88 Dinner With the Flowers
1672 Words
Noah had the weirdest night he can imagine.
Beside him was an actress who already stared in various films Noah isn’t aware of yet. She looked the part of belonging in Hollywood. With her voluminous hair and her bright eyes, the mixture of skies and greenery, Noah knew she was one sight to behold. She was a flower one would look back when they passed her by. But despite her appearance, Noah still had one woman in her mind: it was in contrast to the actress across from him.
The woman Noah had eyes for is passionate yet straightforward. She dresses in the simplest jeans and shirt. At times, she would put her hair up in a tight ponytail. Its thin curls would fly with the wind like it was one and free. Her eyes, when hit by the sun’s ray, would sparkle like the clear blue waters of the vast Caribbean Sea. Upon laying eyes on her, Noah had a feeling in his chest, and it’s one that can never be replaced by any gold. It was, perhaps, at one point, what any human would crave in their apparent life. It was what would drive a person to his limit. It’s what makes them—it’s what keeps them.
“—love him,” said Diana as she sipped from her iced tea.
Noah whipped his head to her direction, “Love?” he echoed in question.
Jennifer chuckled from across him, “Oh, do tell, Di,” the actress urged, “I’m sure Noah would love to hear it.”
Whatever they talk about while his mind drifted, Noah had an inkling it wasn’t something pleasant.
Diana dabbed a napkin on her damp lips, “I was just telling Jennifer here that her character from Butterfly Effect loved the lead man.”
“I haven’t watched it,” Noah responded honestly. The cigarette box rattled on his side. He couldn’t help but touch it.
Jennifer blinked, “I see. So that’s why you weren’t responding when I was trying to get your opinion about the film I starred in.”
No matter her reason for wanting to ask such a thing to Noah, the young Italian didn’t. He didn’t care.
Jennifer must have noticed his disinterest because when Noah attempted to stand and head to the balcony, she called his attention, “Going to the balcony?” she asked in a honeyed tone before she blinked slowly.
On the other hand, Diana kept her eyes down on the table.
Noah nodded his head, bewildered as to what the redhead actress means.
Jennifer’s chair screeched as she stood, “I’m coming with you,” she declared, snatching her coat hanging on her chair’s backboard.
Mentally, Noah had no idea why she seemed adamant in following him.
“I’m going to smoke,” he said, his one hand landing on the nape of his neck. The embarrassment spread fast over his face.
Jennifer flashed her perfectly aligned teeth to him, “I know,” her eyes drifted on the cigarette box. Noah was holding, “Sorry… I happen to see you rummaging for that box for a while.”
Noah was out of words to say, so he opted for a smile in response.
Diana was silent the entire time, but she seems not to mind. She kept chewing her food slowly, and not that it was a new occurrence. She was a slow eater, but Noah didn’t mind it when they went out on Saturdays and returned to the ranch on Sundays to have the horses racing or riding for two hours.
“You won’t mind sitting here alone?” Jennifer looked back at Diana.
The blond woman placed her spoon down. Then, she looked up to gaze at Noah and Jennifer, “I won’t,” her smile was the usual one. But the pain that seeped in Noah’s heart was something he can’t get used to.
By the time Noah reached the balcony’s railings, the clacking of Jennifer’s heels trailing behind him.
Strings of vermilion swayed with the cold night air. Jennifer leaned her hands on the railings. Her head was angled curiously toward Noah’s direction.
The excellent end of the cigarette stick was already at Noah’s mouth. He clicked the lighted once, twice, thrice—then, it disappeared within his grasp.
With one eyebrow raised, he assessed Jennifer’s playful expression.
Inclining half of his arm on the railing, Noah ran a hand through his hair, “Can I have it back?” he asked politely.
The lighter was already with fire by the time Jennifer handed it to him. “Let me,” she insisted. “It wouldn’t hurt to light your fire.”
Sighing, Noah attempted to remove his daily dose of nicotine—
“I’ll come closer,” Jennifer said in a breathy voice. “You need to remove that from your mouth.”
Her heels clicked with the curtain’s swaying. The scent of flowers reached Noah’s nostrils when Jennifer had the fire near the end of his cigarette stick.
