When Grace saw the clock, it was already the time to get ready. She hurriedly took a shower and wore her clothes.
When she was combing her hair while looking at the mirror, her lips caught her attention. They were swollen and had a slight bruise. It felt like someone had kissed her.
'Kissed?'
This thought sounded very foreign to her.
'What I am thinking? Who would like to kiss me, it might be a bug bite or something?'
"Oh my God!" Jane screamed at Grace's, the monument she entered the shop. She ran towards Grace and held her shoulders.
"Tell me about him" Jane was looking at her as if telling her to explain. saw
"About whom?"
"Tell me about that person who kissed you, why your lips are so puffed," Jane asked her with narrowed eyes. "And you got a bruise too?"
It looked as if she faced a big heart seizure and the anger in her eyes said, ' you dared not to tell me about your love expedition.'
" It is not what you think. It is just a bug bite."
"Oh, now you say that you got stung by an insect with big oompha-loompha lips. I am experienced and I can see that this is the aftermath of wild kissing."
"...."
Grace nearly laughed by imagining an insect with big lips, but she controlled herself when she saw her friend getting more mad.
"I did not know that your place has such unique insects. I want to meet them someday."
Not able to control herself any longer, Grace laughed out loud.
" What?" Jane jeered at her. To stop laughing Grace covered her mouth with her hands and flapped her hands asking Jane to stop speaking.
In annoyance, Jane turned her head sideways.
When Grace eventually stopped laughing, she held Jane's hands and took her to the seats, and sat down. Jane still not looked at her.
She clasped her hands with those of Jane's and made her look in her direction.
"Jane, I told you the truth and I am hiding nothing from you."Jane's still had a doubtful face.
" Sigh... Jane, did I hid something from you? No, right? Then why I will not tell you something important."
Seeing Grace's sincere face, Jane's anger lessened.
"Are you saying the truth?" Grace nodded at her.
"Hm, if you are saying it, I will believe you." Grace heaved a sigh of relief. Her friend can be really infuriating sometimes.
"Hello," they got disturbed and then noticed that the customer who stopped by the previous day, Julian Villen, stood there and stared at them.
They both stood up from their seats and greeted him.
" Welcome, sir!"
Jane welcomed him with a big flattering smile, which was flirtatious. Grace too smiled at him, but her smile didn't reach up to her ears.
By seeing him, she got reminded of her nightmares again. His eyes were like the eyes which she encountered in her dreams.
"Is there any problem?" he asked them as he noticed how Grace was looking at him. She looked troubled, and maybe he could sense why.
"Oh, nothing, she got kissed by an insect with big oompha-loompha lips..." Grace covered Jane's mouth in a hurry.
"...."
"Kissed-"
"There is no issue, it's just that someone has a big mouth," she said the last part while glaring at Jane.
'Kissed by an insect with big oompha-loompha lips' Julian looked down for a second and hid his smile. He probably knows about which insect they were talking about.
"Sir, what type of flowers do you need?" Grace asked.
" The same orchids that you gave me yesterday."
As Grace went to take the flowers, Jane jumped into a conversation with Julian.
"Again for your special one, sir," Jane asked Julian with a raised eyebrow.
"Huh?" Julian looked at her questioningly.
" Those orchids"
"Ah, yes, I am getting it for that person"
"Hm, can I ask you a question?" Jane asked him with her big happy eyes.
"Yes, of course," Julian agreed.
"Are you new to the city?"
"Why do you ask?" Julian asked, confused.
"It's just that I never saw some so handso-"
Jane bit her tongue after she realized what she was going to say.
"I... I mean to say... I never saw you here before, so I was curious," Jane asked with a crinkled face.
"Yes, I came here just a few weeks ago," Julian answered her question.
"She is lucky"
"Who is lucky?" Julian again got confused.
"Your girlfriend or wife" Jane raised her eyebrows.
Julian became awkward, " oh yes, my girlfriend, but lucky why?"
"Yeah," she explained, "I mean she is receiving flowers from such a charming man and ah-"
Grace pinched Jane on her back hard when she listened to what she was saying.
"Here is your order."
"Thank you", Julian looked at Jane who was rubbing her back in pain. " Are you okay?"
" Yes, I am okay, I got bit by an insect," Jane glared at Grace but she avoided her stare.
"I will take my leave, then."
-------------
As soon as Julian reached home, he went to the third floor. The door opened as soon as he knocked.
"Here are your flowers" Julian handed the bouquet to another man.
"Hm" Julian coughed loudly, and that man looked at him.
"What?" he asked Julian while taking the old flowers from the vase and replaced them with the new ones.
He then opened a cabinet that was kept beside the sofa and took out a small wooden trunk. He placed the old orchids in that trunk.
"Nothing, when I visited flower shop today and I got to know someone kissed that Grace, ah what she said."
Julian scratched his head as if he was trying to tease.
" yes, she was kissed by an insect who had big oompha-loompha lips."
"What are you saying?" That man understood what Julian meant when he saw a teasing smirk on his face.