"What? Elaine is Damian's sister? Wow!" Felix yelled. His voice was so loud that it bounced off my bedroom walls several times.
"I know, right? This is messed up..." I threw my arms up in frustration. "All of this is just a ruse!"
Felix calmed down. "But now that you know Damian is single, you can open up to him."
"Felix, I have no idea about his feelings towards me." I started pacing around the room. "It was always 'Elaine this', 'Elaine that'... Now, it's completely unfounded! I don't know what to believe anymore."
"You can find him."
"And then what?" I stopped and stood still. "I cannot just confront him and demand for his affection."
"Would it be easier if he comes over?" Felix held up his phone. "I can call him."
I stared at him miserably. "No..."
"Ally, you can't stay in this room forever. Sooner or later, you'll have to get out there and face him."
"I don't know..." I buried my face in my hands. "Can you head out for a while? I need some alone time."
"Sure." Felix gave me a curt nod.
Alright, guys. I need your advice. I messaged my head. What should I do?
Perhaps you should take your mind off of him. The right side of my brain responded.
How?
Take a shower, get changed and get out of here. Lefty suggested. You've been hiding from the shop for too long. The florist business cannot flourish without you.
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"There you go, Carol." I placed a basket of fresh carnations onto her lap with care.
"Thank you so much, dear." Caroline gave me a toothless beam. "You know what? I can now move around the house without my wheelchair!"
"That's fantastic!" I couldn't help but clap my hands in excitement.
Jeffrey, however, was not impressed. "My wife could've just walked here all by herself. If I hadn't insisted on wheeling her in, she wouldn't be able to get here without obstructing the traffic."
"One day, Jeff, I will walk faster than you." Carol flashed her husband a menacing stare. "Just you wait."
"I certainly hope so..." Jeffrey murmured.
Carol ignored him. "Ally, my dear," She pointed at the basket and asked, "Did you forget the ribbon?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry." I smiled at her apologetically. "Let me fix it."
"You're distracted, I see." Carol grinned knowingly at me while I secured a bow around the handle. "Is it about that boy again? Has there been any progress lately?"
"Nothing is going on between us." I sighed and shook my head.
"I'm sure there is definitely something happening between you two." Jeffrey tried to help. "It's just nothing is going well within your expectations. Am I right?"
"Tell me the truth, Ally." Carol folded her hands around mine - like I always did with hers. "Do you like him?"
"I cannot deny that." I stared at the floor and pursed my lips.
"Why don't you confess your feelings to him?"
"I can't do that now, can I?" I snorted. "It's not like he's standing behind me or something..."
"Maybe he is." A distinct voice made its presence known. I widened my eyes and turned my head.
Standing right there at the glass doors was him - the fool who had boasted about his invisible girlfriend, the doofus who preferred stalking over talking, and the idiot who was foolish enough to ask a florist for dating advice. Above all, he was Damian Andres - the man I had been thinking all over and about. Now, who was the idiot?
I thought I had begun to lose count of the time we had spent apart from each other. But at that precise moment, I knew it had been more than 7 days and 14 hours since I last set my eyes on him.
"Hey, Ally." Damian nodded at me. His hands were clasped behind his back.
"Hey!" I waved at him shyly.
"Can I talk to you?" He pointed at the door, motioning me to go outside.
"Um," I laughed shakily. "I'm kind of busy right now..."
"Don't worry, sis." Felix abandoned the cashier and rushed towards me. "I'll take care of them."
"Do you have anything else to do?" Damian looked at me with concern. "I don't want to mess up your schedule."
"No, it's fine now." I dragged him through the side entrance as soon as possible. "So, what brings you here? You're not here for flowers, are you?"
"Of course not. I'm here to apologize."
"For?"
"Lying to you." He ran his hand through his hair. "I shouldn't have bragged about my non-existent love life."
"Apology accepted." I beamed at him.
"Oh..." He blinked. "That was easy."
"It was a bit confusing at first." I shrugged. "But after pondering on it for a while, I have begun to understand your desires."
"Really?" He was a little taken back.
I nodded. "Yeah... Sometimes, it can be tricky to buy flowers for your sister without earning a few weird glances."
"But –"
"It's alright. I think it's a considerate gesture."
"No, Ally." Damian placed a hand on my shoulder. "I think you've misunderstood. Sure, there was one time I was truly ordering flowers for Ellie, but I wasn't self-conscious about it at all."
"Oh?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Perhaps this gift..." He shuffled his arms behind his back. "... might help you understand my intentions."
"You have a gift? But I've already forgiven you. This is not necessary, Damian."
"Ally, this is not an apology gift. It's something infinitely more dear..." He gave me a bitter smile. Slowly and carefully, he brought his arms to the front. Wrapped within his fingers was a bouquet of crimson flowers.
"Roses and tulips..." I murmured.
"Given your extensive knowledge, I'm sure you're able to decode my message." He bit his lip.
"Roses and tulips," I repeated, wrapping my arms around the bundle of flowers. This time, something clicked in my mind. I gasped in realization, "A declaration of love!"
"I know you mentioned roses lack originality." He scratched his head. "But Felix told me that you like the notion of receiving them."
"He's not wrong, but this... this cannot be true." I shook my head in disbelief. "I've never told you about these flowers. You must've mistaken..."
"No, I haven't! Anyone who has the slightest idea will recognize these flowers." Damian raised his voice. His tone was almost desperate. "Ally, I... I like you!"
"Wha – " I opened my mouth and closed it again.
"I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time, long before I planned to introduce you to my sister..." He gazed at me intently. "... but I never had the chance."
I was still dazed. "But where did all the other flowers go? You did order several bundles of them."
"You needn't worry. They didn't go to waste." He kept his eyes on me. "I dried all of the petals to make hair clips for Ginny."
"She must've been bugging you with questions about their implications then."
"Well, fortunately, I have a great tutor." He grinned at me.
"But if you liked me..." I frowned. "Why didn't you tell me right from the beginning?"
"I figured it would be the least suspicious way to get to know you. Remember the first time we've met? With my mask and all, you could've thought I was a creep." He pursed his lips. "In fact, the only reason why I asked you for love advice was... to see if I was qualified to win your affection."
"Well, do you think you're competent now?" I took a step closer to him.
"Who am I to judge? It's up to you to decide..." He said with sincerity.
I raised my eyebrow. "Hmm..."
"Ally, please say something concrete." Damian leaned forward, as if he was begging. "I'm trying to impress you here."
"I guess..." I abandoned the bouquet and advanced towards him, trailing my fingers up his chest to his shoulder. "I guess it's working."
"Really?" He sucked in his breath and glided his palms up my arms. His grey eyes brightened under the dim light of the alley.
"Uh-huh..." I muttered, my voice came out no more than a whisper. Pushing myself up to the tip of my toes, I leaned in so I can press my lips against his cheek as a seal of gratitude. But before I could, Damian slyly tilted his head and captured my lips with his own. I wanted to lean back and protest, but I had already found myself melted into him, threading my fingers into his hair. Sensing the urgency in my movements, Damian twitched his lips upwards mischievously against mine.
"Alice Dalton," He pulled back reluctantly to grasp for air. His face was evidently flustered. "Will you be mine?"
"What took you so long to ask this question?" I breathed out. My arms were still circled around his neck, unwilling to let go.
"Kept you waiting, huh?" He winked at me.
"Just shut up and kiss me."
And he did.
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THE END
OR IS IT?