41 Very, Very Bad

Caught unawares by Zero's question, Lily got flustered a bit.

She blinked, belatedly realising that she, indeed, had been staring at him the entire time. Without talking.

Luckily, Zero wasn't looking at her as he asked the question, seemingly more interested in the cookie than her. What was she going to say?

What could she say?

Well, nothing but the truth, of course, but she felt really stupid asking, "Like what?"

Now it was Zero's turn to be flustered.

Yes, indeed.

Like what?

"I don't know," Zero said, "Like I'm on display?"

Lily laughed to cover her embarrassment. She seemed to be in so many embarrassing situations with Zero that it's not even funny anymore.

"Sorry," Lily replied, nervously covering her lips, "I didn't realise it bothered you."

"Oh, I wasn't bothered," Zero assured her, taking the last cookie with a slight frown. It was finished already? When did that happen? Pursing his lips, he slowly dipped the cookie, feeling like if he did it in slow motion, it would last longer.

"I was just curious," Zero explained as he stared sadly at his last cookie in the milk.

Lily, upon seeing that rather sad look on Zero's face, felt her nervousness and awkwardness disappear for some reason. Her heart warmed so much that she replied, "I just like watching you eat. You look like you're enjoying it so much and to a baker like me, that means a lot."

"Oh," Zero replied, not knowing what else to say to that as he then finished off the cookie and milk.

He couldn't help but sigh a bit and smack his lips, savouring the last bit of taste in his mouth. Lily pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing at that look of his and again, she thought to herself … she'd never get tired of watching him eat.

"Well, I should be going now," Zero said, "Thank you for dessert."

Lily smiled, "You're welcome. It's the least I could do."

Both got up when Lily asked, "How can I return your shirt to you?"

"Oh, I'll be coming to the Cafe often, so you can pass it to me then when it's done," Zero answered.

Hearing that, Lily couldn't stop her heart doing flip flops. Coming often? Then she would have lots of opportunities to meet up with Zero then.

Life certainly was bright.

"Oh, hold on a minute," Lily said, as she seemed to think of something. She disappeared into the kitchen and soon came out with a small paper bag.

"Here, for the road," she said.

Zero took it, wondering what it was. Opening it, he saw chocolate chip cookies inside. He grinned.

Looks like his work-outs need permanent adjustments, but he didn't care.

"Thank you," Zero said, not refusing the gift.

Who would?!

Lily walked him to the door and said just before he left, "Thank you, as well."

"For what?" Zero asked, puzzled.

"I enjoyed myself tonight," Lily said, "Even if it was a fake date."

Zero smiled softly, saying just before he turned to leave, "So did I."

Lily stood at the door, watching him enter the car. When he saw that she hadn't closed the door and entered, he wound down his window and told her, "I won't leave until you close the door."

Zero would always make sure that one would be safe inside the house before he left. Even if Lily was inside her house, the door was open and anything could happen. He wouldn't feel right to leave her vulnerable like that, even though he had already scanned the surroundings and didn't see any danger.

It just didn't feel right.

Lily nodded, and did as he said reluctantly. She closed the door with a sigh and heard him drive away. Leaning against the door, she put her hand over her heart and shook her head.

It was bad.

Very, very bad.

She had it so, very very bad.

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Lianne was in front of the mirror in her bathroom, absentmindedly blow-drying her hair. Her mind was fully occupied with thoughts of Kai and what she had agreed to.

Her lips slowly curled up to a smile.

Damn, she got the Heavenly Creature as her boyfriend.

Just the thought made her giddy.

Someone that good-looking was her boyfriend.

Okay, so some may call her shallow but heck, who would not appreciate or like it when their boyfriend was *that* good looking?

To think that she can stare and admire him all she wanted without having to look away or pretend to be looking at something else.

Eye-candy?

Check.

Long legs?

Check.

Sweet?

Check.

Gah, she had struck the jackpot.

The only problem was, his family.

Lianne sighed at that thought and pushed it out of her mind.

If she thought about it, she would not be able to stop thinking about it. She had the tendency to overthink and if she did overthink, she might just turn around and tell Kai that she changed her mind.

She took several deep breaths and focused on other things.

Like his face.

She remembered how close he had been earlier.

Her memory flashed back to the first time they met and how she had been struck dumb the first time she had seen his face.

And when he had been flirting with her while trying to get Irene, the Amazon Lady, off his back.

His face.

His voice.

His touch.

All of it was so vivid in her memories.

And the fact that earlier tonight, Kai had been so close that he had almost kissed her.

Darn Zero.

Lianne touched her lips and wondered how it would be like to kiss someone.

She shook her head and put down the hair-dryer.

She leaned forward on the bathroom counter and stared at herself in the mirror.

Well, now that she and Kai were going steady, what's the next step?

Lianne found that making plans for other people was easy but for herself? Not so easy. Being the one on the outside looking in, it was easier to see all angles and possibilities. More so when she knew and understood the person.

When it came to herself, however, she tended to second-guess herself and worry.

Lianne began brushing her hair slowly, thinking hard.

It's best to just take things one day at a time.

No planning, no wondering what to do next.

She'll just focus on her own work and take it slow.

Still, there was one thing that had to be done.

She would need to dig up on all the information about the Shengs. It would be foolish to think that a relationship was only between two people. Outside factors mattered a lot and if she was going to be serious about this, she would need to be prepared.

Lianne switched off the bathroom lights and entered her dimly lit room. She headed to her bed and reached for Leo, her plushie. Her bed, as usual, was filled with soft toys that she would surround herself with when she slept.

She wondered what Kai would think about that … then hit herself on the forehead for thinking it. Why would he be in her bedroom to know anyway? She lay down on her bed, her face a bit hot.

Just imagining Kai being in here, her private bedroom, made her think weird things.

Just then, her phone vibrated and it lit up for a bit, indicating a message had come in. She reached for her phone that was at the bedside table and smiled upon seeing who it was from.

Kai.