Naomi grinned as Shivanna cooked homemade waffles. The scent of the sweet batter filled the kitchen alongside the grocery store's fresh fruit. Naomi couldn't wait till July when the strawberry and Saskatoon berry season would start, and they'd pick so many buckets Shivanna would struggle to keep up with her ambitious collection of fruit-themed meals. Only a couple of months to go.

"Heard anything from he who shall not be named?" Shivanna asked with a smile. After Naomi vented to her best friend at the club yesterday, she'd come up with that nickname.

Shivanna's short black curly hair was tied back with a white and yellow lemon headscarf, which matched the colour of the cabinets the previous owners had kept in immaculate conditions from their installation in the 60s.

"Nothing yet, either hung over or enjoying time with last night's mystery girl."

"That was shitty of him. You two were vibing when I left you."

"I had to tell him how great I thought he was."

Shivanna scoffed as she cut up a papaya. "Oh yeah, sounds like a real mood killer, Nomi."

Naomi poured containers of raspberries and blueberries into a metal strainer and hit them with a stream of water. "It was probably too intense for him."

"What about the other guy? Did you get his number?"

She didn't even get his name. "It wasn't a get his number situation. But he was interesting."

"Greg sure noticed."

Naomi shook the strainer and dumped the contents into a teal clay-fired bowl from Shivanna's pottery phase. "When he wasn't otherwise occupied?"

Shivanna continued chopping, the cutting board filling. "C'mon, it's good that you're not his immediate rebound after Tara. He'll get that out of his system. Maybe he left to give himself time to process what you said."

It worried her Greg had that side of him. All of her exes were allosexual guys, and even with the best intentions, they couldn't find a compromise to satisfy them. While Greg wasn't ace, she thought he might be less focused on sex since they didn't discuss it nor did he brag about it when they hung out with their friends.

"Ever the optimist," Naomi said.

"It is too depressing not to be. So, tell me about the mystery guy."

Naomi placed her fruit bowl on the white Formica table they'd picked up at a yard sale. After, she reached up to the top shelf for a larger one to give to Shivanna. "He's from Ontario, lives with his brother, and drives a pickup, assuming he didn't lie to hide his murder motive."

"You did not accuse him of that, did you?"

"It was more of an ask than a statement."

"Naomi!" Shivanna dropped the knife on the board dramatically.

"Shivanna." Naomi stared down at her friend until her face cracked into a smile. "You never know why people relocate. Manitoba is not anyone's ideal destination. But he seemed chill, especially about the ace situation."

Shivanna nudged the papaya into the bowl with her knife. "Your ace situation? Which you shared with a stranger?"

Now that Shivanna said it aloud, it was hasty and unthinkable that Naomi had blurted it out to someone who didn't understand. But perhaps she'd enlightened him a little. "I figured by talking to him I'd work up the courage to tell Greg."

After the waffle maker beeped, Shivanna popped out the mouthwatering creation and placed it on a pie plate that she tossed in the toaster oven.

"Is the new guy ace?"

Naomi grabbed two plates to set the table. "Nah, trying to sleep with his friend."

"Bummer." Shivanna sprayed the waffle maker and poured in more batter. "How'd he react?"

"He asked me if I was an amoeba. He had lots of questions and thought it was weird, but kept talking to me."

"That's not the worst sign. You ever consider ace dating apps to find someone who gets it?"

Naomi had explored a few, but she'd struggled to identify as asexual for so long that she feared dating within the community would make her feel like an outsider again, rejected by the allosexual and asexual communities for being too intimate or not intimate enough. Living in that void had crushed her self-esteem, and she didn't want to relive it. At least she knew what to expect from allo guys.

"Nah, I'll wait it out."

They finished setting the table as the last waffle cooked. Naomi put the maple syrup and butter on the table, along with the vanilla yogurt. Soon the feast for two sat steaming in the middle. A perk of living with her foodie best friend.

Naomi grinned. "This looks amazing! I love these Sunday brunches."

She wished she could contribute more as Shivanna made such delicious things from doubles and curries she'd picked up from her Trinidadian mom to different homemade breads, cinnamon buns, and, of course, waffles. During Naomi's childhood, her older sister would help with meals while Naomi and her dad played catch in the backyard or watched sports together since Naomi always missed or messed up a step that ruined the recipe. When she and Shivanna bought this house last November, Shivanna began helping Naomi get more confident cooking, but Naomi failed more than she succeeded.

As Naomi went to take her first bite of waffle, Jet's 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' played. Shivanna had jokingly set it as Greg's ringtone, and Naomi had meant to change it, but the song was catchy.

Shivanna swallowed her waffle and grinned. "Go on. You should at least tell him off for ditching you yesterday."

Naomi bit her lip. Hot waffles and Greg made for a tricky choice, so she shoved a forkful in her mouth and answered as she finished chewing the fluffy, syrupy deliciousness. "Hey."

"Hey, Nomi." His voice was soft and scratchy. "How are you?"

"Can't beat a post-bar brunch."

"You know how to make a guy jealous. I'll be lucky if I'm not eating dry cereal this morning. I think Marc drank all our milk after the club."

Had Greg gone back to his place? Was the blonde woman with him? Probably not if he was making this phone call.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday. For bailing on you when you were being nice."

Nice? She was trying to tell him she had feelings for him.

But you're ace and your feelings don't manifest the same way. He doesn't know that.

"Thanks."

"Did you find Shivanna and get home okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, you think I could cook a killer brunch without her?"

He laughed. "You might be at a restaurant."

"Nah, that's blasphemous. No one beats Shivanna's waffles."

"Damn right," Shivanna said through a mouthful of food.

"How was the rest of your night?" Naomi dared to ask.

Greg sighed. "A mess. Got sick all over the front entrance rug."

"The gifted one from your mom?" It cost more than most of the furniture she and Shivanna had bought and scavenged for their house.

"Mhm."

"Ooh, she'll have something to say about that." Naomi speared a raspberry, blueberry, and waffle and dunked it in vanilla yogurt.

He laughed, and she pictured him running a hand through his short hair. "Not if the videos I've been watching this morning and four litres of vinegar have any impact."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, I will need it. Would you want to hang out next Friday evening? I was hoping to make up for what a drunk asshole I was yesterday."

Luckily, it was one of her nights off. "Yeah, I'd be down for that."

"Cool, I'll let you enjoy the waffles before they get cold. Say hi to Shivanna for me."

"Will do. Talk to you soon."

As Naomi ended the call, Shivanna waggled her eyebrows and grinned. "So, how's Greg?"

"Hung over I imagine and cleaning a rug. Doesn't sound like yesterday ended how I envisioned it did. He wants to make up for it next weekend." Perhaps he had left the club because he was feeling sick, and the blonde was going upstairs to meet her friends. "He says hi."

"Looks like optimism paid off this time."

"We'll see how our chat goes. My sober flirt game isn't great."

Shivanna spooned more fruit on her waffle. "If he's into you like I suspect he is, you shouldn't need any game."

"I need him to realize I'm not just being nice but have romantic feelings for him."

"You could go old school with a 'will you go out with me? Check yes, no, maybe' note."

Naomi laughed, though she was nervous enough she considered it. Shivanna had a point. If she was more direct, she'd avoid another miscommunication and may discover if Greg wanted a romantic relationship.

*** 

How are you feeling about Greg at this point? Do you think he can redeem himself or that he's being sincere with Naomi?