After a while, Vince chuckled as he realized what Monica had done.
"Good one!" he said.
Monica cocked her head like she couldn't understand him. "What?!?"
Vince shook his head. She smiled at him. At that moment, even without words, they clearly understood each other.
Soon, they sat at the dining table and had a meal he made. Vince, being a chef, made their simple burger and salad appear fancy and delectably savory.
He glanced up at Monica and started a casual conversation—hoping to divert away the topic from him and Caitlyn.
"By the way, Cate told me you are going to this year's New Year Gala of your magazine?"
Upon hearing Vince, Monica put down her fork on her plate.
"It's all that Eric's fault!"
Monica couldn't hide her bitterness towards the guy—and the situation. But Vince didn't know who Eric was, so he needed her to clarify more.
"Eric? The blue jaguar?"
"Yeah!"
Vince chuckled. Monica gave her an annoyed stare. He raised his two hands in the air. "Sorry!" and suppressed his laughter.
But Vince was not sorry. Actually, he found the situation amusing. The thought that his friend would celebrate the new year and not just sleep at home made him happy.
However, Vince also knew better than to show that to Monica. He opted to change the topic for her to calm down a bit.
"So, that's why are you in Madam Couture? You are looking for a dress?"
Monica inhales and exhales.
"It was all Cate's idea. I told her I didn't need it, but she insisted," Monica said and took a small bite of her burger. "She could be annoyingly stubborn if you didn't do what she liked!" she complained.
Vince smiled at the thought. "I just can't imagine," he said, amused as he imagined Caitlyn acting like a child, throwing tantrums.
"... And about that kiss? We are not doing it!" Monica directly said to Vince.
Vince nodded. "Don't worry, I understand!"
"Don't get me wrong! There is nothing wrong with you. It's just that I wanted my first kiss to be special."
Vince felt shocked to hear Monica.
"First kiss?!? You have kissed no one before?"
Monica nodded.
Vince furrowed his brows. This was something they never bothered discussing before. Besides, Monica was a gorgeous girl despite her not-so-updated fashion sense. So, he didn't expect to hear that from her. "How come you haven't had your first kiss? You are 25. And you are pretty, too."
Monica rolled her eyes. "Being pretty has nothing to do with my first kiss,"
"Ye... ah! There is absolutely no connection between good looks and kissing..." Vince sarcastically made his point clear.
Monica sighed. She knew this was going to be endless if she didn't stop. "Think what you want! But I want my first kiss to be special."
"And how do you consider it special?"
Monica laughed. "Seriously! Vince."
Vince didn't react as he waited for Monica to continue. Meanwhile, Monica felt like Vince was an innocent child awaiting her explanation.
"Please, don't tell me you haven't experienced that 'moment' before kissing someone?"
"Uhm... I just kissed the girl!"
Monica sighed and gave Vince a pity look.
"Hay, Vince! Good thing that you decided not to tell Cate your feelings, or she will be utterly disappointed with how you think."
"WHY?!?"
Monica shook her head in resignation at Vince's hopelessness. She sighed and said, "Anyway, I wanted my first kiss to be like a fairy tale kiss."
Vince raised an eyebrow, urging Monica to say more.
Without a qualm, Monica dreamily continued.
"I want my kiss to be exactly like in fairytales. Under the moonlight, I'll meet the eyes of my Prince charming, and our entire world will suddenly stop as we stare at each other's eyes. We both are holding our breath as we can't find the right words to say. Then, suddenly, an unseen force has drawn us into each other's arms. We can hear our hearts pounding as our lips come closer together,"
Monica closed her eyes and pouted her lips—as if she was about to kiss someone who was in the air.
"And when our lips finally touch, we automatically close our eyes, feeling the sweet sensation of the magical moment."
Then Monica opened her eyes.