"I'm going to marry you."

"What?" The girl stopped playing with her doll and looked up at the boy in bewilderment.

"I said I'm going to marry you." The boy repeated in determination, scowling when the girl started to giggle.

"It's not funny, Minnie. I'm really going to marry you. Now." And without giving her a chance to speak, he pulled the girl to her feet and ran to his house, grabbing her hand.

He took her to the huge living room just like he had a few weeks ago. Only this time, his family wasn't the only ones present there. Along with his family, there were his uncles, aunts, cousins and the girl's parents with her newborn little sister sleeping in her father's lap while his brother was looking at him in curiosity, stuffing his toy robot in his mouth.

The adults were sharing jokes and laughing when the kids stumbled through the door, the boy looking ready to face war while the girl looked confused. All of them shared amused glances with each other as they silently wondered what new mischief they were up to.

"Daaaaad! I'm going to marry Eve now!" The boy exclaimed proudly, holding the goofy grin in his face as if  he was announcing that he won the state's soccer championship. His sister, who'd been munching her crackers, suddenly choked, the pieces from her mouth landing on their cousin Robb's blonde locks, earning nasty glares from both Robb and Adrian, for different reasons.

The adults were all shocked at the boy's declaration but the girl's mother was the one to recover faster than others. She smiled and knelt down in front of the two children.

"Adrian, honey! Do you know what marriage means?"

The boy looked at her as if she'd insulted him by asking such question. "Of course, I know what marriage means, aunt Lily!" He scoffed, crossing his arms. "People marry when they want to be together like Mickey and Minnie. Just like Eve and me."

The girl scrunched up her nose at that. "But momma said I'll marry a pwince! You're not a pwince!" She protested.

The boy huffed at her words. "I can be a prince, too!" 

"But you don't even have a horse! And you're so scared of boogeyman!" She pointed an accusing finger at him, making him deepen his scowl.

"I am not afraid of boogeyman! And I will buy a horse for you!" He stated stubbornly.

As amused as he was, the boy's father decided to interrupt their banter before they start destroying their eardrums. "Alright, kids. That's enough. You should go out and play or do whatever the two of you always do." He tried to shoo them away, mostly aiming to distract his son as Adrian was as stubborn as himself and wouldn't let it go unless he got what he wanted.

But he should've known better than to assume his son would be easily distracted. In response, he gripped the girl's hand tighter and stomped his foot. "No! I won't go anywhere without marrying her first!"

His sister rolled her eyes at his antics. "Really? And who would be the priest here? As far as I know, no one is willing to be a priest for your marriage." She stated dryly, redirecting her attention to her crackers.

Everyone watched as the boy turned to every member present there, silently pleading them with his eyes. But when no one agreed, his lips turned into a frown and tears started pooling in his eyes.

"I can be your priest, little cousin." His cousin Robb said in a mocking tone, earning glares from all the adults.

The boy seemed to be debating to himself but after sometime, his eyes showed determination as he clashed his gaze directly to his cousin and glared at him.

"No! I will not make you my priest! My Minnie doesn't like you and I don't like you, too! You're mean!" He glared at him but pouted soon as he realized that no one was willing to marry them.

The girl, who had been silent till now, slowly removed her hand from his grip and wiped away the tears that had fallen to the boy's cheeks. "Don't cry, Addie. We can marry some other time. Your friend Natey is coming back soon, right? We'll make him our pwiest!" She said, soothingly.

As she said that, everyone watched with complete awe as the boy's eyes left all the sadness and turned bright like sparkling water as he gave a huge grin to the girl.

"But Addie, people kiss before they marry. You haven't even kissed her yet." Matt, another of his troublesome cousin snickered, ignoring the disapproving glare of the elders.

The boy seemed to contemplate his statement as the girl's eyes widened in horror. Then, before anyone could speak a word, he pulled the girl to him and pressed his lips to her.

"Ow! Eve! Minnie!" The boy cried in pain as he tried to free his hair from the girl's grip. As soon as she recovered from the shock, the girl had yanked him away from her by his hair and pulled at it painfully. The boy sagged in relief as she released his hair, only to cry out again as she took him by his ear and dragged him to the floor.

She finally released his ear and glared at him with tears in her eyes. "You gave me cooties! I hate you! I'll never marry you!" With that, she ran away from them all, tears flowing down her cheeks.

***

All rational thoughts left my brain as soon as Adrian placed his lips on mine. My whole body felt like it was heavily charged with something much, more powerful than electricity. He pressed his lips on mine for a few seconds, no doubt giving me a chance to pull away, but my brain, the little brat that it was, completely stopped functioning as soon as it got close to those sinful lips.

I was neither pushing him away, nor pulling him to me, which gave the bighead permission to take things further as he saw my pathetic, wanton self not rejecting him by giving another solid crack to his cheeks.

He slowly moved his lips on mine. So slowly, that, if I didn't know better, I would've thought he was scared. I wanted to push him away and cut off his lips with scissors but my body betrayed me in the most disgusting manner. I found myself slowly leaning to his touch and soon, even my pathetic subconscious shut down avoiding my self conversation.

