RJ was outside on the porch.
Only Valin was inside, sitting on the couch and typing furiously on his laptop.
His fingers were a blur.
I'm surprised his laptop hadn't exploded from all the kinetic energy he was generating.
He looked up at us, smiling.
"Nice of you two to finally get up," he said with a hint of passive aggression.
Zai left my side and flicked his forehead.
Valin stopped typing and shrieked, raising his hands in surrender.
"What?! Whatever it is, I'm sorry!"
That's when Zai started whispering threats.
I knew they were threats because Valin looked frightened, even though Zai's expression stayed the same: amused.
Then Zai sat down next to his brother and pulled me into his lap.
Valin began sniffling, wallowing in self-pity. That's when RJ came inside.
"Snowe, your eyes are puffy. Have you been crying?" he pointed out.
I hid my face.
Valin was literally crying right beside me, but he pointed out my eyes?!
RJ then approached Valin.
"Move over," he demanded.
"You're heartless! I'm hurting right now!" Valin whined while obediently scooting over to make space.
"You're not going out today?" RJ asked, ignoring him completely.
"Snowe's off work," Zai replied, cuddling me closer.
"I see… Does that mean you're cooking tonight?" RJ asked me directly.
"I… sure."
I hadn't really thought about it.
"Yeah, and the house is a mess," Valin chimed in.
Looks like he's recovered.
Zai shot him a glare that caused Valin to tense up instantly.
Then he smiled to himself before his attention drifted back to me.
"You're right," Zai said, running his fingers along my thigh. I stiffened and looked down.
"Ever since Snowe married me, she's been slacking off. I can cook too, and I clean better. I'm also faster, but it's nice to let someone else do it."
His fingers slid between my thighs.
I gasped and touched his hand to signal him to stop rubbing me.
"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here?" I asked, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice.
Zai chuckled lightly and said to his brothers,
"Like me. It's time you both learned how to take care of yourselves."
Valin visibly flinched, but RJ just went back to his phone, and began placing an order for food.
"I just want my food cooked by a cute girl! What's wrong with that?" Valin groaned and stomped upstairs.
Every time I think I've adjusted to Valin, he opens his mouth and proves otherwise.
But none of these brothers is normal.
There are three I haven't met yet… I wonder if I'll ever meet them.
"I'll make lunch for the two of us, at least," I said, slipping away from Zai's warm embrace.
His face showed a brief flash of disappointment before it returned to his usual, cheerful mask.
"I'll help," he offered, following me into the kitchen.
We started making sandwiches and fries. As I was slicing potatoes, Zai chopped the vegetables, but I could feel his gaze lingering on me.
I tried to keep my attention on what I was doing. I failed when Zai moved behind me, kissing my neck with his hands moving under my skirt.
"Zai… you're distracting me," I murmured.
He pretended not to hear me, one hand creeping under my shirt toward my breast, the other already between my legs.
"I'm holding a knife," I added sharply.
He chuckled.
"Is that a threat? Should I be worried?" he muttered playfully.
That's when I noticed RJ watching us from the living room. When our eyes met, he quickly turned away and left the house.
Zai once told me I need to learn to say no to him… and if I keep making half-hearted excuses, he won't take me seriously.
"Zai… stop. Not right now," I said softly.
He actually paused.
A second later, he withdrew completely and went silent.
I finished chopping the fries, but the air had gone thick with tension.
Why is he so quiet? Is he mad?
RJ returned and announced,
"I ordered food."
"Oh, great!" Zai replied brightly. "Just for yourself, or did you get some for Valin too?"
"Why would I buy him food?" RJ remarked.
"Well, tell Valin we made enough for him after all," Zai mumbled.
No, we didn't. We made two sandwiches.
"I'm going out for a while," he added. I opened my mouth to respond, but he was already out the door.
He's definitely mad at me. My chest tightened with anxiety.
"Snowe… the grease is smoking," RJ said, snapping me out of it.
I turned off the stove in a panic, then I slumped down to my knees.
"Do you think… Um... does Zai seem angry to you?" I muttered, feeling close to crying.
"I don't care," RJ replied dismissively.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
I turned away to wipe them, but he noticed.
"Hey… don't cry," he said softly.
He approached, pausing to grab a paper towel, and gently wiped away my tears.
"He didn't look upset," RJ assured me finally.
