It felt like heaven to flirt with hell.
-
Daniel Walsh

______________________

TWELVE WEDDINGS IN TWENTY DAYS. HOLY MOSSES.

All Laura Hughes could think was that her best friend, Jenny must have been drunk or had gone insane when she'd accepted so many bookings so close together but that cannot be the reason considering that she never gets drunk and had been insane for the past twenty-five years.

What in the bloody hell was she thinking? It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if the bookings had been anything other than weddings, a party was simple in comparison to a wedding because they were relatively free of emotional turmoil. A wedding, on the other hand, was invented with every emotion known to man.

All the groom had to do was get down on his knees and propose and the bride to finally says yes. Then comes Laura! The wedding planner! A wedding planner's responsibility starts from the moment a couple decides to get married and only when they get inside the plane for their honeymoon. This time period includes not just the bride and the groom; the bride's mother, the groom's mother, the best friend who fights with the sister for the maid of honor spot, the best man who never misses a chance to hit on the bride, the list goes on...

Mother fathers!

Laura's thoughts hit a full stop when she feels an immense pain on her face.

What in the frack was that?

Laura heard gasps around her but she did not dare open her eyes until the pain eased down. Pressing her hand against left cheekbone, she slowly opened her eyes which were filled with tears from the sudden pain. Did I break my nose? She mused.

"Are you alright?" She heard a voice asking and Laura knew recognized the person immediately. Tessa Andrews! Her best friend whom she met before six months. Their friendship was a slow one because Tessa was a bitch the first time Laura met her though that impression didn't last long. Tessa is a sweet woman with a bossy attitude who had a tough time in the past few months.

"I'm fine," Laura coarse out, her gaze fixed on the floor.

"Do you have a concussion?" Jenny asked. "Recent study found out that between one point seven and three million people get head injury each year. Five in ten of those go unreported or undetected. They can cause concussion and even aneurysm. Did you know aneurysm can kill someone? Do you have aneurysm? Are you going to die?"

Great Scott!

"No, Jennifer Faith Foster, I'm not going to die but you will if you don't tone it down right now," Laura said as she glanced at her office.

Betsy, Laura's assistant, stood near the outer desk. The room which was usually piled with books and fabric swatches and photographs, now, looked like a hell hole. Betsy gave Laura an exaggerated expression of sympathy, and frustration.

Laura's gaze finally moved to the person responsible for the condition of her office and the throbbing pain in her face and head. Naturally, Angel was already there, waiting in her office. She was a beautiful woman: mid-twenties, a curvy figure, blonde hair, smooth skin, blue eyes which were now filled with tears. Her personality, though, ran the gamut from nasty to mean to pathetic to pitiful.

"I can't do this anymore," Angel yelled, wiping her tears furiously.

Calm down, Laura. Anger is never the solution for anything, Dr. Hernandez's voice rang in her mind.

That absolutely depends on the question, Dr. Hernandez.

Think of something that will soothe you, Laura.

I want to punch her.

Laura, something that is non-violent.

Okay, she wanted something to eat. She looked down at the floor where her latte was resting. She took one long breathe before turning towards Tessa. "I need some chicken wings soon. By soon, I mean now!"

"Got it," Tessa replied as she started ordering for the food.

Putting on her best professional stern look, Laura faced Angel Keslo. Angel, a bitch for all right and wrong reasons, and one of the reasons why Laura's starting to hate her job. Angel's wedding wasn't even one of the twelve; her wedding wasn't for another three months but the woman had a tendency to break everything in front of her if she didn't get her way. Usually, no matter what the bride did, the members of the wedding party would grit their teeth and see it through. Not this girl; she somehow managed to make people run away from her and her tears are her best weapon. Since the wedding brought a fortune in her pockets and the groom being none other than a senate member, Laura couldn't say no but she regretted that now.

"Angel, sit down on the couch so that we can talk." Something in Laura's tone might have told Angel that the time for argument is long gone because she silently did as she was told. Laura averted her gaze towards the groom who stood at the corner of the room. She really wanted to sympathize the man but she couldn't, especially not when it's ten in the morning and she didn't have her coffee yet. Nobody asked the man to propose.

