Strings Attached

CHAPTER FIVE

RHINE

"Hi, how are you?" he greeted the attendant in Chinese. The older woman grinned, telling him his accent was on point. She asked what we wanted to buy, I did not understand a thing he said, but he pointed at me, still talking in Chinese, the woman nodding to whatever he was saying. I busied myself looking through the racks. Eventually, the attendant tracked me down and guided me to the hanfu.  She picked one assemble of clothing and guided me to the dressing room. She guided me on what and how to wear the different pieces. I flushed when she saw my boyshorts, thankfully made no comment, rather said, "these will do!" She put a shirt in my hands, basically dressing me, and the skirt over the closed shirt. To finish the look, on top of that, I slipped on a chiffon cardigan.

Feeling giddy, like a kid playing dress up, I twirled, the skirt swishing with me. I smiled wide, looking at myself in the mirror.  She smiled wide with a little giggle, "your boyfriend was right." I looked at her, expecting her to elaborate and she did, said, my boyfriend, told her to get me red clothes because they complimented my skin tone. And here I was wearing a red and black hanfu that really looked good on me. My cheeks were warm, i smiled back at her. She pushed a chair to me and told me to sit, she was going to make my hair. I shook my head, saying it wasn't necessary. She smiled again, saying my boyfriend wished for me to have the full experience of the traditional clothing. I sat and watched as she brushed through my thick curls, left some hair out at the front, and tied the rest in a bun. She then brought some hair jewelry and fixed them in. By the time we were done, i'd found Zion seated by the waiting area the moment the door slid open.

He looked up, my eyes colliding with his, and his gaze drifted down to my lips and lower till he reached my converse-covered feet. I also took a moment to check him out. I mean look at him in his new clothes. His top was covered in a red shirt with buttons down the front, with drawings of gold and black all over the material, black slacks, and a long black coat lay slack on his lap. My eyes meeting his once more, I blushed, he'd found me checking him out. He stood, his coat placed on the crook of his arm. His lips twitched in what wanted to be a smile, his eyes sparkling either way.  He took a step forward, now mere inches away from me, the tips of his fingers whispered over my skin when his fingers coiled on the hair dangling on the side of my face. "You are beautiful!" he said. Feeling my face flush, I looked away from him, taking a step back, "i know. You always tell me." 

He chuckled, taking a step back, and then facing the attendant, he fished his wallet and paid for our expenses. Saying our thanks, he grabbed my hand and walked me out of the store. "Where to first?" I'd smiled sheepishly, "food first." He raised a brow and I continued talking, "you know, to give us the energy to keep going." He snickered, muttering a "right." We walked, in silence, my body humming with awareness of his hand still in mine, was he aware? What was he thinking? I was pulled out of my thoughts when a bell sounded, Zion had the door open wide with his free hand. His hand in mine, slipped away, "ladies first." Clenching my fists together, I took the first steps and he entered after me. "Over there," he pointed to an unoccupied table, a few tables ahead. My heart thumped, He knew I liked the window seats in cafes, so he picked one, so I could people-watch with him.

Usually, i was the one who carried most of our conversations, I'd pick out someone from the crowd and make up a story about their lives and he'd either make a statement or two, disagreeing or he'd hum in agreement if he thought the same. Sometimes, he'd chuckle at the stupid stories that came from the pits of my mouth. A waitress was there moments later, handing us two menus, one side in Chinese, and the back side in English. We said our thanks and she left saying she will be with us in a few minutes after we decide what to order. 

"What will you have?" I asked Zion. He shrugged, "I'm good with anything." I rolled my eyes and said I'll order his food too. When the waitress came back, I gave her our orders and waited, looking outside. Laughing internally, my smile was not easy to hide. Not many outsides were dressed up, not like us. But there were a few, women to be specific who were dressed in traditional Chinese clothes. It wasn't long before our food was brought to us. Zion stood to help her, and the poor girl blushed, stumbling on her words. He placed the tray with the cups and the teapots in the middle of the table. And sat back down, letting her finish up. She put our snacks on the designated sides. Zion put his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand, his face open with emotion, he looked at me with amusement written all over his face. 

"Yes, I'm having pizza with my tea," I said confidently, even though my skin was flushing. "I uttered not a word, darling," he chuckled, his eyes bright with laughter. Choosing to ignore him, i cut up my chicken and sausages into small pieces and placed them on the pizza slices. I could feel his eyes on me as I worked on mounting my slice with the cut-up meat. I drizzled hot sauce finally and lifted the slice to my mouth. Immediately, the flavors burst in my mouth, my eyes closed and I moaned in appreciation. "Ah-" Zion suddenly broke into a series of coughs that made his body jerk forward, and his leg jerked and hit the table. Immediately I abandoned my slice and rushed to his side, seeing how red his face was turning, his veins popping on his skin. 

We'd caught the attention of two other men in the vicinity who came to help, one said he was a firefighter and he knew the first aid to take. The other man helped him pull Zion to his feet, and stood slightly behind him while supporting his chest with one hand. I couldn't do anything but watch, as they leaned Zion forward and hit the position between his shoulders. With no success, they lay him down and gave him CPR, pushing down on his abdomen. Our waitress rushed with a bucket, just in time, for Zion to throw up in it. My eyes were on him still, I followed the waitress to the counter and got a bottle of water, asking for a cup of hot water with honey. She nodded, handing me the bottle, and said she was making the cup in a minute. My feet rushed me back to Zion, my hand trembled when I touched his heated forehead, "are you okay, big guy?" "You're going to be the death of me," he said shallowly. Even though I didn't understand why my heart squeezed in my chest. But I snickered, handing him the bottle of water, "since you're joking around, I assume you're fine now." I face the two men who are no longer supporting him but are within his personal space, "thank you so much. Your meal is on me." 

Immediately they shook their heads, politely declining. Pointing to Zion, i said, "would you accept if it was from his wallet then?" He snickered and they laughed lightly, shaking their heads again, saying they did what anyone else would have done. Insisting, they eventually agreed and went back to their table. When Zion sat, I sat next to him this time, rather than across from him. Once again, my hand touched his forehead, no longer as warm as before and his skin color was returning to normal. "You good, darling?" he asked, grabbing my hand in his, his eyes searching, eyebrows furrowed. "You scared me," I whispered, not looking him in the eye. Throwing his hand across my shoulders, he pulled me closer, "you're worried about little old me?!" I elbowed him, telling him to stop joking around. He laughed a little and stopped, but still had me in his embrace, and I happily sank in his warmth. 

The waitress came back with the cup of hot honey water, asking him if he was alright. He nodded his thanks, "my lady is taking good care of me." My face flushed and I elbowed him once more, telling him to stop teasing me. He winced and I was guilty, remembering the incident of a few minutes ago, muttering an apology. He laughed, kissing the side of my head, "you're so easy to tease." 

Something was definitely different between us. I wasn't sure if that was the day I'd realized it, or if it had changed because of that situation, but I knew. If Zion knew as much, I wasn't sure. But I had a crush on him. I had a crush on my ex-boyfriend's older brother. I had a crush on my best friend, a crush so big it scared me.