I knew he couldn't lie, but I didn't know why he didn't just tell me that before I started crying.
I took the towel from him and stepped away.
"Thank you… You can have my portion too, if you want it."
RJ looked skeptically at the uncooked potatoes I'd left in a bowl.
"How long do I need to fry these for?"
I sighed.
He's hopeless, so I pushed through my feelings to finish cooking.
Valin came downstairs just as the food was done and shouted excitedly.
"I got your text!" he told RJ.
Then, to me, he said,
"I'm so glad you decided to cook for us anyway!"
"Yeah." I hadn't. I just didn't have an appetite anymore. And Zai had abandoned his food because I turned him down.
Why did I stop him? The second his hands touched me, I was in the same mood as him. But when I saw RJ, I felt ashamed.
I must've really pissed Zai off.
What if he doesn't come back? What if he never touches me again? What can I do to make him forgive me?
I was hugging my knees on the front porch, weeping. The moon was bright, and the air was cold. I don't know how long I sat there before Zai finally came back.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked.
At the sound of his voice, I leapt up and threw my arms around him.
"I'm so sorry! I'll never say no to you again! Please don't hate me…"
I could feel him stiffen.
Zai gently pried my arms off and sighed, then looked at me long and hard.
He then kissed me softly before deepening the kiss, stealing the breath from my lungs.
"Dummy," he whispered against my lips, "you could tell me no a hundred—or a hundred thousand—times, and I'd still be in love with you."
"Then… why did you leave?" My voice squeaked, raw from crying. His words filled me with such relief that I almost cried all over again.
"I needed to cool off, Snowe. You said no, and… well, that doesn't exactly turn off how I was feeling. So, I took a walk."
"You didn't… take a walk to a strip club or something, did you?"
Zai chuckled, then kissed me again—over and over—holding me tightly.
"Who knows?" he teased.
I bit his ear.
"Ow!" he yelped. I pouted.
"You'd better give me a real answer!" I demanded.
Zai just grinned, then leaned in and kissed me again, full of tenderness.
"There's only one person I want to see taking their clothes off... you," he said, and there wasn't a trace of teasing in his voice this time.
I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head against his chest.
"I'm glad you came back."
Zai picked me up, my thighs wrapping around his waist as he carried me inside.
"I'm doing my best for you, Snowe… Don't forget that."
"Were you really about to go all the way in the kitchen… with your brother watching?" I questioned.
Zai looked insulted and said,
"Of course not. But..." a mischievous smile crossed his lips, "I was about ten seconds away from carrying you into the bathroom, to do it there."
"We had just done it less than an hour ago! And I was cooking!" I reasoned.
"I got distracted because I wasn't hungry," he replied.
I sighed.
"Well, I am hungry. I was so upset when you left that I didn't even eat."
He stopped heading up the stairs and turned around.
A moment later, he sat me on a barstool in the kitchen.
I watched as he moved like a whirlwind. The vegetables seemed to chop themselves while chicken, spices, and flour appeared across the counter almost faster than I could follow.
I was transfixed as he cleaned and seasoned the chicken with skill and care.
A second later, he slumped into the stool beside me.
"I have to wait for the grease to heat up," he said.
I noticed two skillets on the stove.
"What are you making?" I asked.
"I'd rather surprise you," he replied. "But you should be able to guess."
He washed his hands and pulled on a sleek black apron I hadn't seen in a while.
About thirty minutes later, he placed a plate in front of me with crispy chicken, rice, and stir-fried vegetables.
"Sorry. Since this was last-minute, I didn't have time to marinate the meat," he said.
I picked up the drumstick and took a bite.
"The skin is so crispy!"
He rolled his eyes.
"Duh."
"It's so yummy! What kind of cooking style is this?"
He smirked.
"You've never had fried chicken before?" he asked, surprised.
I shook my head.
"Life on Infaniya sounds even bleaker than I thought," he remarked, while reaching out to brush a crumb from my cheek.
We ate in peace.
I couldn't stop raving over the food, and Zai looked secretly pleased.
There was a proud smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
After we cleaned up the kitchen, Zai gently took my hand and said,
"I'm going to do better. If an audience makes you uncomfortable, I'll control myself. I'm sorry, Snowe."
My heart warmed at his words.
"And I'll… do better about being firm and vocal with my boundaries... so you're not caught off guard again," I replied.