"Mr. Li," the girl before him, Kasey, whispered, her eyes wide open. Jian didn't really understand why she was calling him Mr. Li or sir since their age gap was only two years but he didn't want to correct her nonetheless. Kasey may have felt more comfortable with the distance the title created or whatever.

     Unlike her usual ponytail, her hair was down today and she was wearing a cute blue dress with white high heels. He didn't intentionally and willingly let his gaze wander on her body—it was a merely instinctive act while the girl was looking at him as if a giant bear appeared on her doorstep. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable of this silence, which was very unlikely of Jian, he cleared his throat and took a step toward her. "Hi."

     Matt's words rang in his ears when he looked into Kasey's shocked eyes. You have no right to be a dick to her, he'd said, she's my sister's best friend, Jian. The key point in this sentence was that Kasey mentioned—complained about—his grumpiness to Matt. That was a low blow; something that you knew even from elementary school. Whatever problem you have with someone, you go to them first to solve. Not their best friend. Swallowing his anger, actually postponing it for a later time, he said, "Can I come in or will we stand here looking at each other?"

     As if the girl suddenly woke up from her nightmare, she stepped aside, letting him enter in. "I'm sorry, just—" She muttered before Tess cut her off with a high-pitched voice. "Jian! Welcome!"

     Jian, awkwardly tearing his gaze from Kasey, went to hug Tess. When Tess wrapped her arms around him, she hissed in his ear. "What did you buy her?" This morning, she called Jian—he didn't recognize her for a couple of minutes—and told him that today was Kasey's birthday and as a good employer as he was, that was pure sarcasm though, he had to attend and buy a really nice gift to make up to her. No matter how many times Jian said he had things to do, she didn't listen and told him to come even if for half an hour.

     Shrugging off her arms from his shoulder, he glanced at Tess with a knowing grin. "Don't worry," he whispered, even less audible than Tess' hiss, "she'll love it." Turning back at Kasey, who was watching them suspiciously, he put up a soft grin and said, "Happy birthday."

     "Thank you," she said gingerly and exchanged glances with her best friend. Jian usually didn't understand women, and their secretive glances, but Kasey was so clueless that he realized he could actually read her pretty well. For instance, now, by that glance, she meant death. It was so obvious she had no idea that the man she called a dick was invited to her birthday party. When two girls walked, he followed them into the room.

     It'd been a long time since he last happened to be among more than two people. He used to be outgoing; the party-goer. Now, he barely had time to breathe, and he only attended bars to pour down drinks. He looked at Kasey and realized she was looking at him expectantly—she must have asked something he didn't hear. "What?"

     "Who's looking after Carl?" No matter what, her love for his son was appreciate-worthy.

     "Mrs. Dowry," he replied as they entered into the living room. People turned their gazes at them, especially Jian, and he felt less stressed when his eyes met his best friend's. He saluted him by raising his apple juice. Besides Matt, there stood another guy with a girl he'd slung an arm—probably his girlfriend.

     "Hey dude," Matt greeted him, patting him on the back and handed him a glass of apple juice. He hated that drink but he took a sip anyway. "This is Jian," Matt introduced him to the guy.

     "I know," the guy replied, his lips tilted at his sides. "Jian Li." His name out of the guy's mouth sounded so foreign, although he was so used to people knowing him before. What changed now? "I'm Chris. Christian Holt," the guy introduced himself, extending his hand out. "And this is Hazel, my girlfriend." Shaking Christian's hand, he nodded at Hazel, too, who also seemed to recognize him beforehand. "I'm a junior," he said next. He was apparently talkative. "Kasey is Hazel's friend."

     At the mention of her name, Jian remembered where he was and the gift inside his pocket suddenly outweighed there. "I see," he muttered, staring at Kasey. He'd seen her before—at Matt's birthday parties, school or anywhere else. Their lives had been connected countless times before, but their interaction never went further than recognition. She was Kasey Whitton and he was Jian Li; that was all they'd ever known about each other. However, now, she was his babysitter, okay, not really his. His son's.

     It'd been a week since she started working and he saw her almost for five minutes in total. He realized he never saw her with her friends before. Even in those parties they attended, she wasn't someone he actually paid attention. He didn't remember much of her then, just Tess' best friend that Matt mentioned at times. Drifting away from his thoughts, Jian once again looked at Kasey. She was talkative, full of light and cheerful. He watched her nudge a guy's arm with fake annoyance and the guy caught her hand to kiss. With a chuckle, she cupped his face and kissed him on the lips instead.

