"We didn't!" Arthur waved his hands in panic then he pointed at Craige. "But they did!"
Craige looked at him in surprise. "How--"
"Art!"
Zeanne suddenly stuffed Arthur's sandwich in his mouth. "Mmmph!"
"Zee?" Katherine looked at her. "Care to explain?"
Zeanne buried her face in her hands then she took a deep breath. "I was planning to tell you about it later."
Katherine looked hurt as she frowned at Zeanne. "But you already told this goofball?"
"I didn't!" Zeanne shook her head and they all turned to Arthur who was trying to finish chewing the sandwich and swallow it.
"She didn't tell me." He started then a huge grin formed on his face. "I just happened to see them making out in front of the gate from my window."
"Arthur!" Craige exclaimed.
"What the fu--" Zeanne was about to curse but Kaherine silenced her with a finger.
"Language." Then she turned to Arthur with a stern look. "Stop playing around and just tell the truth. And NOTHING but the truth."
Arthur closed his eyes while nodding. "Fine. Fine. They didn't do anything else except kissing."
Zeanne covered her mouth in shock with his bluntness and Craige bit the inside of his lower lip as he contemplated on what to make of this situation. He learned a lot of things at once.
First, Zeanne and Arthur were siblings. Step-siblings. 'That explains their strange closeness.'
Second, Arthur didn't really kiss Zeanne back in the garden. 'Was he just teasing me? But I never told him that I liked Zee.'
Third, Arthur witnessed what happened that night. 'How do you react when you learn that your girlfriend's brother saw you kissing her in front of their house?'
Katherine looked at him then at Zeanne. "Is this true?"
Zeanne still looked dumbfounded as she nodded.
Katherine turned to Craige this time. "But I thought that you're head over heels with Ameera."
'Who the hell gave them that idea? And why does everyone keep on insisting that?'
Katherine must have noticed his confusion because she pointed at Arthur who whistled while looking away.
Craige frowned and gave a straight answer to her question once and for all. "I love Zee."
Zeanne was blushing and looked really adorable as she turned to him which almost made him chuckle if not for the stern look on Katherine's face while scrutinizing him.
'What's this strange feeling? Why do I feel like I'm asking her for her only daughter's hand in marriage?'
Arthur cleared his throat and tapped Katherine's shoulder. "Kit--Kath. Stop pressuring them. These kids love each other. Isn't that enough? Shouldn't we be happy for them?"
Katherine snapped at him. "Are you seriously okay with this?"
"Why not? Where else can my sister find a guy who can put up with her craziness? And he's serious about her." Arthur turned to Craige and grabbed his shoulders. "You are serious about her, right? This is not just a fling fling relationship, right? You have plans for marriage, right?"
Craige was baffled by Arthur's questions but before he could answer him, Zeanne intercepted by swatting Arthur's hand from his shoulder.
"What the hell are you talking about? We're not even dating yet."
"You're not?" Katherine's voice rose in surprise.
"After that intense kiss?!" Arthur also exclaimed.
"We're not?" Craige was the most surprised among the three of them.
Arthur looked at Craige then back at Zeanne. "What's going on, Haile? Are you playing with my Craige's innocent heart?"
Katherine chuckled for the first time. "How can your protectiveness switch subjects that fast?"
Zeanne frowned at Arthur. "I just want to remind you: I'm your sister."
"Exactly. I didn't raise you to be a bad girl. Take responsibility for your actions!" Arthur said in an authoritative tone.
'How did the situation reverse like this?'
Craige looked at Zeanne and she returned his gaze apologetically which made him feel really nervous.
'She's not going to tell me that it was just a spur of the moment, right?'
Katherine contemplated while looking at Craige then she pulled Arthur up. "Let's go to the restaurant."
Arthur grabbed onto his seat like a kid. "Why? Things are just starting to get interesting."
"Leave them be. This is something that they should talk over in private." Katherine swatted Arthur's arm and her words seriously made Craige feel grateful.
