BEAUTY MARKS

Dominque squeezed Marco's shoulders with both hands, "man, relax, we have plenty of time to eat. I thought she didn't matter."

"She doesn't, but it's just like this every day since I started," Marco said as they entered the restaurant, they ordered, and Marco pursued, "Joseph hired me while she was on a forced vacation."

They sat at the eat-in counter while they waited for their meal.

Dominque adjusted his position, "why do you say forced?"

Marco took a pair of chopsticks and began to pretend to play drums with them, "she's a workaholic and such a control freak that Joseph, our boss, had to choose the dates for her vacation and confiscate the store's keys to make sure she would not come back and haunt the place."

Dominque grinned, "she seems to be quite a number."

"She's no number, don't be fooled by the dimples and freckles she has today."

It was not a mirage that Dominque saw on Kaede's face were natural freckles.

"She's worse than before," Marco quickly faced Dominque to rectify, " I mean, worse than when I began to work there."

Marco somehow was unable to speak about his relationship with his best friend. Dominque always dated women fawned upon by others. Dominque's ex-girlfriend Hye Ju Hu was still in the French YouTube top ten most beautiful YouTubers to follow. Though Marco recognized Kaede's beauty, he did not rank her along with the others, and he assumed his friend would be shocked by the revelation.

The waitress placed Dominque's Guay Teow [noodle soup] and Juan's Tom Kha Gai [ chicken in coconut soup]

Silence reigned, sacred, the food deserved all their attention.

While they slurped, Dominque thought tactics to say he fell for the assistant manager was probably too much for an encounter, which was twenty-four hours old. What Dominque acknowledged was that the woman enthralled him from the first instance.

The atmosphere changed in Kaede's presence. When he caught her stare, all Dominque saw was flames and fire and a corner smile sketched on his face as he fantasied about sexual positions. It always began like this, Dominque envisioned until it was time to pass the practical test. The thought confirmed his attraction was at the early infatuation stage.

"Why are you smiling?" Marco asked.

"I'm not smiling."

"Yes, you are you, have that I'm going to fuck her sideways stare. Who is it?"

Marco observed him well; he knew all of Dominque's facial expressions. The man could tell his friend had someone in mind, and he was glad to note Dominque still possessed his player touch.

"Marco, I just thought that you only have five minutes left before what her name blows upon you."

"Shit, let's get going."

Dominque gave himself a virtual pat on the back. The diversion was perfect. He knew whatever he decided to do to Kaede for his friend's mental health; it would be better to keep Marco out of the ploy. Marco would not understand why his friend sought to copulate with the enemy, even if Dominque explained sex was the goal.

Dominque dated playmate babes because they came to him; with time and experience, the man knew beauty did not guarantee soulmate compatibility. Not that he imagined Kaede as a soulmate, whereas Marco was still in the visual over everything else compatibility.

Back in the store, Marco went to deposit his coat. Dominque profited from his prompt absence to advance and stand at the table where Kaede folded t-shirts. Dominque touched the collar to feel the fabric of every t-shirt Kaede folded. The woman tried to resist, but she could not hold it in. She faced him, "excuse me, ehㅡ."

"Dom."

"Yeah, Dominque, if you are not going to try any, can you please stop touching them?"

Dominque wondered if Kaede was a Virgo, the sign with the perfectionist tendency. Up close, the freckles were more impressive. He opened his mouth, exposing the tip of his tongue before moistening his lips and saying, "cute."

Kaede blinked twice, unable to shy away, "pardon," she uttered.

The blow was unexpected; Kaede's backlashing sentence remained in production as Dominque added, "those freckles, they're cute. I like them."

Kaede's eyes darted, searching for an escape route. For the first time since he arrived, Kaede was happy to see Marco come back.

"Did something happen? "Marco asked as he followed Dominque's gaze, which watched Kaede flee.

Dominque turned to face Marco, "Nah, don't sweat it, I'm the one who bothered her. She minded her business, and I kept touching the tees."

"Pff, she makes a big deal for nothㅡ," Marco stopped. A weird idea crept into his mind; he examined Dominque's face. His neutral expression reassured Marco, he pursued, "you know Kaede is not a girl to mess with, whether it's work or love. She just isn't one for play."

Dominque's brows curved in a perfect V in the middle, his jaw became angular and square, "I know, she's a scarred one. Some asshole must have fucked up her mind, just like that bitch fucked up mine."

Marco opened his mouth, closed it, and repeated the gesture. His attempt to lighten the dark moment failed as he recalled he was the asshole. Since Dominque's return, Marco wondered whether his friend still held a grudge against his Ex Hye Ju; the answer was clear.

Dominque lifted his arm to the side, giving a pat on Marco's chest, "okay, man, I'm out of here," he said in a lighter tone, accompanied by a smile.

"I'm off tomorrow; if you want to hang out, call me," Marco stretched out his hand for their coded handshake and one arm hug."

Dominque passed the door with two regrets, one not saying goodbye to Kaede and two fantasizing about her as if she were meat. The flames he saw were those of a woman who suffered. Kaede caught his eye because he recognized the hurt hashtag. Their encounter was only a day old, but the man's feelings had already shifted.

"Dude, you're no hero. Deal with your shit first," Dominque muttered as he felt the prick in his heart while he recalled the pain Hye Ju inflicted him.