     "Henry," Matt muttered in his ear. He whipped his head at his friend, ashamed to be caught staring, and noticed he was grinning at him sneakily. "Her boyfriend." He could feel Matt wasn't easily going to let go of this.

      It'd been too long since Jian engaged with someone. He hadn't been to parties and he dismissed any women that tried to flirt with him in the bar. His life was basically upside-down but he wanted it himself. He'd never forgotten the consequences of a simple nightstand.

     "So what? I didn't ask," he snapped, taking another sip from his damn apple juice. When he stole another glance from them, Kasey was looking at him and when their eyes met, she briefly smiled. Weird enough, he found himself smiling back, with face muscles he didn't think that existed due to lack of practice.

     The conversation between him and Matt was cut in the middle, not that Jian minded when Tess started to speak. "What's a party without something stronger?"

     "I don't want drunk heads in my birthday, Tess," Kasey said but she was smiling hard thus Jian knew she was going to allow them. Finally, he thought when he sighed and his friend joined him by placing his hand on Jian's shoulder.

     Things definitely became more fun with Tess opening a bottle of tequila. She poured down to everyone into shot glasses, and when she handed one to Kasey, she winked at her. Matt and Jian neared the table and grabbed one for themselves. Jian would totally leave it at one or two shots since he had to go back home and take care of Huan. "First shot starts with the birthday girl," Tess teased Kasey and she rolled her eyes. "In one gulp, babe."

     He watched Kasey bringing the shot to her lips and swallowing it as a whole. She grimaced with the taste and when she opened her eyes back, he knew she was burning up. He followed her with a shot and he was no different. "Gosh, I missed this," Matt said, looking at him. "You're a daddy now and I need a new party friend."

     "Take Tess," Jian teased him. "She looks quite a match for her brother."

     "Shut up."

     With a low chuckle, he downed another shot and left the glass aside. When he turned back to sit on a couch, he heard Kasey saying, "Oh, I forgot to introduce you with Mr. Li." Seconds later, he was shaking hands with Henry. "Henry, my boyfriend, and Mr. Li, Carl's father."

      "Jian," he corrected her. He felt like an old man when she called him Jian Li. The guy seemed friendly nonetheless, and he was also a bit taller than him. About Matt's height.

     "Henry," he said smilingly. "I've heard a lot about you, thanks to Kase." Jian just nodded with a firm grin. "You're Matt's friend, right?" He nodded again. "Uh, aren't you too young to have a baby yet? Are you married?"

     If he wasn't Kasey's boyfriend, and if Kasey wasn't looking at him with silent apologies, he might have replied with something much worse. "Huan—Carl—is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Young or not."

     Henry shook his head knowingly, what the hell could this guy know about fatherhood, and parted his lips again to ask another question but he groaned when Kasey accidentally—although Jian knew better—stepped on his foot. "Oh my God, are you okay baby?" She said, holding his arm and shoving him somewhere else. He may have taken this as an apology for calling him a dick. Well, again, she was saving him from her own boyfriend.

     An hour later, everyone was done with their fifth shot, except Jian. He understood Matt was already drunk when he started to pop up with nonsense conversations. When he sat down his friend, to prevent him from making something really stupid, his eyes slid on Kasey. Well, he was wondering how a drunk Kasey would look, yes, but that wasn't why he looked at her. Something caught his attention, that was all. He found her pouring a glass of tequila into a pot at the corner of the living room.

     Her skirt was slightly up to her thighs, her legs exceptionally smooth and...soft. He didn't touch them, yes, but they looked soft. It was an assumption, and it'd always remain an assumption unless he decided to ask Henry about it and get himself killed. Then, he forced himself to focus on upperparts, like her face. Yes, her face was beautiful, too. Attractive. Her lips were slightly agape, an expression of naughtiness on her face. Her lips—they looked soft, too. They looked so naturally pink that Jian didn't know if it was the tone of lipgloss or her lips were that pink. Her lips. Soft. And this time, he didn't need Henry to test for himself. A wild chance. Who knows? He suddenly liked the idea so much that a mischievous grin spread on his lips.

