by Lucian Bane
He went to the sink and stood next to her, earning her hip shoved into his. “Don’t tease, Miss. Wong,” he said, making her laugh. He realized he needed to really solve the boundaries problem now. He’d talk to her dad personally. Let him set the rules since he was her father. It was the respectful way to do it, and he was sure his dad would agree.
Charlie and Alice
“I’m going to talk to your dad tomorrow,” Charlie said into the walkie talkie while lying in his bed.
“What? About what?”
She would drag it out, he already knew. “Boundaries,” he said on a light sigh.
“What kind of boundaries?” she wondered with her angry guard.
He smiled a little. “The kind that doesn’t let us get into trouble.”
He braced for more of her cute anger. “What kind of trouble?”
“Can you guess with your ninja perception?”
“I prefer not to, if I get to choose.”
Geeze, she was going to make him spell it out when she could easily figure it out. She liked hearing it, this he was sure. “My father once had a talk with me about girls and boundaries.”
She sucked in a breath. “You mean the birds and the bees’ boundaries?”
“Yes,” he nodded, happy she helped.
“Okay. What kind of boundaries.” She said it like somebody getting their defenses ready, sure she wouldn’t like it.
“Well, that’s for your dad to decide, I think.”
She choked on air. “He would say we need to be five feet apart at all times!”
He smiled more. “Then we would be five feet apart at all times,” he said simply.
More air choking. “I can’t do that!”
“And why not?” It was his turn to want to hear her say what he knew. She liked him too much to not touch him.
He waited over the silence, his heart hammering for it. “Because…it’s stupid. And I like touching you. I need to.”
She made her tone nonchalant, like this was obvious and nothing to be ashamed of. She’d be right on both. “Soooo… you’re telling me that you like me so much you can’t live without touching me? I thought you were a ninja?”
“I am,” she assured. “Touching is food! I will tell my father he can’t touch my mother and see how he likes it.”
“But they’re married,” he laughed. “They don’t have to have boundaries.”
“Are you saying you want to marry me, Charlie Brown?”
The words froze him and had his heart racing while his mind spun to process. He forbid himself to utter a single sound because she would interpret it, and he didn’t want to miscommunicate with something like that. “We’re seventeen,” he said, holding his place in line while struggling for the right words.
“And?” she followed, indicating that wasn’t really an issue.
His brain shifted to their customs, looking for her line of thinking. They were big about family and marriage. Even had arranged ones form early ages, and courting could begin as early as they saw fit. But there was a legal age for marrying and they were nowhere close to ages twenty or twenty-two. But he did know this. “People should date long enough to know whether or not they are a good fit for a life-long commitment.” Charlie had to sit up when it became impossible to talk about lying down.
“Is this your proposal to date me for as long as it takes for us to know this?”
Charlie stood at that and paced. She was good at this. Using her mental ninja skills on him. Every bit of him said counterstrike with perfection—it mattered. So, what was the perfect strike, was the question? Did he want to date her for as long as it took to know if he’d marry her? “I do. I mean…it is,” he corrected, forcing himself to sit and calm down. “But…I have to have your father’s permission to do that. After I get my parent’s blessing to ask for it.” This seemed right. He prayed it was.
“Have you done this before Charlie Brown? You seem particularly good at it.”
Her jealous suspicion brought a laugh of relief. “Never. Not once.”
“I accept your proposal for a proposal to date. Can we shake on this, Charlie Brown?”
He chewed at his lower lip, smiling. “I don’t trust you.”
“What!? What does that mean!”
“Fine, I don’t trust me,” he corrected.
She shot out an indignant breath. “How will you date me with boundaries if you can’t even shake my hand!”
He had to laugh at that. “God. God will give me strength.”
A few seconds passed before she said with a softness that melted him, “You… have to pray for strength to control yourself with me?”
Wow. Yeah, she did it again. “I do,” he answered, not wanting to hide it. “I pray very hard,” he added, smiling as he imagined the look that put on her face.
“I don’t need to date you Charlie to know. But I will so that you can know.”
“I don’t need to date you to know either. But I will so that our parents know.”
“You have a deal Charlie Brown. But we must shake on it.”
He shook his head with a grin. She liked risks. Challenges. This was going to be hard. But he’d find a way to show her he was stronger than his chemicals. “Fine, Alice in Wonderland. We’ll shake in front of your family.”
She broke out in a light string of Chinese that made him laugh. “I take it you’re pissed at that.”
“No!” she shot to him, incredulous. “I said that I am so happy! Happier than I have ever been in my life.” They were both quiet before she whispered. “Thank you, Charlie.”
****
Alice ran to the door, not caring that it was immature. She opened it to her handsome Prince Charlie, smiling at him. She knew it was being rebellious to boldly stare at his body, but she couldn’t help it. He had on a fitted white t-shirt that showed off his fitness, and those jeans that went on forever, hiding him.
But next week when they started using the pool, that would change.
