Ren Kougyoku was stuck. She'd taken a wrong turn somewhere, and now she was standing at the stupid flower shop that she hadn't visited since high school. Nope, definitely not the Business District.
She was glad, in a way, for the distraction. The wedding was in a week, but she'd only met "Sinbad" once or twice. He was, as Hakuei put it, "a hottie." And as her father had put it, "the path to the Sindria-Ren oil empire." So why wasn't her heart in it? Maybe it was that dangerous glint in his eye. Kougyoku had read somewhere that love felt like a bonfire and an ice bath at the same time. Sounded like your favorite song. She didn't even know Sinbad's favorite color.
Ugh, I sound like some wannabe John Green protagonist.
She would've just used Google Maps, but her phone was dead (thanks for nothing, Apple), so she swallowed her pride and pushed the door into Balbadd Flowers. Kougyoku frowned. Pushed again, harder.
The door swung open. "It says pull," the boy grinned, dusting flower pollen off on his bright yellow apron.
"Fuck off."
He kept grinning. "Welcome to Balbadd Flowers, miss. Anything specific you want?"
"Stop pretending like you don't know me."
The blonde boy just stuck his hand out, still smiling. "I remember you saying your dad wanted you to move on to someone new. Someone richer, better maybe. I don't know about those last two, but I'll be someone new, or whatever else you need me to be, if it means I can be with you. So I'm Alibaba Saluja, nice to meet you."
Kougyoku raised an eyebrow, then sighed. She wasn't sure what kind of game Ali thought he was playing, but she had to play along if she wanted her directions. "Um, I'm R-...I'm Kougyoku."
Everyone knew the name Ren. She hated it. Because everyone knew the Ren, but nobody knew the Kougyoku. Her father said it was better that way. Yeah, just stash all the illegitimate ones away, she thought, rolling her eyes. Like stuffing dirty clothes into the closet.
He broke into her YA-novel internal monologue. "Did you know flowers have meanings?"
"Did you know I don't care?"
Alibaba plucked a bouquet of carnations from the shelf. "Pick a flower, any flower."
Tentatively, Kougyoku reached for the red one. Alibaba announced, "Love, pride, and admiration. A wonderful choice, my flower."
She blushed. Ugh, he knew she was a sucker for cute nicknames. "I just like the color red."
But she'd stopped whining about directions, and she was sure Alibaba had noticed, because his smile grew a little more sure of itself, if that was possible.
"Here, I'll show you my favorites. Gardenias mean 'you're lovely.'"
His fingers curled around her fist. She unclenched her hand. Ali pressed a gardenia into her palm.
He went on like this, moving down the rows, giving her flower after flower. She wanted to tell him to stop, to tell him she was technically engaged. But it would hurt, and she'd been hurt enough the first time.
When he got to tulips, she cleared her throat, looking down at her hands. "Ali, I- I'm engaged."
Alibaba's eyes went from gold to bronze. He was hurt, she could tell, but not hurt for him. Hurting for her. Because she felt it, too, the wet heat burning against her eyes, blurring her vision. And the tears, splashing one after the other into the rainbow of flowers clenched in her fist. She felt herself pulled back to the day of the graduation, telling him they couldn't work. Her father's eyes drilling into her the whole time. She swore she could still feel them.
Then he smiled. "Protea. Courage."
So he knew. He could tell. That she would rather be in a little flower shop than an oppressively big corporate building. That she would rather be in his arms, listening to him talk about flowers than listening to a man she barely knew talking about stocks. That she would rather be weaving flower crowns like they used to, than being a trophy wife to decorate Sinbad's kitchen.
"Kougyoku. If you," Alibaba began. He swallowed nervously, taking her hands in his. "If you can tell me you love Sinbad, I can let you go. But if you can't, then I want you to know. I want you to know that I love the way your hair droops when you're feeling down and perks up when you're happy. I love the way your laugh sounds like a million wind chimes, sounds like angels and Beyonce singing all at the same time. I love how you always smell like springtime and apple blossoms, and I love that when I'm with you, it's like I'm looking into the sun. Like I'm on fire and freezing all at once, and everything in between. I love you, but if you tell me you love Sinbad, I'll let you go."
The tears had stopped, but they came back now. Hotter. Kougyoku tried, she really did, to say that she was in love with Sinbad, and to hold back what came out next. "I love you, Alibaba Saluja, you sappy dork. You're every flower in the world, or maybe the universe. You're my favorite song, and all my favorite songs from before, and every favorite song I'll ever have. So-"
Then he was kissing her, and if Kougyoku had ever wondered what short-circuiting machines felt like, she knew now. It was everything she'd ever wanted and everything she'd never known she wanted.
If time could've stopped, Kougyoku would stop it here.
After what felt like a second, or an eternity (Kougyoku wasn't sure), Alibaba broke away from her, that dumb grin plastered on his face again.
Her heart pounding, Kougyoku pulled a rose off the rack. "Love."
Alibaba kissed her again, on her forehead. He'd really grown a lot since high school. He kissed her on the tip of her nose. And again, lifting her fingers to his lips.
She smirked. "Do I really smell like springtime and apple blossoms?"
"Oh, spring wishes it could smell like you."
Kougyoku laughed. A real laugh, which kinda hurt since it had been so long since the last one. "And what do you propose we tell my dad?"
"Eh, we'll figure it out when I buy a ring."
"A Ring Pop?"
"Who do you think I am? Obviously only the very best cupcake ring I can find."
Kougyoku laughed again. "You know I love those Little Mermaid ones."
"Whatever you want, my flower."