     Alcohol talking, he tried to reason to himself, even though he didn't drink much at all. When she tilted her body up, turning around to join back, their eyes met. With the sudden jolt that sent through his body, he first paused, then raised his eyebrow. He definitely didn't expect her to smile at him and put her index finger against her lips.

     That move was so attractive. Kasey generally was. Today, Jian corrected himself, she looked so attractive today.

     "I wanna fuck Janie," Matt sighed beside him, his head resting against the head of the couch. His eyes were slightly shut and his tie loose, and he definitely looked drunk.

     Jian turned his attention to his friend after this unexpected comment. "Who's Janie?" But Matt was already zoned out, so he got no proper answer in return. He opened a game on his phone and started playing with that instead, trying to tame down his hormones. Maybe it was his cue to leave now before everything could get out of hand.

     Another hour passed, and Jian Li was still there, playing on his phone. Everyone was drunk, except him and Kasey. He touched his pocket and realized his gift was yet to be given. Standing up to his feet, he walked to her and touched her shoulder gingerly. His hand lingered on there for a fleeting yet not-fast-enough moment. His fingertips felt her bare skin and answered his earlier unanswered, in fact unasked, question: her skin was so soft. That was only her shoulder but still. He unwillingly pulled his hand back when she flashed him a questioning glance. "Can we talk in private?" He said. He could've given it there though, but he also wanted to tell her something.

      What would that be? Was it really the wisest choice to stay alone with the girl whose legs kept his mind busy just now? What did he have to say—but then, he remembered. She called him a dick.

     She nodded smilingly and led him through another room—which happened to be her own. When Jian entered, he hesitated. Examining the room, which was a typical girl room, he remembered the first time he'd ever been invited to a girl's room. It was at ninth grade, and that was actually for a project. However, when they sat on her bed, he felt something he hadn't before and in the right circumstance, he kissed her. That wasn't his first kiss, though and definitely not the last. He remembered the girl liked it and asked him to come for another project. He didn't though; she smelled of sweat.

      "Sir," Kasey said, and he realized she'd been talking to him for a while now. She called him sir again—didn't she think it was so bizarre? "What did you want to talk about?" He parted his lips to answer but she suddenly grabbed his arm in horror. "Is it Carl? Is he okay—"

     "Yes," he cut her off, holding her hand and releasing his arm from her tight grip. "He's fine, don't worry." Suddenly, Matt's voice made its entrance to his mind and flamed up his anger to top. Kasey thinks you're a dick, and she might be right. "You think I'm a dick, huh?" He abruptly said. It wasn't how he planned to open up this conversation but among the dirty thoughts in his mind and his anger, he had to make a decision.

     Never go for a girl that's taken, especially if her boyfriend is next door.

      Her eyebrows furrowed, Kasey took a step back and folded her arms. "Who told you?" Jian noticed, she wasn't affected by the topic but that how he learned instead.

     "Does it matter?"

     "Tess, right?"

     "So you think I'm a dick."

      Rolling her eyes, she huffed, "Aren't you, though? I mean, it's all you've been the whole week."

     "You didn't see me more than five minutes and still you think I'm a dick—imagine us spending a whole day together."

     "God forbid," she groaned. When he looked at her eyes, he saw that she truly meant it. He didn't want to take that necklace out—she deserved no gift. "If that's all," Kasey said, tearing him from his thoughts, "I'll head back."

     He couldn't let go of her just yet. He didn't buy this gift for nothing. When she was about to pull the door open, he quickly slammed it, catching her arm and trapped her between the door and his body. That was when Jian noticed how close they were but he didn't step back. Up from this view, her lips were perfect. Not thin but not too fat, either. The pink shade was the lipgloss, by the way. He found himself slowly leaning toward her—we all learned it in class though: gravity. A wild chance.

     "Sir," Kasey whispered in surprise. His eyes tilted to hers to see that she looked panicked and surprised by this proximity. Her word cut all the tension along with the passion. He suddenly pulled back, waking up from a dream. Her chest was moving up and down in shock, her eyes even wider than she'd seen him at door. To cool himself off, he took the necklace out of his pocket, he held it before her eyes.

     "A gift from a dick," he said with a bitter smile. He actually looked up at more than ten stores to find a fitting gift and ended up picking one with angel wings. He watched her carefully as her eyes shifted from his face to the necklace he was holding. Her eyes, once again, widened and her lips parted with surprise. Jian let himself watch her lips once again while her eyes were still stuck at the necklace.