My eyes slowly closed at their own accord and I could feel my lips starting to move, hypnotized by his rich perfume, soft, inviting lips and the thick electrical charge around us. His hands in the either sides of my face, along with his restless thumbs moving along my neck lured me further into his touch. But before my lips could make that self deprecating move, the shrill ringtone of my phone interrupted them.

The hypnotic environment lost all of its charge and I was snapped back into reality as a rude awakening. I pushed him away from me as if I was about to kiss a bear. Because let me tell you, I am no Belle that would take that chance. That's downright freaky.

Seeing as my respiratory and cardiac system was not going to return to normal anytime soon, I took a few deep breaths and looked at my phone which was still ringing.

Seeing Keith's name flashed on the screen filled me with hope. Maybe he found the doctor willing to work on Eva. I couldn't help the small smile of hope as I thought of it. I chanced a fleeting gaze at Adrian and saw him looking at my phone with a clenched jaw and tightened fist.

"I have to go now. I'm sorry." I barely managed to get those words out as I all but ran out of the room as if my feet were caught in fire. My phone had stopped ringing by now and I mentally made a note to call him back as soon I get my anatomy and physiology under control.

I went straight to the restroom and took a series of deep breaths. Finally, my retarded lungs and heart started to function well and I sagged in relief. The last thing I needed was for body organs to betray me for Adrian Stone.

I looked into the mirror and cringed at my reflection. Dear God! I looked like a nun who had to teach the meaning of chastity to a group of horny men. And my eyes! I nearly screamed in fright at the sight of my wild eyes. I never knew I could be this flushed with a simple kiss. Thankfully my lips and hair was still intact. I sent a silent thank you to Keith for choosing that very moment to call me.

I gave a few touches here and there and finally resembled the normal Evelyn White. Once I was calm and composed, at least on appearance, I held my head up and walked out. I saw no sight of Adrian lingering around but I did get a glare from Ms. neon light sitting on the assistant desk, which I returned with a patronizing look.

I got in my car and dialled Keith's number. Putting my phone on speaker mode, I started my car as I waited for him to pick up. He picked up in a few rings, sounding cheerful as always, which lifted my hopes to a few notches.

"Please tell me you have some good news, Keith." I interrupted his cheerful greeting.

"You get awfully straight to the point that it's really annoying at times." He answered with a sigh but when I didn't bother him with a reply, he grunted and continued, "Well, I have a news which could turn into a good news or a bad news. It depends on you, really."

"Do you think I have the time and patience to decode your cryptic meaning, Dr. Keith Jenkins?" I asked him, irritated by his puzzles.

I heard a hearty chuckle from the other side followed by his voice. "Alright, alright. I know better than to piss you off in when you're in this strictly business mode." His voice turned serious then. "Listen, there's a neurosurgeon who may be the only shot at helping Eva."

My heart lurched at his words. I wanted really bad to stop myself from hoping more, not wanting to get disappointed but failed to contain my happiness at the news.

"Who is it? Keith, please send me his or her contact right now. I don't want to waste anymore time." I desperately pleaded him.

There was a silence for a while and my heart started beating painfully. I had thought he had hung up when he finally spoke. "His name is Dr. Brandon Marshall. He's the most famous neurosurgeon known for solving most complicated of the cases. I'll send you his contact information." He released a soft sigh. "But Eves, don't get your hopes up. He's currently taking complete leave from medicine since two months in order to look after his pregnant wife."

I was confused at this. "Why would he need months to take care of his wife?" I asked him.

"Well, apparently, she had a miscarriage before and this pregnancy is not really safe for her. So he wants to give his undivided attention to his wife. And since she's currently in her last trimester, he might not want to help out. He's a really good person but his wife holds more priority obviously. So... I don't know how it would go."

I deflated a little on hearing this. I could understand his need to stay with his wife considering her condition but I couldn't help but feel selfish for wanting to contact him still.

I said a quick thanks to Keith and hung up. He immediately sent me the contact information of Dr. Brandon Marshall. I realized I was nearing my apartment and decided to call him later.

As soon as I freshened up, I decided to call Dr. Marshall. I sat on the couch and dialled his official number. It went to voicemail and after several tries when I couldn't reach him, I hung up. I started to panic. I couldn't sit idly without doing nothing. Then I suddenly remembered something and dialled another number.

I called the IT guy of my company and asked him to search for more information on Dr. Marshall. Hopefully his personal cell number or even his address. I knew I was breaching his privacy but he was my last resort.

The IT guy was able to get his personal cell number which was registered for emergency purposes. I called him but it again went to voicemail, perhaps because he saw an unknown number.

Suppressing my anxiety, I sent him a voicemail desperately requesting for a few minutes of his time. I was getting restless and sent him an email in addition, asking for his assistance, attaching Eva's files, hoping and praying that he'd look at it and reply.

When minutes turned to hours without any word from Dr. Marshall, I decided to contact him tomorrow. I would go to his house if needed. He was the last shot at my sister's happiness and there was no way I was going to give up on her.

With this determination, I decided to call it a day and went to bed, all the while trying to forget today's kiss and various feelings it made me feel. Guilt being the most prominent one.