 Mr. Jones

It was mid summer, the day was scorching, the news considered it one of the hottest days in years. My hair, strawberry blonde, was pulled in up in a ponytail, out of my face. My blue eyes were shut as I fanned myself. The air conditioning went out and it would be another hour before the repairman arrived. I was cursing my fate when the bell rang. I opened my eyes and set the fan down, leaned myself against the counter so I could peer at my customer. I wondered if it was Mr. Jones, you see he was having an affair. He would buy his wife purple hyacinths and his mistress sweetpeas. It's funny really. "Mr. Jones," I plastered on my fake smile and turned my back to the counter, ready to prepare the flowers of his choosing. "What will it be today?"

"Hate to disappoint, but, I'm not Mr. Jones." I turned around in confusion, my brows furrowed as I watched a stranger walk up to the counter, it was obvious he was new in town. You must be thinking it was because of the way he dressed or looked, no, he was actually dressed handsomely, for a city slicker that is. His brown hair was sticking out at every which end. His eyes were blocked out and covered by tinted glasses. His nose was crooked, as if he had broken it before. His clothes were average, blue jeans and a Beatles t-shirt. The only thing different about him from everyone else was his accent. He was cute, which meant I had no chance with him. "The name is Mikey."

I forced myself to stop imagining what it would be like if I was the type of girl he liked. I was an orphan running a flower shop, not an outgoing stunner. I plastered on my work smile. "My mistake, sir. How can I help you today?" He smiled and walked around the shop, I instantly scolded my heart for fluttering at the sight of his perfect smile. I needed to get a grip of myself. It didn't matter how cute he was. People always left and I wasn't planning on letting anyone in my heart anytime soon.

"I'm not sure, I was strolling down the street when I stumbled upon your little flower shop here." He picked up a rose and sniffed, a sly grin spreading across his face. I frowned, growing suspicious of his presence here. He turned on his heel and twirled the flower between his finger. "How much for this one?" I knew it, he had a girlfriend. It was pathetic of me to hope otherwise.

"That would be $1.50, sir." He laid the rose delicately on the counter, fishing in his pocket for his wallet.

"A little expensive for a single rose." He laid a five on the counter and I gave him his change, picking up his flower and wrapping it with a ribbon. I hand him the flower with a shrug.

"No, sir, it's averagely priced." I moved out from behind the counter and show him our collection. "You see, you picked a rose from one of our longer stems. The longer the stem the higher the price." I pointed to one of shorter stemmed roses and pull it out. "This one is ninety-five cents." I put it down and went to the next. "This is seventy-five cents and this," I looked back at him to see if he was listening. He wasn't even looking at the roses, he was looking at me, I frowned and placed my hands on my hips. "Are you even listening?"

A smile spread across his face as he stared down at me. "Sorry, you're beautiful." My eyes widened and a blush spread across my face. I took a step back from him and frowned. He stepped closer and I put my hand up, forcing him not to take a step further. Mikey smirked and put the rose in my outstretched hand.

"What?" I questioned and looked down at the rose in shock. "What is this?" I glanced up at him and he shoved his hands into his pocket.

"Every princess needs a rose." If at all possible my eyes widened further. "See you around, princess." He turned away on his heel and walked out of my shop, throwing a wave over his shoulder.