But Arthur wasn't having any of it. "But I want to know how this drama ends. Will they get together? Will they break up? Oh. Wait. They're not going out yet so they can't break up."
Katherine blew out an exasperated breath. "Let's have a date."
Arthur cheerfully sprung up from his seat and dragged her towards the restaurant. "Since you begged for it."
Craige watched them leave in awe. 'This brother's skill in manipulation is seriously terrifying.'
"Craige." Zeanne bit her bottom lip and let out a breath while wiping her clammy hands on her pants.
He turned to her and was reminded of her denial about their relationship. His voice sounded dejected when he finally asked. "Did I get ahead of myself?"
She curled her hands into fists before looking at him with a determined gaze. "No. That's not what I meant."
Her words made him relax a little and he smiled. "Good. You already took my first kiss. You have to take responsibility."
Her jaw dropped and she quickly covered her mouth. "Ya~ How can you say something so cringey without batting an eyelash?"
"I'm just telling the truth." He shrugged. "I didn't know that you'd be so cool about kissing someone without the thought of dating them. I feel like I've been played."
"I'd have to admit that it never crossed my mind before that kiss happened. We both have our hands full with school and our side-jobs." She massaged the back of her neck. "I just thought that since we're doing it, we might as well do it properly. If we really want to be serious about this then we have to start this right."
"And how do we do that? You want me to ask your parents for your hand in marriage?" He asked seriously. He really considered the idea when Arthur asked him earlier if he had plans for marriage. "I have to be honest with you that I'm not ready yet to be responsible for you. But if that's what it takes then I'll try my best to work on it."
Zeanne looked at him with astonishment. "What the hell are you talking about? And who asked you to be responsible for me? I can be responsible for myself just fine."
"Is that not it, too? I'm getting ahead of myself again?"
"Way too ahead." She nodded without hesitation. "I was only going to ask you to meet my mom first before we officially..."
"Start dating?" He finished her sentence for her with a smile. 'She can be very blunt about the most shocking things yet shy about really trivial things.'
"Y-yeah."
He patted her head. "I understand. Let's meet her first if that's what you want."
"Really? You're cool with it? You don't think that it's a little too old-fashioned?" She seemed surprised by his reaction which hurt him a little.
He shook his head. "Paying respects is never old-fashioned. Besides, I agree with you about doing this properly. I want your parents to know that I'm serious about you."
"Since you're so cool about it… would you also be okay with meeting my dad?" She said teasingly.
But he took it seriously. "Sure. You never really talked about your dad. You're not talking about Arthur's dad, right?"
"No. I'm talking about my real dad. You'll be meeting Uncle anyway when you meet Mom."
He nodded without hesitation. "Sure. Just give me a heads up when you want to do it."
"Seriously?" She seemed really touched and astonished at the same time.
Craige tried to hold back his smile and failed. "I think before I try convincing your parents about my sincerity, I should first deal with your lack of trust in me."
She waved her hands at him. "Sorry. That's not it. It's just that you sound so cool about it. This will be your first time doing this, right?"
He chuckled and pinched her cheeks. "Of course it's my first time, silly. Did you really think that I already went around asking for my girlfriend's hand in marriage at my age?"
"Ya~ How can you say it like that? I'm just introducing you to them." She elbowed him with a frown but she was unable to conceal her burning cheeks.
He really found her reactions adorable. "That's the same, isn't it?"
"It's not!" She insisted.
He touched her wrinkled nose. "If you say so."
She caught his hand and eyed him suspiciously. "Wait. You said something about girlfriends earlier. You didn't go asking for their hands in marriage, but you've had girlfriends right? How many were there?"
His smile slowly faded but he quickly put it back in place. "Did I say something like that?"
Zeanne smiled sweetly and held out his pinky finger, placing it near her mouth. "You didn't forget your promise, right?"
"One. I had one before." He admitted and quickly pulled his hand away from her.
Not because he was afraid that she would bite him.
But because he's afraid of how he'd react if she actually did it.