Suki couldn't remember how she made it past the next few days. She went through the motions of arranging her parent's funeral like an automaton, cold and unfeeling. She had thought that saying goodbye would be difficult. After all, most of her life had revolved around them. Yet as the flames consumed their bodies and turned them into ashes, her eyes remained dry. Not even the fact that she was now truly alone fazed her.

Emptiness. That was all there was. She had nothing more to give.

"Hey, Suki! Are you there?"

A knock on the door drew her away from her thoughts. She hadn't seen Devin much because he often left very early in the morning and came home when she was already in her room. In a way, that was good because she wasn't in the mood for polite conversation.

"Yes, I'm here," she said as she opened the door to her room. "What's up?"

"Feels like I haven't seen you in forever even though we live in the same house," he said in his usual teasing manner.

"Well, I've been busy and you have been too so..."

"That's true. Were you able to get some of your things here?" he asked as he glanced at the room behind her.

She opened the door wider and replied, "Yep! I have my clothes and some other things. It's not much, so I hope you don't mind if I keep them here for now."

"Sure, no problem," he replied as he took something out of the pocket of his jeans and offered it to her.

"By the way, here's an old phone of mine. I don't need it anymore so it's yours," Devin said while fiddling with the phone. "I've already added my number, so it will be easier to contact each other."

Although he said it was an old phone, she noticed that it was a fairly recent model.

"Devin, you've already given me enough by letting me stay here. I can't possibly accept more."

"It's okay, really," he insisted while pushing the device into her hand. "I need to have a way of reaching you. Just in case, you know? Plus, I have no use for it so just take it."

She took it with reluctance, having no argument for his reasoning. "Okay, thank you, but I'll return this after five months."

"Anyway, you seem busy and I don't want to take more of your time. My mom has invited me to dinner this Saturday. I plan to introduce you to her then, is that okay?"

That soon? Moisture gathered in her palms. She rubbed them against her jeans. "I... I'm free on Saturday."

"Great." Devin stepped from the door and walked away.

"Devin, wait!"

He stopped and looked back.

"Um... don't we need to practice what we're going to say?"

"Do you have time now? I haven't had dinner so I was planning to heat up some food and discuss the details while eating. The dishes you've been making are great, by the way."

When he smiled like that, she found it hard not to smile in return.

"Thanks! I'm glad you like the food. Sure, we can discuss it over dinner. I've already had mine, but I'd love a cup of tea."

As Devin led the way downstairs, Suki observed him from behind. His hair once again looked like he ran his fingers through it too many times as clumps of it were sticking every which way. He was wearing a loose white t-shirt that nevertheless showed off his broad shoulders. Faded baby blue jeans clung to his longs legs. Her hand was seconds away from touching his hair before she caught herself.

What's wrong with you?

"What tea would you like to have?"

Devin's sudden question startled her. He was at the counter holding a mug. She didn't notice that they were already in the kitchen.

"Oh, um, I'll have some green tea. Thank you," she stammered.

What was I thinking? she scolded herself.

"Are you blushing?" Amusement teased the corner of his lips. "What were you thinking about while looking at my butt?"

"What? Nothing. I was just..." She felt herself growing hotter and gave up trying to find an excuse.

Devin laughed while handing her the mug. "Here you go. You're so cute when you blush!"

She put the tea on the breakfast bar and covered her face with her hands. There was nothing she could say to make this situation better.

"Nevermind, I won't ask you anymore." He chuckled then went on, "If there's something you wanna see, though, just let me know."

She peeked at him from between her fingers and saw him trying to suppress a laugh while heating some curry in a pan. She dropped her hands and gulped her tea. It burned her tongue. The teacup clattered on the counter. She gasped as droplets of golden liquid seeped into her pants.

"Careful!" Devin offered her some napkin.

She took it and proceeded to dab at the wet spot.

"You should go change," Devin said as he turned off the stove and scooped some curry and rice on a plate.

"I'm fine. It's just a few tiny drops."

"You sure?" Devin peered at her leg while he sat on a stool across from her with his dinner plate. "I should have warned you that the tea was too hot."

At the moment, it wasn't really the tea that was too hot, but Suki clung to that excuse. "It was my fault. I should have known better."

With one last worried look, Devin picked up his spoon. "Okay, let me start by giving you some background. Two years ago, my father had a heart attack. It was unexpected and... fatal," he paused while he stared at his plate.

Suki looked at his face, then his hand, which rested a few inches from hers. "I'm sorry to hear about your father."

Devin went on as if he hadn't heard her. "It's been two years."

She shivered at the face of his grief. Her hand stayed on her side of the table. She had no warmth to give so the silence stretched until he finally raised his head. "Anyway, my mother has been obsessing about her own mortality. She wants to see her grandkids before she dies so she wants me married. The sooner the better."

He ate a spoonful of curry with rice and swallowed. "She's been setting me up on blind dates almost every week. It was driving me crazy!"

One of Devin's hands started wreaking havoc on his hair. Suki watched the tendrils sift through his fingers. Her hands itched. She pressed them against her teacup then focused on the spot between his eyes. There were no distractions there.

"She wanted me to go on another date. I told her I had a girlfriend. That was the only way to stop her from pestering me so this week, I was able to work a lot."

Suki nodded, though she only managed to catch the last part of his sentence. "I did notice that you work a lot."

"Yeah... I guess I'm what people call a workaholic. Suki, are you all right?"

"Huh?" His question broke her concentration. Immediately, she noticed that a lock of hair was covering his right eye. Suki entwined her hands together and hid them under the table.