Senate Martin Aubert gave her a polite smile before moving towards his bride and wrapping his arms around her and muttering something that calmed her. He could have done this before she destroyed my office, Laura thought as she settled on the couch to face the couple.

"Now, Angel, why don't you tell me the reason you destroyed my office and threw God knows what at me?"

"I want to be a Cinderella," Angel replied, jabbing at her eyes with tissues.

Laura frowned. "You want to be what? And what does that have to do anything with my office?"

"Can you please stop mentioning about your office? I feel guilty," she said, another set of tears rolling down her cheeks. Guilty? She feels guilty? She would feel more than guilty after Laura gives her a piece of her mind.

"What happened?"

Martin cleared his throat. "We want a Cinderella theme for the wedding, Laura."

And just like that hell froze.

"Pardon?"

"Angel was reading her eight-grade journal and she realized that she always wanted to feel like a Cinderella. So, we decided that it would be best if our wedding theme is based on Cinderella and we want the wedding in January."

"Are you kidding me?" Laura snapped, rising to her feet. "You both walked in here before months and choose garden theme for your wedding which is to be held in March. Now, you're telling me that you want a Cinderella theme wedding in January? Let me remind you that January is just a month away because it's December now!"

"Laura, we know this is difficult but you need to underst-"

"No, you both need to understand that this is holiday season and I have twelve weddings to be held in three weeks so I don't have time for this. More than half the arrangements are done and you dare to tell me you want to start fresh and within a month? No way. Tell me you both didn't lose your minds."

"Laura," Martin called out. "We want this wedding and we know you're only person who can do this. We need your help. I promise you we'll not change our minds again. I'll take care of all the costs and we'll pay you double the amount."

"No, I cannot do th-"

"We'll do it," Tessa replied.

Laura's eyes widened.

"Thank you," Angel exclaimed, smiling wide.

"All we want is a beautiful wedding and you can decide on everything except wedding gown," Martin said. Angel looked at Martin with her usual puppy eyes. "Okay, also a pair of... glass shoes."

Fantastic! Just fantastic!

Tessa nodded at Laura who sighed. "Fine but I want it all in a contract within a day."

"Done."

Has she gone nuts? Laura mused as she stared at the happy couple in front of her.

******

"You know, in a study of twenty-sight women they conducted in 2016, nearly half of the participants indicated they felt let down or depressed after their wedding, and some participants reported clinical levels of depression. In a 2018 study of hundred and fifty-two women, twelve percent reported feeling depressed after their wedding," Jenny informed, twirling her blonde curls with her finger.

"Is there any report of wedding planner dying from over work?" Laura questioned as she took a bite from her chicken.

"Yes. In 2018, there was a stu-"

"That was a rhetorical question, honey," Tessa informed Jenny as she settled in the couch on Laura's private office. She turned her emerald eyes towards Laura. "I know this is difficult but we can make this work."

Laura shook her head, her purple pony tail bouncing. "Why in the world did you agree with the Senate? And how can you let Jenny book so many weddings?"

"This is the highest budget wedding we've ever conducted and this publicity alone can help us in the future. We can't afford to lose this opportunity. C'mon Laura, he's paying double the amount and that alone can close all your debts and study loans. Hell, you can finally save some money and we can all take a huge vacation," Tessa explained and Laura knows that she's right. Her college loans and debts take up three fourth of what she earns and the remaining is not enough for a life in Paris. Last Christmas, she had just two wedding contracts and hardly any work to do. Her success wasn't a quick one but it happened eventually. All these payments can finally pull her out of debts and live the life she actually wanted to live. One where she doesn't have to skip lunch or worry about paying her bills.

"How?" Laura knew that she has to finish her work but she didn't know how?

"We can work this out. Trust me," Tessa said with a small smile. Laura nodded her head because she did trust Tessa. "Let's start with the priority ones."

