Surprise, Surprise! { Qian Kun Series }

Chapter 1

Yangyang hustled around the small table, putting out black and white place settings for the party. It was a combination New Year's party and birthday party for Kun. The boys wanted to thank him for all his love and support as their gēgē over the past few years. He truly was a big brother to all of them and they felt the need to show their gratitude. So, they had gone all out --- getting a disco ball to hang in the living room, hiring a DJ, and even getting the event catered despite the fact that they had several good cooks among them.

Ten was hanging blue balloons on the window sills and Xiaojun was briefing the DJ on the mostly R&B playlist for the evening. Hendery and Winwin were doing some last-minute cleaning while Lucas just wondered around slowing down everyone's progress with his silly antics. Finally, Ten put Lucas in charge of the lights just to give him something constructive to do.

Suddenly, the boys heard the sound of the door opening. They had sent Kun out to get beer for a party that he didn't know was in his honor. As far as he knew, it was just going to be a quiet New Year in the apartment with the guys.

Ten motioned to Lucas to turn off the lights. Kun stood at the door, confused by the fact that the living room lights had just turned off.

"Guys?!" he called out. "I'm back."

He wondered into the living room, still holding the bags of beer. Suddenly, the lights came on and all the members jumped out of their hiding places and yelled, "Surprise!"

Kun smiled. His little brothers had remembered his birthday --- not that it was easy to forget since he shared it with a major holiday. But still, he was touched that they had gone to all this trouble for him.

Just then, a tall woman emerged from the kitchen, carrying a pot of sweet and sour pork ribs. Her straightened, dark hair was beginning to return to its natural wavy state due to the heat and humidity of the kitchen. Kun tried not to stare at her, but she reminded him somehow of the late, great Selena. Her hazel eyes were accentuated by a sweep of black eyeliner in a cat's eye shape. She was wearing a wine-colored jumpsuit with a deep V in the front. Kun was transfix as she leaned over to put the pot of pork ribs on the table, unwittingly showing off her cleavage. Kun looked away quickly and swallowed hard. What was this sudden blockage in his throat?

The gorgeous apparition left and Kun was finally able to breathe again. But no sooner than he had filled his lungs with air, she returned with a large cheesecake with a festive birthday candle.

"The other guys said to have you blow out your candle before dinner and I can come back out and cut the cheesecake for you later when you guys are done eating," said the tan angel. Kun stared at her, dumbstruck. He searched his brain for an appropriate response but could find none. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten how to breathe as the air he had just taken in seemed stuck and unable to come out again. Those wide, hazel eyes were staring at him, waiting for a response.

Yangyang, seeing his friend's predicament, began to sing the birthday song in Chinese. When they finished, Kun found that it was becoming uncomfortable to hold his breath any longer. So, he exhaled heavily, effectively blowing out the candle. Xiaojun took the cheesecake from the young woman and set it on the table. Kun had yet to speak as he continued to stare at her, only blinking when absolutely necessary.

"Okaaaay," she said. "I'll just be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Great, thanks," said Xiaojun, breaking the awkward silence.

When she was safely out of sight, Kun awakened from his stupor and whispered, "Who was that?"

Ten raised his hand. "Let me just say that it was my idea to go with this catering service. I want credit for that," he said, jokingly.

"Her name is Maryluz," said Lucas helpfully.

"God, I think she's gorgeous!" gushed Kun.

"We totally couldn't tell," Lucas deadpanned. "I mean, you were super cool, Kun-gē."

Kun put his head in his hands. "Shit, guys, was I a total dumbass?" he asked desperately.

Winwin put his arm around Kun. "I mean on a dumbass scale of like 1-10, you were somewhere around 25," he teased.

"Oh, God," Kun lamented. "I don't know what happened. She just took my breath away. I've heard about things like that, but I've never actually experienced it."

"Come on, Kun-gē, you've been around a long time --- I mean a REALLY long time," Hendery said as he served Kun a large portion of pork ribs. "And this is the first time you've been dumbstruck by a woman? You need to get out more, dude," he concluded.

With that, the boys turned their attention to the food, and the table went quiet for a while as they chewed contentedly.

Ten commented, while stripping a rib bone clean, that the food was excellent, if he did say so himself. He reminded them again who it was who had searched out this rare gem of a foreigner who knew how to make authentic Chinese food.

Just then, they heard giggling coming from the kitchen. Kun rose quickly to check out the noise. The other boys stayed at the table, hoping to give Kun the private moment he clearly craved. Upon entering the kitchen, Kun saw Maryluz sitting on the floor, with Bella on her lap. The small dog was gleefully licking her face, dangerously close to those full, mocha-colored lips. Kun swooped Bella up with one hand and reached out with the other to pick Maryluz up from the cold tile.

"I'm sorry about her," Kun said. "She's a real character."

"Oh, she's fine," said Maryluz with a wave of her hand which displayed several rings with colorful gemstones. He studied her hand to try to discern if any of the rings were couple's rings. Maryluz saw him staring at her rings. She lifted her hand gracefully and said, "I see you admiring my rings." She pointed to an ornate silver ring on her ring finger that resembled a tiara. "This one is my favorite," she said. "It's from my quinceañera party."

Kun looked puzzled, so, Maryluz continued. "I'm Mexican-American, so, we did that Latin American tradition of doing a big party for my 15th birthday. The whole thing's a bit patriarchal, but it was a lot of fun to get to be a princess for a day," she said.

Kun nodded, reminding himself silently to Google it later to learn more. "So, do you speak Spanish?" he asked.

"Yeah, I know all the basics. My dad is a pretty typical dad, so he taught me all the really important words like 'remote control' and 'fart'," she quipped.

"Well, those could come in handy," Kun laughed, feeling drawn into her warm smile.

"No, but seriously, I can get around in Mexico. I know enough Spanish to defend myself when I'm there," she said.

"No wonder I thought you looked like Selena," Kun admitted.

"Selena?!" exclaimed Maryluz. "She is a queen! I'm not sure how much I really look like her. Maybe all Mexicans look alike to people in Asia," she joked.

"Oh, gosh! I'm sorry. Was that insensitive to compare you to Selena? I meant it as a compliment," Kun rushed to apologize, his face turning pink.

"No, it's fine," Maryluz assured him. "Maybe it's the jumpsuit that makes me look particularly like her today," she added. "At least you didn't compare me to Dora the Explorer. Now, THAT would have been bad, for sure!"

"I always thought Dora could use a longer shirt," Kun commented.

"She has a super-hot cousin, though," Maryluz remarked coyly.

"That she does," Kun admitted. "That she does."