third time's a charm

08

"So, you're dating?"

Thana who was sprawled out on the sofa put her book down and looked at her brother. Win didn't mean to share the news about him and Bright but for the past few days since they started seeing each other, he had never been this happy and contented in life. Every minute of every hour of every day he would mention that man's name. He just couldn't stop talking about him. So much so, that he had forgotten that Gulf was expecting his first draft this week and he only managed to write an introduction.

Writing had never been an issue with Win since it was his passion, and that was why Gulf had such high hopes for him. But he had been smiling like an idiot and even his sister was curious of the sudden change in his character.

As siblings, they shared a lot of things in common, one of those was their love for "signs", horoscopes, and fate. They rarely argue and Thana was never the kind of sister who likes to meddle with her brother's affair. As long as it makes Win happy, then she would support him in a heartbeat. No questions were necessary.

Except this one...

"Yes, please stop asking questions," he said, trying to go back to his writing. He was sitting on the couch, television turned on but neither he nor his sister was watching. Win was fond of the noise but not his sister's line of questioning which made him feel as if he was being interrogated on a crime he did not commit.

Thana pressed on, completely ignoring his rules. She went on, "And this was the same Bright Cassel in the newspaper kissing some other girl?"

"It's his cousin and no they aren't kissing."

"He told you this?"

"Yes, and I also met the cousin," Win gave his sister a withering glance. "Anything else?"

She shrugged. "I'm just worried. You're my baby brother after all."

"I'm your only brother."

Thana did not speak for a moment. "Don't you think we should meet this guy?"

Win paused. He never thought of that. It was because he felt like their relationship hadn't reached that point where they had to meet each other's parents, though Win met his cousin and also received an invitation to the twins' upcoming birthday party.

"Don't you think it's too fast?"

"Are you asking for my honest opinion?" Thana pointed to herself and swung her legs on the floor to sit down properly. "It is too fast but I've never seen you so...happy. Of course, we'd like to meet the guy who managed to put the confidence back to my scaredy cat brother."

Win was appalled and quickly defended, "I'm not a scaredy cat! I'm just cautious."

"Too cautious."

"Whose fault do you think that is?"

Thana sighed. At the sound of the doorbell, the siblings' head shot up. Their parents were still on their yearly trip along with some of their friends and business partners, so they weren't expecting them to be back until next month. But when his sister went back to the living room followed by a tall, slender young man with very pale skin and almond-shaped eyes. He smiled widely at the sight of his "baby" brother who was surprised to see him.

"Hello, Winnie!" Jay Stellar Adler, Thana's boyfriend, immediately went to Win to hand him his daily dose of macaroons. "What are you doing? Don't work too much, you're getting thinner!"

"Jayler" had been like this since he and Thana started dating. Win was now a young adult of six feet and one inch tall but he always saw him as a little boy in need of protection and guidance. In his eyes, Win never grew up. Not that Win was complaining. In fact, he thinks Jayler was the sweetest, nicest guy on the planet and his sister was lucky to have him. But he doted on him too much that it often left him suffocated and annoyed.