"Okay." Nina took back the rose.
Since John did not like it, it was useless to keep it.
She put the flower aside and said nothing.
John and Nina sometimes did not like to talk things over. It always made Henry anxious.
John would rather suffer in his dignity than set himself free in vulnerability. Over his dead body would he admit to his own wife that he was jealous. Henry felt he had to ask for him. "Where did you get the rose, Mrs. Shi?"
John looked out the window. Although he was staring at the traffic outside, he was waiting for an answer.
"I bought it. Today's for lovers, isn't it? People would send their loved ones roses on this day, so I bought one." Nina touched the rose again. She had not sent anyone roses yet. She wanted John to be the first.
There was nothing better to represent her love for her husband than a beautiful, fully-bloomed rose.
Henry finally took a deep breath and replied, "Did you buy it for Mr. Shi?"
"Yes," Nina nodded. "But he doesn't like it. What a waste."
John still looked out the window. He raised his left hand to his lips, and the corner of his mouth rose slightly.
Hearing his wife, he felt a little guilty.
"Give it to me." John turned to look at her and reached out for the rose. His face was calm,
the tip of her nose and her lips.
"Here, let me get that." John reached out and smoothed her hair. When his fingers touched the back of her ear, he turned over and placed her on her back in the back seat. He braced his hands on either side of her head and leaned in to kiss her.
The space in the back seat of the car was not very large. Nina could see all of John looming over her. Their bodies were not even pressed together, but she could already feel his steady heartbeat. Hers thundered in her ears.
"What are you doing?" Nina panicked.
They could not possibly do it right now in such a tight space, not to mention with Henry in the driver's seat.
Besides, she had her period today.
There was no way that this was happening.
Raising her hands and pressing them against his chest, Nina looked John straight in the eye and said, "John, don't act recklessly."
John raised his eyebrows and smiled unscrupulously. He answered firmly, "No."
Then, he leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, "You should've known by now, I can't calm down around you."
"You... Mmmph..." John's lips crashed against hers, rendering her silent.
She struggled for a while but ultimately gave in. In between hard, passionate kisses, she felt him smile against her lips.