“Hey,” he said, using his soft voice with her. It was her favorite because it told what he felt about her. He treated her with care and delicateness, but not because he thought she was weak, but because he treasured her. At least that’s what her mom said. Dad said it wasn’t possible for her to love anybody so quickly, and mom reminded him of their relationship. But of course, he made their relationship the universal exception.
“Come in, Charlie Brown. My dad is waiting for you.” She meant it as a taunt but the way he held her gaze as he walked past made her pulse do jump-n-jacks in her throat. Beyond all his kindness, there was always something more in his yes. An intensity and power on simmer. What would it look like provoked and on full display? It taunted her, begged her to find out. And now that her father gave her the green light to pursue that, she couldn’t wait. All that was left was her dad making it formal.
“You look nice in a white t-shirt,” she barely whispered as he passed before shutting the door.
He glanced around at the empty entry then back at her.
“He can see you,” she whispered with a lowered smile. “On the camera.” She brought her smile back up, and the volatile things she’d just seen in his gaze retreated, like a warrior putting away his weapon. “Follow me.”
She led the way, feeling him following behind her. Did he know that he was a weapon destined to defeat her? Did he know that he already had? She didn’t think he did. And she thought it good to make him earn that information. She also thought it good to learn the same about him. How did she affect him? Was it the same?
“I asked if I could be there while you talked to them.”
“Them?” he whispered seconds before they arrived at the door.
“Trust me, you want my mother in on this,” she barley sang.
She knocked on the door and opened at her father’s muffled invitation to enter.
“Hello, Charlie,” her dad greeted with a huge smile, standing at his desk and gesturing to one of the chairs before it. Her mother occu
pied a third chair in between, like a referee. She’d have to applaud her dad later for at least pretending to like Charlie. He actually did like him, just not for her. Not for this.
“Hello Mr. Lo,” Charlie nodded politely before reaching out and shaking his hand. “Hi Mrs. Yan,” he added with only a nod as he sat. It made Alice curious over his customs now. Something told her that his traditions wouldn’t be found in Wikipedia. He was quite different, even her mother agreed. She wasn’t often impressed with people the way she was with Charlie and right now, the smile she wore said he’d just impressed her again.
“Alice tells me you’d like to talk to us,” her father said, sitting down.
Alice held her breath as she glanced at Charlie, hoping he had something impressive planned.
“I do, yes.” He glanced at Alice then back at her father then mother. “I’m aware of a lot of Chinese customs in many things, but I’m also aware that not everybody holds to the same traditions. I really like your daughter and want to ask for both your blessing to date her according to whatever tradition you hold.”
She wanted to jump for joy at his flawless performance. Not even a stutter. Simply impressive.
“Well, we do have traditions,” her father said, “and one is dating within our nationality. But,” he hurried, briefly regarding the daggers in Alice’s eyes. “While we are strict, we are not beyond considering exceptions.”
“Yes sir,” Charlie, answered.
“You are…Christian, correct?” her father asked.
“Yes sir.”
“How does your religion see dating somebody outside of your faith?”
Fear clenched Alice’s stomach at his unexpected question. At seeing Charlie lower his head, the feeling grew.
“It says that we are not to be unequally yoked.”
“And…that means what exactly?” her father asked, but Alice was sure he knew exactly what it meant.
“That a believer should not marry a non-believer.”
“Are you aware that my daughter is not Christian?”
“No sir, I am not,” Charlie said simply.
“Excuse me, father,” Alice cut in. “But are you aware what religion I am?”
He looked at her and the surprise in his face indicated he’d not thought his game all the way through. “We have no religion, Alice, you know this.”
“I do know,” she said. “But I believe you said it is ultimately for me to determine my faiths and beliefs, not you or mother. And that one day, I would have to think for myself and make those decisions. Which is why you diligently equipped me with knowledge so that I might discover truths untainted by men’s selfish appetites.” She smiled at his surprised look. “I do listen, dad.”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
The obvious puzzle in those words made her realize just how out of touch with her he was. It made her both sad and angry. “I’m saying that I’m still making that decision. Learning. I have no religion, but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to having one should I find one worthy of my faith.”
Alice wasn’t sure what gave her those perfect words to say, but she thanked whatever it was. At seeing Charlie’s hot gaze on her, she wondered if maybe it was his God, helping her for Charlie’s sake. The idea sent a thrill through her as she stilled her quaking heart.
“Mr. Lo,” Charlie began carefully. “I want to date your daughter because I like her more than I’ve ever liked anybody. Except my mother,” he added, glancing at her mom then back to her dad. “If you want me to be her friend for a year, two years, three years… even seven years, I will do that.”
“Seven years?” her father repeated in mild surprise while Alice’s heart hammered harder than ever at this confession.
“Yes sir.”
“How can you know that you want to date my daughter for seven years when you barely know her?”
Mom spoke in Chinese, reminding him of their earlier conversation to which dad smiled and nodded with his hand wave at her that meant calm down. It amazed Alice that he still didn’t know how much she hated when he told her that. Or maybe he did know.