“There,” said Jennifer as the end of Noah’s cigarette alighted, the smell of flowers mixing with the nicotine.
Noah raised his eyebrows, “Thank you?”
Jennifer flashed her signature smile, “You’re welcome.” She took three-step backward.
Indeed, her movements were a mystery. And Noah finds it enticing. If he were to look inside a box, and Jennifer was the one who made it, he’d think twice in looking inside. It’s how he felt right now about her actions. But he didn’t have the exact amount of resolve to be on par with her feelings.
Jennifer was facing the darkening sky. The chilly wind blew back her curls, her hair dancing with the wind’s tempo.
“Can I also have a stick?” she reached out her hand.
Noah didn’t immediately reply. Surprised was one emotion he felt, but being this familiar with him already? He could guess what she wants. It was too evident that Noah was already getting nervous. He was skeptical of why she was doing it.
The box of cigarettes was already in Noah’s hand. He tapped it to his palm, and one cigarette popped out from the box’s brim.
“Here,” Noah said as he managed a small smile, his dimples showing for a bit.
Her pallid hand reached for the stick. In no more than seconds, she already placed it between her colored lips.
“Can I also borrow the lighter?”
Noah laughed a little, “Of course. You can’t just display it, right?”
“Definitely,” Jennifer replied, a blush spreading slowly on her face.
When she was done lighting her cigarette, she removed it from her lips, the smoke flying away to a distance.
“Diana told me that you’re good friends,” the actress stated.
Noah didn’t deny it, “Indeed,” he said, “for a year now, we are.”
Jennifer seemed to not be aware of what was going on between the two of them. “I see. She didn’t tell me about you—not until I saw her looking at a picture of beautiful horse.”
“By that,” Noah turned around, facing the obsidian night ahead, “you meant a horse name Snowflake?” he smiled at the memory of her racing with him toward the foot of the mountain.
“Yes!” Jennifer laughed a little, “It was a cute name, though. No one names their pets like that.”
“Really?” Noah said without any humor in his tone. According to Jason, Snowflake was named that way because she was the only one who neighed so loud like she was born as a human child among the female horses born. He wasn’t in favor of Jennifer, finding it humorous or unlikely. Furthermore, Snowflake was Diana’s favorite among his horses. She was as much important as anyone in his life.
Jennifer must have caught this, so she changed the mood, “Ah, but the horse is indeed eye-catching. And her fur glows like a pearl.”
Noah blew smoke to the distance, “Maybe you and Diana, I would like to visit my ranch someday.”
“You own a ranch?” Jennifer’s eyes widened.
“Diana didn’t tell you?” he c****d his head to the side, and ash falling below the balcony.
Jennifer shook her head, “She wouldn’t tell me anything besides you owning the horse.”
It was both relief and worry for Noah.
Waving her hand, Jennifer walked and had the cigarette’s end pressed on the ashtray nearby. “I will check on Di,” she flashed him again that charming smile, “See you in a bit. It was nice knowing about your ranch and horse.”
Noah tipped his head in response.
It confirmed his hunch. It meant that Diana hadn’t told anyone about him—what happened between them—yet.
He stayed outside for minutes. The wind continuously blew his way, and it was somewhat relaxing—a breather he needed for the days that had rilled him up to work. Sleepless nights were a thing for Noah nowadays. It was frequently happening, as his thoughts about the Stream Ranch and his personal life had piled in one go and had themselves blocking the side of Noah’s brain for sleep.
Footsteps as silent as the wind itself hovered behind him. They weren’t Jennifer’s sharp heels. Noah thought it was the waiter asking for the bill. Little did he know it was a storm that would bring havoc to this world once more.
Diana stopped beside the doors; her eyes fixed on the floor.
Noah blew out smoke her way. She didn’t say anything about the smell.
“Can I help you with something?” the way he asked her sounded as if they were back to being acquaintances rather than almost lovers.
Her bright hair moved when she lifted her gaze to him, “Jennifer mentioned she would like to be friends.”
The squeeze came at Noah again. It was heart-wrenching. “Of course,” he managed to say. That was all he could ever say.
- Writer
