The Only Exception

Date?

Every day for the past few months Beau would come to the coffee shop, ordering coffee and chatting with Mitch. Mitch had slowly started enjoying Beau's frequent visits, heart beating slightly faster each time he came by. No. No. This won't do. He couldn't go through the same agony and torture he'd been through in the past. Absolutely not. He looked up as the door opened, but his grin fell as he noticed it wasn't the green eyed beauty he was hoping to see. His smile became dimmer each time the door opened and Beau didn't appear. Slowly, the hours ticked by and Beau still didn't appear.

"Your boyfriend didn't show up?" Scott teased as he heard Mitch let out yet another forlorn sigh. He turned and shoved Scott, scolding him, "He's not my boyfriend," turning around to wash the blender. He shuddered as his fingers hit the sticky syrup lingering at the bottom and rolled his eyes at Scott, who followed behind him. "But you wish he was," Scott responded, yelping as Mitch slapped him. "No, I don't," Mitch retorted, drying off the now clean blender. Scott continued to follow Mitch around, "Yes you do. Whenever he's here, I can practically see the heart eyes float off from you," Scott dramatically fanned his face and swooned. He continued seriously, "Look, I know that your brain has convinced your heart you don't want to be in love again, but give it a chance. If you never give love a chance again, you could be missing out on something amazing."
 

Mitch sighed and considered Scott's advice. "Look, you know it's hard for me to be in the dating scene right now, but when I'm ready I'll give it a chance. I promise," Mitch gazed up at Scott, before untying his  apron. "Can you close up? You know where Esther keeps the key," Mitch smiled as Scott nodded. He was about to leave when the door opened and a red faced Beau appeared, panting and struggling to breathe. Mitch noticed he carried a red rose and idly wondered who it was for. "Hey you. I was wondering if you were sick of me yet," Mitch playfully teased. "Never sick of you," Beau assured Mitch and handed Mitch the rose. "I'm glad you're still here. Mitch, I know we've only known each other for a few months, but the moment I talked to you, I felt an instant connection and I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me?" 

Mitch stroked the rose gently while Beau spoke. Beau was a great guy, but he didn't know if he was ready to date or not. He decided to let Beau down gently. "Beau," he began, "You're a great guy, but I'm in a position where I'm just not ready to date yet, and I hope you understand." Beau's face fell and he looked as though he was struggling not to cry. "Oh, Oh. I get it. Can we still be friends, though?" Beau asked hopefully. Mitch nodded and Beau let out a small sigh of relief. "Can I have your phone number? So we can hang out sometimes. It's all friendly, I promise." Mitch smiled and gave Beau his phone number, texting himself from Beau's phone. "Do you, maybe, want to go hang at a park tomorrow?" Mitch asked quietly, lighting up when Beau enthusiastically nodded. "Great, I'll see you tomorrow," Mitch responded, hoping that he wasn't going to regret whatever this ended up being.