“I can know because I’ve decided it.”
“What does that mean?” her father asked.
“It means that once I commit to her, I give everything within me to that commitment.”
“And what if she doesn’t share that commitment?” he asked.
Alice bit her tongue on I do! desperate to hear his answer to that.
Charlie considered it for several long seconds. “I’m sure I would be devastated,” he decided finally.
“And you will risk that?” he asked.
“Yes, I would risk it. Because every relationship is a risk.”
Her father stared at him, pleasant smile pasted on while his eyes searched for more things to throw at him. “Do you understand that if you date our daughter for five years, we would expect you to marry her?”
“I understand.”
“So, you are here at seventeen years old, proposing to marry my daughter?”
“If that is how you see it, then yes Sir. I am here proposing to marry your daughter.”
Alice was ready to vomit with sheer joy. Her father’s every strike ended in fatal blows to his own plans. She’d thought he was giving his blessing earlier, but now she realized he was appeasing her before attempting to destroy them. The idea hurt deeply.
“And what about your father, don’t you think you need his blessing?”
Her mother’s “Watch it!” whipped out in Chinese, forcing her father to stand down a little.
“I intend to get his blessing, God willing he is able to give it. And my mothers. If I get yours.”
“God willing,” her father said, making Alice’s guts tighten more while she silently willed for him not to insult his religion. “You have a strong faith in your God?”
“I do,” he said.
Her mother shot out a final warning, her words slicing even as her tone flowed like silk.
“That is admirable,” her father said, allowing Alice to breathe again. “Perhaps you will teach us about this faith?”
Charlie nodded. “I would be happy to.”
“Maybe you can perform some miracles.”
Charlie nodded again, hopefully missing her father’s passive attacks again. “If God permits it, I would.”
“Permits it?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” Charlie said. “We don’t tempt him or test him, but if we ask Him anything with a pure heart, He will happily do it if it’s in accordance with His will.”
Her father stared at him and Alice hoped for his sake it was real curiosity in his gaze. “You talk like you have first-hand experience with God. Do you, Charlie?”
“Yes sir,” he said, nodding with confidence. “I do.”
“Would you mind sharing?”
Her mother unleashed heated Chinese, demanding he stop, while he insisted the question was genuine. In the end, she shot up. “I will not sit here for this.”
Alice watched her mother stalk out, leaving her father appearing half worried and embarrassed.
“I think we should finish this later,” he said. “Charlie…” Alice got nervous again, watching her father. “You have my permission to date my daughter. I just ask that you don’t do anything with her that you know I would not approve.” He turned to Alice then. “Mind the rules we spoke to you about.”
“Yes sir,” she snapped quietly, grabbing Charlie’s hand and tugging him to the door on wobbly legs.
They left the office and her mom was nowhere to be found so Alice hurried them out. In the corridor, she headed to the stairs leading to the roof, feeling like she was both running from and to something.
“Where are we going?” he asked, following her.
“To the roof, where there are no cameras covering every angle!”
Once outside in the darkness, she leaned over to catch her breath.
“What did your dad talk to you about? What rules? When?”
“Well…what are the rules?” he asked.
Alice stared at him, her eyes finally adjusting to the low moon light. She decided in a reckless second that she would show him what he told her.
“Alice?”
She quickly stepped up and kissed him right on the mouth then just as suddenly stepped back.
She stared, breathless and waiting, watching his face. She suddenly wished it were lighter so she could read his eyes, then at the same time darker so she could hide.
“He said you can kiss me?”
She gave a small nod, still in awe of his lips. Soft and full. “He said he would not be like the fathers of his past who dictated matters of the heart. That those were for you and me to know, not them. And they trusted me to know my own heart.” Alice wouldn’t tell him that he’d obviously just said that as a ploy. And his last instructions to Charlie of “you can date her but don’t do anything I wouldn’t want you to” was no different than his instructions to her of “do what you feel is right but just know I think it’s wrong” She’d never seen her father deceive in her life, but what he’d just done to both of them felt just like deception to her. And cruel.
“So…I mean…he just told me…”
She suddenly wanted nothing more than to feel his lips again. But she also wanted him to choose it. Maybe even do it. “Did you mean everything you said back there?” she asked, feeling faint at the memory.
He took steps forward and she held her breath when he stopped before her, staring right into her eyes with that simmering power in his gaze on full display. “Everything,” he said, his voice bringing an ache through her.
“Will you… can you…”
His head lowered, and his lips pressed into hers with a delicate, testing kiss. He paused, and she fought for air, hoping he didn’t pull his perfect mouth away. His fingers pressed along the sides of her face as he angled his head, doing it again, his lips discovering hers with the barest touches.
“Charlie,” she whispered.
Their mouths suddenly erupted in hunger, pressing harder, their lips parting. The feeling was everything she’d imagined and more, and she had to hold on to him. Her fingers met the warm muscles along his shoulders, pressing into the strength as his arms went around her, pulling her close to him.