Samuel parked his car as the mechanical doors dragged shut. After all the fun and food they had at her birthday party, the last thing he expected was for Kali to get the urge to cook a gourmet meal at five in the evening. As luck would have it, she was missing an ingredient, and he found himself sorting through the shelves at the mall, trying to find a bottle of oyster sauce.

He grabbed the bag from the passenger seat and hopped out of the car. Kali rushed into the house at the same time he did and skidded to a stop in front of him.

"Hey."

She had changed while he was away. Her baggy shorts and sports bra were gone. Replaced with a knitted button-up dress, but didn't have any shoes on. Her hair was out of its bun and flowing down her back with only a hair band to hold any stray strands away from her face. His eyes lifted from her beautifully painted nails to her face.

"You look nice."

She gave him a spin, her hair brushing against his chest. "Thank you. I am glad you like it. Is that the sauce?"

"Yeah. I got your..." He waved the bag in front of him like a foreign object. "Oyster sauce? It's what you wanted, right?"

"Yes. You are a darling. Dinner is ready." Shocked, he looked past her to the dining table. "Not at that table. I got the one by the pool set."

"I...I thought you needed the sauce to cook."

"I figured it out." She smiled, blowing him a kiss before rushing to the kitchen to put the sauce in the cupboard.

"When did you change?" He shouted from the living room.

"While you were out. You took a while to get back."

"Yeah, I am not good with shopping for sauce. My grocery list is pathetically simple."

"Milk and sugars, right?" She shouted back in jest.

He nodded to himself. "Milk and sugars."

He waited for her by the couch, and together, they went into the backyard. Kali stayed behind him, watching as he took in the setup.

She had brought out one of their linen tablecloths to cover the rectangular table on the patio. She also went to the trouble of dragging the sofas by the grill to replace the regular chairs, and if he had to confess, they seemed more fitting for the decor she was going for. The lights on the wooden grid for the canopy were on while she turned the other lights in the back off.

"Well, is it my birthday?"

Kali smiled, shaking her head hard before taking his arm and walking him to the table.

"I wanted to do something nice tonight. Problem?"

"Not at all. But is this why you made me get the sauce? You didn't want me to see you set this up?"

"Yes."

"Couldn't have just asked me not to come out?" He laughed, stripping out his jacket and drapping it over the back of his chair. "Do you know how many bottles I had to read to get that sauce?"

"Couldn't risk it. Besides, I really was out of oyster sauce. Come on, sit."

"Don't mind if I do."

He rolled up his sleeves, and she served the food. Kali filled the plate while he handled filling the glasses with water and wine. He complimented the food's rich aroma when she passed him his plate, and she smiled with pride. He enjoyed her cooking now and even got used to her spicy preferences. Of course, she also had to make adjustments and cook at a level that was satisfactory to them both. So, he appreciated her for that.

"When did you get this?" He asked, reading from the body of the bottle he had opened.

"It was one of the birthday gifts."

"Someone gifted you a bottle of red wine?"

"Yep. It was in a nice wooden box. Fancy. You'd have seen it if you stayed with me while I unboxed the presents."

"Right. I thought you weren't going to open this until later tonight?."

"I got a bit excited and opened a few."

He took a sip. "It's good wine."

Kali took a sip as well. "Hmm. It is."

"Did you enjoy yourself at the party today? You looked a bit unsettled when June mentioned why she chose the place. For a second, it looked like you weren't as fond of it as she thought you were."

Kali shrugged. "I used to like it, and it is a good spot, but it doesn't hold the best memories for me anymore. At least it didn't. After today, I'll happily remember it as the first place my sister threw a birthday party for me."

Samuel nodded, looking down at his plate. He could guess that it had something to do with Richard.

"Is there a reason for this dinner?" He swiftly switched the subject. "Not that I don't appreciate a good meal, but it seems like we are celebrating something."

"Not celebrating. I am treating you."

"I wasn't the one who planned the party."

"I think you should focus on the fact that there's a great meal in front of you instead of playing detective."

"Right."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

His fork clanged against the plate as he grinned at her catty smile. "Was that so hard?"