Laura nodded again as she started working. She can do it. She has to.

Eight hours later, Laura entered her home. This was one place that made her feel better. Though it wasn't her home exactly, she considered this as hers. She moved in here before a year with her friend Mia. Though Laura insisted on paying rent, Mia brushed her off because she herself wasn't paying any rent. This is Mia's brother in-law's house aka Terry's house.

Terry, Tristain and Troy are triplets who looks kind of similar. It's always difficult to identify them but Laura is finally getting used to it. Tristian and Terry used to stay here with Mia and Laura, however, that stopped when Mia moved in with Tristian after he proposed her. Laura really missed Mia at times but she knew Mia was happy with Tristian. Laura had planned to move out after that but getting a house, let alone one like this wasn't easy in this city and she didn't exactly have the money to move out. Since Terry hasn't been here since Mia moved out, she didn't have to answer to anyone. It's not like anyone is even using this house and nobody asked her to move out either so this was her home.

She badly needed a shower so without wasting another second, she moved towards her bathroom.

Laura, stick to honesty. Dr. Hernandez's voice ringed in her mind.

Okay, not exactly her bathroom but Terry's bathroom. She liked his bathroom more than hers. His room has a huge bathtub and is much better than any other bathroom in this house so she decided to use his shower. It wasn't like she planned to use his bathroom. It just happened. Last month, her shower wasn't working and a plumber isn't cheap so she decided to use another bathroom and since Terry's was closer and bigger and beautiful, she used his. He wasn't even here anyway so it doesn't matter.

She brushed off her thoughts as she stood naked under the shower. She started doing what she always did when she's in a shower, she started singing. Being careful not to cut herself, she sang and listened to the sound of her voice bounce off the walls around her. It's been days since she was able to enjoy a peaceful shower, and she is loving every second of it. Humming the end, she screams as the shower curtain is ripped open and intruder's eyes scan over her, leaving her frozen in place.

"What the-" Her eyes widen in shock and her hands move to cover herself.

"Holy shit." Laura pales when she recognizes the intruder.

"Jesus Tristian! Mia is going to kill me," she snapped, grabbing a towel to cover herself. She wrapped the towel over herself. Turning around, she tightens the towel around her, sighing in relief.

"Purple?" She froze again when she realized she got the wrong person. This isn't Tristian, she mused. Tristian never calls her 'Purple' and his voice wasn't this husky.

The air stilled in her lungs.

Terry?

Her eyes grew wide in disbelief.

Oh, fuck...Terry!

Every muscle in her body drew taut.

Laura, no swearing. Dr, Hernandez's voice reminded her.

Biting back a curse, she dragged a guilty gaze over the handsome man in front of her. Then he locked his green eyes on hers. This was so not happening, she thought.

"Terry," she whispered because she didn't know what else to say.

He shook his head as if trying to wake up from a dream. "I... I'll let you finish the shower," he pauses, his eyes roaming all over her. "You suck at singing," he drawls before walking out of the bathroom leaving her alone with her exploding heart.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

Don't curse, Purple. Dr. Hernandez voice reminded her again.

It's Laura!

Okay, Purple...

Arghh! She couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough to let him catch her in the shower. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she muttered, jerking on her foam chest and then the rest of the towel.

Her hair was ripping wet and she didn't have anything to comb it with, so she used the towel to squeeze as much moisture as possible from it. Then she ran her fingers a couple times through the damp locks before winding them into a bun and tugging on her mask. She checked out the mirror for glitches and straightened her left ear when she saw that it was wonky. Then she blew out a breath and turned to leave the bathroom. She decided it was best to hide in her room until she had a better reason to explain her presence in his shower.

"Stop!" She froze on her way to her bedroom. "Care to explain why there was a woman with purple hair shouting her throat off in my bathroom?"

Good lord!

******

Hey sweethearts! Long time no see.

I'm here with the first chapter of Flying Purple and I hope you all enjoy it. I'll update the next chapter within a week.

So grace me with your votes and comments.

Allison.