'Moving' In

When Lianne woke up a couple of hours later, her head felt heavy and she was rather lethargic. It was a good thing that she wasn't really the type to move about when sleeping, but definitely, sleeping on the sofa wasn't a good thing.

Still, she smiled to herself as she patted the pillow.

At least she discovered something new that could help her think positively. It was just so easy to overthink and have those 'what ifs' prey on her mind. Keeping herself busy by playing games with online friends had been the best distraction for her but now, she found another.

Lianne gasped as she remembered she hadn't hung the laundry out yet.

Getting up from the sofa, she stretched a bit to get the cricks out of her sore muscles and went to unload the washing machine. Seeing Kai's clothes amongst hers made her smile again and she shook her head.

Then her face flushed when she fished out the last item out.

His underwear.

It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with such garments. After all, she had done the family's laundry as well. It was just a piece of cloth.

Yet, this time, when dealing with that 'piece of cloth' being Kai's piece of cloth … that covered that part of his body … the memory of feeling how hard he had been that morning made her face beet red.

She slapped her cheeks.

Darn that beautiful man.

She'd better hang these out to dry and go out to buy groceries. She had a special guest tonight for dinner.

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That night, Lianne was nervously waiting for Kai.

She looked at the stove that had a pot of her favourite food simmering: ayam masak lemak cili padi, roughly translated to mean chicken cooked in cream with bird's eye chili. It wasn't cream though, but coconut milk that was added after one fried garlic, onions, lemongrass, and a little bit of chili paste.

Although the recipe would have one add the chicken after the coconut milk, Lianne preferred to use her mother's variation. She would add the chicken after the chili paste was fried and fragrant, and sear it for a while before adding the coconut milk.

She felt this made the chicken taste better, as it was semi-cooked and infused with the fried items - especially the lemongrass and chili paste. The birds-eye chili was added last.

She had added some long beans in it as well in place of vegetables though she was the type that didn't really eat vegetables. She was making a more conscious effort to do so, however.

Lianne was also one who liked one dish meals as she was just too lazy to cook several dishes. It also was a waste of time, in her opinion, to have soup / main dish / vegetable. It all just gets mixed up on the plate and in the stomach anyway. Plus, it also meant more dishes to wash!

Lianne wasn't sure if Kai could eat spicy food so she had set aside a little bit before putting in the birds eye chili. The chili paste that had been fried in the beginning wasn't really going to make the dish spicy as she didn't add a lot of it. Just enough to give it a bit of taste.

The rice was cooked in the rice cooker and all that was missing, was the guest.

Kai had said he would arrive at 6pm and there was 30 minutes more but Lianne felt like those 30 minutes dragged by so slowly. She started walking about in the small living room, just going from one end to the other, in a circle.

As she walked, the monotonous routine helped her to clear her mind and obtain focus.

So when the doorbell rang, she was already calm and smiling happily, glad that he was actually early.

Opening the door, she was greeted with the warm, loving gaze of Kai and they stood there, staring at each other for a while before Kai just reached over and pulled her over to him.

"Well, can I come in?" he asked as he leaned close to her face.

Lianne laughed in embarrassment, "Sorry, was too distracted."

Kai gave her a light kiss on the lips before releasing her, pleased that she could still be fascinated with his looks. He'll take anything he could if it meant she would stay by his side.

He took off his shoes to enter the house, then placed his duffel bag that was full of his clothes and toiletries onto the coffee table.

"What's that?" Lianne asked, pointed to his bag, "Are you going somewhere after this?"

"Yes. Home," Kai replied without shame.

Lianne appeared puzzled because it didn't make sense.

One, because he was looking at her intently when he said that, and two, what could he have possibly bought after leaving the office that would fill up an entire duffel bag? Sports items? Things for the gym? Or from the gym?

Then, as he started to check all the closet space in the living room, something clicked in Lianne's mind.

It couldn't possibly be ..? He couldn't really be …?

He was.

Lianne slapped herself on the forehead when she saw him starting to rearrange the items in the closet. Then, her thoughts were confirmed when he opened his bag and began putting his clothes in the space he created.

Kai nodded in satisfaction when he saw his clothes inside and closing the cabinet door, he turned - only to see Lianne staring at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm home?" Kai said with a smile.

Lianne glared at him.

He sauntered over, hugged her, and kissed her forehead, ignoring her stare. Looking at her lovingly, he repeated softly, "I'm home."

Damn this beautiful man, Lianne cursed to herself.

How the hell is she supposed to stay angry at him for his audacity in 'moving in' when he looked at her like that?

She really should try to be immune to that face, more so when he makes either that puppy face or that loving and expectant face.

Saying 'no' to that made her feel like a villain.

Like she was bullying a kid.

Though he certainly was not a kid at all.

Kai began raining kisses on her face, "I'll only stay over if you let me, but at least this way, I already have my stuff so it's not troublesome."

"So this means you want to stay the night again?" Lianne asked.

"Can I?" Kai asked back pleadingly, "We do need to talk after all. Isn't it better without the pressure of time?"

Lianne pursed her lips.

He had a point.

But …

Lianne knew, even though last night had been fine and they hadn't crossed the line, it was only a matter of time. They were two healthy adults who were in love with each other. It was only natural that when you want commitment, sex would follow.

However, the last thing she wanted was to have physical intimacy with him when they were still new in the relationship. She did not want her growing feelings to be confused with the sort of intimacy and bonding that sex would bring.

She wanted to get to know him properly first and to have him know her better. To see if they could actually be a couple that worked together.

But it was a risk she would have to take. In order to reach that end game, having him spend the night was the best option. It would encourage them to talk.

"Fine, but ask me first next time," Lianne told him.

"Okay," Kai said with a grin, "Can I have my own key to your apartment then?"

Lianne rolled her eyes, "You really always try to push your luck, huh?"

Kai just grinned.