"I would treat you to a good meal no matter what, okay? It's just this conversation is going to be a little different."

"Oh yeah?" She nodded. "How?"

"You kissed me today."

He didn't look away from her, but the forwardness made him pause because he could guess where the conversation would lead.

"Did you do it solely because Peter asked you to?"

"No." He answered quietly.

"Then did you do it because you wanted to?"

"Yes." His smile faltered as he looked back to his plate. "I am sorry. I probably shouldn't have."

"No, no." She jumped to interrupt him, her smile still in place and even brighter. "Don't apologise on my account. I was surprised, but it wasn't anything unsettling. In fact, I quite liked it."

"Of course you did."

She brandished her fork in his face. "Don't get cocky."

"I'll try and control myself."

Kali rolled her eyes, and they went back to eating. He knew there was more she wanted to say, but she seemed to be easing into things, and he decided it was best to follow along. There wasn't much more to do when she clearly wanted them to have the conversation once and for all.

They had kissed not long before her birthday, and due to the heat of the moment, none of them were in a hurry to address things. It was flirtation that had gone too far. Later on, the incident at the party pushed things farther back. What was an awkward incident became normal under the circumstances.

Now, he did it again.

"Can I tell you something truthfully? Without you judging me or retreating?"

Samuel glanced up from his plate, surprised by her question. "Okay."

"I liked it. The kiss."

He chuckled. "You already said this."

"Am getting somewhere." He raised his hand, giving her the floor as he reclined against his chair. "I liked the kiss because I like you. I don't want us to walk around eggshells with each other. I want to be honest with you. You aren't in the same place I am because, unlike me, you have someone else to consider when it comes to your feelings towards me."

Samuel's gaze didn't falter. He remembered what he said to her the first time she made him admit his attraction to her. He told her it didn't feel right, wanting to start something with her when a large part of him was devoted to Flora. Kali more or less admitted that she understood where he was coming from. She was the only one who entered the marriage with ties to no one.

"I am not in a place to force your hand or make choices for you." She continued. "But I'll be lying if I said I want things to stay like this."

"Like?"

She gave him a judgmental stare. "Like how they are now. Dancing around every intimate moment we might have. I know you have more reasons not to, but I want us to try with each other."

"Try..." He thought of the word he wanted to use before saying, "dating?"

"More or less." She chuckled, her forking slipping from her fingers and clattering against her plate. "It's why I made this dinner. I hoped we could discuss this over a good plate of food, and it would be less awkward. Hint. It doesn't look like it's working."

"It's doing its job."

"That's good."

"Listen." He shuffled closer and placed his hand on the table, and she took it. "I have told you how I feel, but I don't think it's a good idea, and not for the reason you think. My mother will always be on our necks. You know how she is. Any whiff of a relationship between us and she'd be finding different ways to make us miserable. Do you think it's smart being together under those circumstances?"

"If it's your mother, I don't really care. There's little she can do to me now. Of course, she can decide that her need for our marriage is over, but she seems to have lost control regarding when that would happen. For me, if you are willing to try, that's all the encouragement I need."

He looked down at her hands. It was the one that held her rings. The rings she never failed to put on every morning after waking. Many times he thought of their marriage as an arranged one. Of course, with more blackmail and deceit than the normally arranged marriages, but it was an arranged all the same. Their marriage license and their vows at the church were real.

He cared for Kali and liked her, but there was a difference between being attracted to a person and loving them. She thought Flora was his only reason for holding back, but that was only a part of his problems. He was deceiving her, omitting the truth about his father, because he had no idea how to bring it up.

Would she offer such a drastic step if she knew about his connection to Richard? Samuel couldn't say he knew, but he wasn't sure how to expose that part of his life.

"If we do this, I might hurt you. And, after everything you have been through, hurting you is the last thing I want to do."

"You have been through a lot yourself."

"No ones problem is heavier than the others." She countered. "And about you hurting me, I am well aware of what I am in for. I can't play dumb or act like I don't. Still, if you want to try, I want to try. And I am really, really hoping that you want to try."

