His Favorite Flower

vii.

hi everyone! this chapter utterly hurt to write (in the best way possible) so i hope you love it. it's a rollercoaster. don't forget to play the song above when you see the (*) symbol in the story. sending lots of love and stay safe my lovelies <3

Aira

Aira turns around to find Elien right in front of her. And wow, he looks good.

His brown hair hangs perfectly to frame his face. He is wearing a suit with no tie and the top three buttons are unbuttoned. She looks him up and down to find him staring straight at her. Iyanla lets out an audible gasp.

"Of course you're here," Aira says coldly.

"I was about to say the same to you," He scoffs. Aira turns back to Iyanla to find her backing away.

"I am not getting in the middle of this," She whispers. Aira rolls her eyes and chuckles as Iyanla orders another whiskey. 

Aira turns back to Elien just to find him giving her a double-take. She meets his eyes and he doesn't seem the least bit thrown off. Well someone has had a few glasses, Aira thinks. 

"What are you even doing here? I thought these sorts of events weren't your thing."

"They aren't, mama forced me," He says, looking around the room.

"How was her birthday, by the way?" Aira blurts out. She immediately wishes she could take it back. Elien seems surprised too. He takes a while to think.

"Fine, Celia ended eating most of the cake though." He smiles to himself.

"Oh, good," Aira answers, a little discouraged.

"She loved the flowers," Elien quickly mutters. It seems that Aira shouldn't have heard it but she does. And she hates the way it made her a little happy. 

Aira has always had a soft spot for Elien's mom, Diana, and so had she. Even though their parents are competitors, Diana would welcome her with open arms even though she knew that Aira shouldn't be spending time with Elien.  

One week, back in high school, Elien had gotten sick, so Aira snuck out with some homemade chicken noodle soup to his penthouse apartment. 

His father wasn't home and when Aira arrived Elien was asleep. She expected to just give the soup over to his mom and leave, but they ended up talking for hours about flowers, books, dreams, and the future. Diana was expecting Celia at the time and loved Aira's company. 

Aira looks over at Elien and gave him a small smile to show her appreciation. His mouth quirks up just a bit. Finally, after what seemed like forever in silence, the bartender hands them both their drinks. 

Elien drinks his glass in one go while Aira takes small sips of hers. She cannot just get drunk at one of these events. They both look at the crowds that have formed on the dance floor. Couples slow dance while soft music plays.

"Do you want to dance?" Elien asks suddenly. 

This has got to be a joke, he's clearly had a little too much to drink.

"With you?"

"No, with the bartender," He says sarcastically pointing at him.

"Right..."

"Yeah with me, Aira," He says.

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"Are you really asking me this question right now?"

"Yes."

"You are crazy. You know how bad that would make us both look?"