"You seem to be in a daze?"

"Oh, no... I was just... I was just thinking about what we should tell your mother." She mentally patted herself on the back. "From what you said, I'm not sure how we can convince her."

"You're right. My mother is... shall we say cunning? If she suspects that anything is amiss," - he made a slashing gesture at his throat with his hand before finishing his thought - "she will dig into it until she gets to the truth."

Her teeth started working on her bottom lip. "How are we going to convince her then?"

Devin smirked. "Easy-peasy."

He then gave her the story that they were supposed to tell people - from when and how they first met (a year ago at a cafe near their work) to how they ended up together (he made her a romantic dinner at home and asked her to be his girlfriend). "Don't worry. Just stick to the story and I'll take care of everything else. I won't leave you alone with her."

His words didn't do much to ease the frown off her face. "But what about you? I think you need to tell me more about yourself," Suki said.

"You're right," Devin said as he got off the stool to get himself a glass of water. Once that was done, he went back to eating. "What do you want to know? My life is an open book."

"Let's start with the basics. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-eight. And you?"

Considering his achievements, Suki was impressed. She propped her chin on her right hand and leaned forward before answering. "I'm twenty-four."

"Perfect," was his only reply.

"Perfect for what?"

"For me."

Suki nearly hit her head against the counter as his response caused her elbow to slip.

He shoved another spoonful into his mouth, chewed at leisure, before saying, "Just kidding."

A slow shake of her head showed her disapproval. "I'm being serious here."

"I am too." A wink followed that statement.

Why is my hand itching so much today? She took a deep breath instead. "Okay, next question. What are your interests?"

"I like traveling. I love tinkering with gadgets. That's probably how I got into my line of work." Devin stopped and brushed back the hair that was covering his eyes. "And now, I think I like you."

Suki couldn't take it any longer. She reached across the counter, but at the last minute, her hand diverted from its path and landed on his nose. She pinched it.

"Ah... I'm sorry," Devin pleaded. "I promise I'll behave now."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

As soon as she let him go, Devin rubbed the bridge of his red nose. His mouth opened and closed before it settled on an exaggerated pout.

Suki covered her mouth with her hand to stop the spout of mirth that threatened to gush out. There was nothing that funny, really, but she couldn't believe what she had just done. After raising the white flag on a losing battle, Suki let the unfamiliar sound rise from deep in her belly until it tinkled past her lips. The lightness of the moment cast away the shadows that plagued her. She laughed some more.

When the source of her amusement ran dry, Suki returned her attention to the man in front of her. The first thing she saw was a pair of brown eyes. She stared back, not knowing why they twinkled.

"You should laugh more often," was all he said.

Suki dropped her gaze. She shouldn't have laughed like that. It had only been a few days. What kind of daughter was she?

A terrible one. That's why they hated you.

A cold ball settled in the pit of her stomach.

"You said you're currently working, right? What do you do for a living?" Devin's question caused her to jerk her head up.

"I'm an administrative assistant. I ensure that supplies arrive on time, check that the canteen food is to the employees' liking, arrange meeting room schedules. That sort of thing."

"I see," he said as he scanned her face.

Suki flicked her gaze away from his. She had a feeling that he saw too much.

"What are your hobbies?" he continued.

"I like to read and cook."

"That's two things we have in common. What about your family? Where do they live?"

She should have expected those questions, but it still caught her off-guard. It took her awhile before she answered, "Both my parents are dead. I don't have any other relatives."

Devin looked at her like he had a ton of questions waiting at the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he just nodded. "If we are to convince my mother that we're together, we need to be more comfortable around each other."

"That's... reasonable."

Without warning, Devin got off his stool and walked around the counter. Her eyes followed his every move. She was starting to recognize that grin on his face.

When he reached her, Devin turned her stool around so that she was facing him. He then placed his hands on the bar behind her, trapping her in between his arms. She drew back in surprise, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a little shake in her voice.

He threw his head back and laughed, but kept his arms where they were. "You need to see your expression right now. My mother will never believe that we're in a relationship."

He then bent down a bit, drawing their faces closer to each other.

"I think we need to practice," he murmured.

Suki watched as Devin burned a path on her face with his stare.

"What do you think?" His breath fanned her cheek. Devin was so close to her, his nose was only inches away. He was looking straight at her, his mouth no longer smiling.

He's right. We need to be convincing. The voice in her head struggled to be heard against the pounding of her heart.

When she opened her mouth to speak, he raised one of his eyebrows in question.

"Okay, we can practice but..." Her words faltered a little, "... I've never been in a relationship before. I'm not sure what to do."

"You've never been in a relationship?"

She shook her head, "I... didn't have time."

In truth, she had been too busy trying to survive.

"Didn't have time?" He followed his words with a soft laugh while moving his arms away.

Suki got off the stool and faced him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Are you sure you're from this era?"

She shrugged in response. She couldn't tell him the truth.

"Anyway, there are only two days until Saturday so we have our work cut out for us. Shall we start practicing?"

"Okay."

"All right, Suki," Devin said in a low voice as he raised a finger and brushed it against her lips.

Suki's eyes widened at the unfamiliar contact, but she remained where she was.

"Here's your first lesson," he said as he cupped her face.

Entranced, she watched him.

The glint in his eyes.

The arch of his brows.

The length of his nose.

The curve of his lips.

She watched them draw nearer until his face became a blur. Then, at the last moment, she closed her eyes.