"No, change first. I'll come back later."
"Huh?"
Annabelle looked at her appearance but saw no issue. Not understanding what was wrong with her brother, she took his hand and pulled him inside, making him sit on her bed. While she remained standing, staring at him intently, trying to find a way to ask what had happened with his date, without upsetting or hurting him.
But Christian, not liking the situation and struggling with where to direct his gaze, lowered his head and extended his hand to give her the gift, hoping to be done with the awkwardness he is feeling quickly. Then he said.
"Here, this is for you."
"What is this?"
Annabelle, surprised by the sudden turn of events, asked subconsciously.
"Present."
Surprised even more, Annabelle took the handbag from his hand to find a beautifully wrapped gift box inside. Feeling even more curious, she and opened it carefully to reveal a green with some white bag. Holding it and examining it closely, she realized it was from a very famous brand.
She was initially astonished. Then, looking at her brother, who kept lowering his head and the bag alternatively, she felt even more joy and warmth inside.
Her brother, who wouldn't even go outside to buy his own clothes and always made her handle it, had gone out on the weekend to buy her a present. Annabelle couldn't remember a moment more joyful than this. Her eyes started to moisten, and tears of happiness flowed down her cheeks.
And not being able to hold herself any longer, she placed the bag back in the case and set it aside. She then threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. With a hoarse voice, she said.
"Thank you!"
Christian, now lying on his back on his sister's bed from the impact of her embrace, felt even more awkward and unsure of what to do. The soft feeling he got from her breast, couldn't be easily erased now from his memory even if he wanted.
And her pleasant smell, even with the hint of sweat, seemed oddly intoxicating and addicting. The taboo nature of the situation felt unexpectedly arousing.
"Sobs"
But then, seeing her eyes filled with tears as she was crying and her effort to stifle her voice, Christian's awkward mood vanished just as it quickly appeared.
He knew his sister cared a lot about him, but it seemed, he was still underestimating just how important he was to her.
He patted her back, waiting patiently until she calmed down. It took more than ten minutes, and Christian even felt his hand growing a bit tired. When she finally pulled away a little and gave him a beaming smile, thanking him once again, he thought it was at least worth it.
Then he lifted himself off the bed, stood up, and said.
"Well, I'll go change my clothes and wait for you in the living room. I have something I want to talk to you about."
Christian didn't mention her attire or suggest that she should change. Instead, he simply said he was going to change, hoping she would take the hint and change on her own. Then he left her room.
And now alone in her room, Annabelle's previously confident posture slumped slightly. Her face, all the way to her ears, flushed a deep crimson with embarrassment as she couldn't believe what she had done.
Throwing herself on her brother and hugging him tightly while crying out loudly like a child, she felt herself dying from shame. Her dignity as the older sister vanished without a doubt at that moment.
'Should I go and give him a hard knock on the head, hoping he'd forget what happened?'While the thought crossed her mind, she still immediately rejected the idea. He was her precious brother, the most important person in her life. She couldn't bring herself to extend her hand at him, let alone hit him. And she felt that no matter how well she treated him, it would never be enough. So it was a rejected idea.
But then, recalling what had happened, and not knowing where she should go with all her shame, she threw herself onto the bed and began to punch her pillow, trying to vent her frustration. But not feeling it was enough, she buried her head in the pillow and shouted out.
After some time, when Annabelle had calmed down, she went toward the gift box and picked up the brand bag her brother had gifted her again. Tracing its design with her finger, a stupid grin spread across her face, unable to conceal her happiness.
But then something suddenly occurred to her: where did he get the money? A bag like the one in her hand was undoubtedly expensive, costing no less than two thousand dollars.
She knew he didn't spend that much and had been saving some money. Could it be that he used his hard-saved money for this? Feeling a pang of guilt that she might have taken his hard-earned savings, she even considered returning the bag.
Even though she felt that its meaning was much more important to her than its price, she still found it hard on her conscience to just accept it.
But then, remembering that he had wanted to talk with her and sensing that it seemed important, she decided to wait and hear what he had to say before making any decisions about returning the bag.
Finally looking down and seeing her attire, she realized she was still sweaty from her workout, and remembering how she had hugged him in that state, she hoped he hadn't felt creeped out. And decided she needed to take a quick shower.