He laughed into his fist. "Taking full advantage of this dinner, huh? Sweeten the playing field before laying down the bomb."

Her fingers traced the back of his palm as she batted her lashes. "That was the plan. Nothing a good meal can't do, but you're evading."

Samuel shook his head, pinning her gaze with his. "I am not. No evading."

She stood from the table, not letting go of his hand as she moved closer to his chair. He got up as she reached him, allowing her to send the hand she held to her back. Her arms went through his, and her fingers locked behind him. She looked at him with wonder and curiosity mixing in her eyes.

"This is going to be a mess." He repeated, and she nodded.

"Have you seen my cleaning skills?" He chortled, and she joined him. Her fingers bunched the material of his shirt. "I can make a haven out of any mess."

"You know I have a temper sometimes."

"Sometimes."

"I am not good at sharing things about myself that are embarrassing or painful."

"That's a surprise. You talk about your mom so easily."

He smiled, reaching up to push her hair away. "I told you before, her effects on me have greatly withered since I grew up."

"There are other things then?" He nodded. "Well, when you are ready, I will listen. Nothing will stop us being good friends or you having my shoulder to cry on."

"Hopefully." He muttered as they got closer together. "I get grumbly when I have a bad couple of days. Like, really bad, depressing kind of bad."

Kali shook her head. "Why are you listing all this?"

"Before we take this step, I want to cover a little of what you might not know about me. It's not everything, but it's a start."

"Hmm. To see if anything doesn't sit right with me?"

"Basically, yes."

"Ah." She released her hands from behind him and threw them over his shoulder. "How much more do you have on that list?"

He wanted to mention his father, but once again, he couldn't. "Nothing more. At least, nothing I can say now."

"Hm. I also have some anger issues."

"Some."

"Trust me, it was worse growing up. This version of me is one that had to grow up from a lot of things."

"I see."

"I might get a bit overbearing, at times, when I worry about the people I love. I am not being clingy. I only have this insatiable need to fix things for them. Even things that are beyond my control."

"I have seen that too."

"I don't have the best of backgrounds," she whispered when he rested his forehead against hers. "I have made many mistakes because of my taste for finer things. There are a few regrets here and there."

"Part of growing up."

"Hmm." She nodded.

He had no idea what song was playing on the speakers now, but it was soothing. It swallowed the silence around them when they had nothing more to say. With Kali looking up at him, he gently lifted her by the chin, pushing the hair away from her face so he could look into her eyes.

He was so close he could feel her shaky breath against his face. Her hands returned to his sides, slipping between his arms to rest against his waist. As he cupped her face, he felt her fingers inch beneath his shirt. The chill of her skin against his made the hairs on his arms stand on alert but didn't break the moment. He found he rather liked the feel of them. It grounded him, reminding him that what was about to happen next was real. The step he was about to take was real.

Besides the desire there was fear. A fear that grew like flames being fed by air as he drew closer and closer to her with their lips a feather's distance apart. They were deciding to build a relationship on shaking ground. Each of them had more to lose than the friendship they had built over the past months.

Her fingers dug into his skin, and he could feel her heart beating against his chest. Or maybe it was his own. His grip on her chin grew a touch stronger as he pulled her face towards his and pressed his lips passionately against hers. Kali didn't waste any time to return his kiss with a fervour of her own.

His fears bled out, replaced by the flickers of desire that had been growing since the gala and their kiss in the house. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth when they broke about, chuckling before pulling him closer and kissing him again.

His fingers travelled into her hair, feeling the silky curls wrap and fold around his fingers as their mouths moved together. His senses were firing on all cylinders. He could taste the spices from the meal and a few other spices he wasn't skilled enough to pick out on his tongue. The fruity scent of her perfume enveloped him as the breeze carried it around. The knitted cotton of her dress contoured her body, making his blind exploration of her body an adventure of added curves and bumps.

When they finally pulled away, their chests rose and fell hard as they sucked in the evening air. Kali looked at him with a smile he returned.

"I am glad I asked this over dinner." She joked, dragging her fingers across his bare skin.

"Hmm. Worked like a charm." He added, laughing.

And her lips closed over his again.