Chapter 2

• Kitten’s POV
• I don’t know how long I’ve been seated on this bed, silently letting thoughts of discomfiture occupy my head but a knock on my room’s door brings me back to reality.
• Mum was probably at her workplace by now and if she forgot something, she would call for me to bring it to her. So it only meant that William was the one knocking. Inadvertently, images of barging into the bathroom to see him in such a state earlier resurfaced in my mind. No one needed to tell me that my ears and face were red now since my cheeks were heated.
• How am I supposed to face him with such a look? And wouldn’t that make him pissed?
• “Kitten! Kitten!” I heard him call out.
• For a few seconds, I was short of words with which to respond to him.
• “Kitten, I know you’re in there. I’m already done bathing. You can go have your bath now,” he said again and then I heard him walk away with deliberately loud footsteps as if to assure me.
• I remained in my room for another half hour, even downing the bottle of water that was atop my bedside cabinet. Only when I felt I could control my emotions did I finally step out of the room quietly.
• ***
• 20 minutes later...
• I stepped out of the bathroom, and I was on my way to my room.
• Well, my brother’s room is opposite mine. He should already be sleeping since he pulled an all-nighter.
• As I turned the doorknob of my room, I heard his room’s door make a clinking sound and I quickly rushed into my room and slammed the door shut behind me.
• With my right hand placed on my chest, I sigh in relief as if I’d just escaped a precarious situation. Still, I knew deep down that this hide-and-seek situation couldn’t continue forever. For now, I just want to avoid him.
• ...
• The next morning was a Saturday.
• Mum didn't work on weekends and got to spend time in the house with us. William was not allowed to game during weekends and he never complained about it.
• It’s 11:00 am at the moment.
• As a waitress, I ran shifts and my shift today was in the afternoon, so I had to go now. Mum had also left early to visit her friend, Phaidra, whose husband lost his mother recently. I’m not good with words and neither am I close to mum’s friend, so I didn’t tag along, even for a few minutes.
• As I headed towards my room, I saw my twin standing at my room’s door, blocking entry. Frowning, I asked, “William, what’s the meaning of this? I have work in an hour. Let me rest for a bit,”
• “How long are you going to keep avoiding me, Kitten?” he questioned, arms folded.
• Well, this was an unexpected but not surprising question. And he doesn’t seem like he’d let me into my room if I didn’t give him a good explanation. But the thing is, I’m also not ready to answer such a question.
• "No comment," I finally replied.
• "Kitten, this has to stop and we need to talk,”
• “Brother, there’s nothing to talk about. Please, stop denying me entry,” I said in annoyance, trying to push him from the entrance to my room but he didn’t budge. I kept trying but even when I got exhausted and tried to catch my breath, he’d still not budged an inch. Heavens, was he made of stone?
• “Kitten,” he gently held my left hand and pulled me along to the sitting room where he made me sit on the couch. Then he sat opposite me. I looked away from him with a scowl.
• “Lil sis,” he sighed before continuing, “I know this is not easy for you and neither is it for me. Let’s just pretend that episode didn’t happen between us, okay?” he said gently.
• I turned to look at him and reminded him, “Brother, you scolded me in there,”
• “I would do the same thing if it was anyone else too. Even you, Kitten, would do the same. And I’m sorry I threw that slipper at you. I really regret it,” he confessed. Then he did a shocking thing before me. He walked towards me and knelt with an apologetic look on his handsome face.
• “Please, Kitten, can you forgive me?” he implored.
• Gosh!
• Even like this, he still looked dashing. I almost wanted to forgive him immediately but I couldn’t be too eager. I needed to make him work harder to gain my forgiveness.
• “I’ll forgive you only on one condition,” I proposed.
• He nodded without thinking and I smiled.
• “Anything you want, sister,” he smilingly responded, to which I nodded my satisfaction.
• “William, I want us to play a question-and-answer game in your room,” I suggested. I saw that he thought nothing of it since he quickly agreed.
• “This game, however, comes with a consequence. You care to know?” I questioned him while trying to pull off a vain look.
• “Yeah. Tell me about it,” he said as he rose to his feet.
• “If you can’t answer a question, you’ll have to take off a piece of clothing,” I smirkingly said.
• He looked stunned for a moment but then he eventually agreed.
• “I’m just gonna wear a ton of clothes then. I certainly won’t lose to you anyway,” he confidently declared and I shook my head as he left. When he was completely out of sight, I covered my heated cheeks in utter embarrassment.
• Why the heck did I say that? And the surprising thing was that he actually agreed.
• Gosh!
• I hear him walk towards me, and I quickly put my hands down and assumed a smug look, like I wasn’t coy seconds ago.
• “What day do we play it?” he inquired, “So that I can prepare,” he added.
• “Anytime you choose,” I said without thinking.
• He nodded and smilingly said, “Thinking about it, I think it can begin now. I’ll wait for you in my room,” then he turned to leave without letting me contribute my words of objection.
• I yanked my ponytail in frustration.
• “But I have work,” I yell as I rush after him.
• “Call your boss that you’re not feeling too well,” he suggested as he increased his pace to his room.
• “I can’t!” I yelled before entering my room to wear some light makeup and grab my bag.
• Then I rushed out of the room only to see him blocking my escape. He’d already worn so many shirts, completely prepared for the game.
• Geez, he was more eager than I am! How could I talk my way out of this now?
• “I forgive you, William,” I said, sighing defeatedly. If this was the only way for me to go out to work, then, so be it. I’ll just consider it a loss.
• “I’ve called your boss already, and she’s given permission for you to have a day off,” he revealed, leaving me in astonishment.
• “What?" I widened my eyes to the size of saucers, disbelief shrouding my face, "William, how could you do that?!”
• “Nothing must interrupt the game,” He responded, dragging me into his room.
• He then locked the door and put the key in his pocket. Well, I hadn’t entered his room for months and seeing it today, it smelled nice and looked squeaky clean. Though I was impressed, I still maintained a frown on my face.
• “Sit down,” he offered as he took his seat on one of the two chairs in his room.
• I reluctantly sat with a pout. This bastard was wearing so many clothes; I was clearly the one at a disadvantage here.
• “I’ll go first,” he proposed and my frown deepened, which made him chuckle.
• Half an hour later...
• The game was still on.
• He’s been asking me simple questions which I found easy to answer but in return, I’ve been asking really difficult questions. He got some right and others wrong and that led him to take off all the shirts, including the one he was wearing before.
• Now he was seated opposite me shirtless.
• I have to be honest, his abs aren’t for show; they’re solid. He must be working out a lot in his room.
• Well, it’s his turn to ask questions now. But instead of the simple questions like before, he asked me a difficult math question.
• I gritted my teeth unhappily.
• This brother of mine knew how bad I was at math. I was someone who could sleep all through a math period and sometimes even skipped class. It’s a miracle that I even pass my math exams.
• And he’s here asking me stuff related to Algebra. How was I supposed to get an answer, even if I studied for three days? This slick bastard!
• Well, I couldn't do anything against him, could I? Besides, he’s the one losing all this time. I shouldn't be too pained. I just have to be on alert now since he’d become serious.
• As the game progressed, he lost once and had to take off his belt.
• Then, he asked me a question and this time, the unhappy me took off my skirt. Now I’m just left with my bra and undies.
• Well, we’ve gone to the beach several times before, so it was not his first time seeing me with a bra and underwear knickers.