      "Thank you," she whispered. Taking it from his hands, she put it around her neck. He'd do it for her but she didn't even ask so. The wings rested between her collarbones and Jian knew he picked the right gift for her. However, he was taken off guard when she suddenly leaned to his face and planted a soft, and painfully slow, kiss on his right cheek. Her lips were soft. Then, sliding away from her place, she pulled the door open and left the room. It took him a while longer to abandon there.

     At the end of the night, the situation was like this: Jason drove Chris and Hazel home. Henry was drunk and crashed on one of the couches, and the siblings on the other. Kasey was sober—despite a little bit loss of balance—and tidying up the table. Jian was helping her out and making sure she didn't break anything.

      "I actually have high stamina," she said, giggling, putting another plate inside the dishwasher. "But Tess made me drink ten shots,"—she showed with her fingers—"and you know, I actually poured three of them into the pot."

      "Now, the flower is also drunk," he commented laughingly as he handed her another plate.

      "Puff, it's used to that—my father does it all the time."

      "Is it a family tradition to water the plants with tequila?"

     "Shh," she said, looking at him over her shoulder. "My mom would kill us if she learned." When she laughed, Jian surprisingly joined her. That was weird but Kasey's smiles were contagious. And she was actually pretty funny—he meant both.

     Okay, so, there was the thing. He hadn't hung out in a group for ages, and he didn't get laid in ages either, and since one of them happened now, his body naturally wanted the other. It was what'd always happened with Jian Li. He never properly looked for someone to hook up, that was already taken care of.

     Now, drying the dishes with a towel, he was also watching Kasey rinsing them and his eyes—out of control—shifted on her body for the umpteenth time this night. He couldn't decide which one of her body was his favorite. To distract himself off this interesting question, he asked her one. "Why didn't you drink?"

     She finally stopped washing and dried her hands with another towel. "I hate losing control," she admitted, looking at him. "I drink but not too much." She shook her head with a laugh. "But still, my mind is blurry."

     When they cleaned the house, Kasey thanked him for the help. "Can you take Matt and Tess home?" She asked, looking at her friend, who was snoring on her couch. Jian just nodded. "I'll help you carry them."

      Jian helped her while she wrapped her arm around Tess' arm and tried to lift her. "Hmm," Tess murmured, opening her eyes partly. "Mom." Jian's eyes met Kasey's, while he struggled to keep his laugh, but they both laughed at her pathetic case. Soon enough, Tess was back into her sleep journey. They managed to carry her into Matt's car. The same—heavier—process happened with Matt, but luckily he was collapsed.

      When they placed both of the siblings into Matt's car, Jian thanked her for the help. "Thanks for coming," Kasey replied. Her hair was dancing with the cold breeze, and he could see that her shoulders jerked because of the cold weather.

      The problem was, Jian didn't know how to say goodbye now. Instinctively, he wanted to linger the conversation—it was too soon to let go of it yet. Meanwhile, his phone rang in his pocket and both of their gazes shifted on his screen. "Mrs. Dowry," he silently said, answering the phone.

     "Jian," the woman over the phone said. "When are you coming back? Carl is crying."

     "I'm on my way," Jian replied. "Keep him busy for a bit longer, please." When he shut the phone, Kasey was examining him with careful eyes. "Huan," he explained. "He's not sleeping—he probably missed me." Kasey smiled, nodding knowingly. "So, uh, see you tomorrow."

      "Yeah," she muttered, stepping back. "Goodnight."

      Pulling the door of Matt's car open, he glanced at him and Tess, sleeping together. Looking back on his shoulder, he said, "I don't know what to do with them."

      "Leave them be," she said chuckling. "By the way," she added before Jian could turn and settle on his seat, "thanks again for the gift—the angel wings. I love it so much."

      A smile tugged on his lips, he said, "It looks good on you." Just like I've imagined, he thought to himself but he would never let her know. When there was nothing else to speak, Kasey waved him slowly and turned around to walk back to her door. Jian watched her leave, trying to secure her skirt and as she reached the door, she turned back once again to smile and wave. He felt something he hadn't in a long while—something warm like hot chocolate.

     He waited until she shut the door and turn the light off. Stealing a glance at the two sleepers on the backseat, he started the engine.