34 Keep Your Distance!

There aren't many instances that the celebrity billionaire could recall that he was caught off guard like this moment. In his twenty-eight years of trekking the earth, experiencing ups and downs, and meeting boring and interesting people alike, he still found it fascinating that he could still feel anything more.

In fact, this was a world record. The same person managed to surprise the life out of him twice.

Kurtis could feel his mind go numb. The street lights and handful of cars passing by faded into the background. The only thing he could really make out was the faint lyrics of the song playing on the radio.

'I don't know how this whole business started/Of you thinkin' that I have been untrue/But if you think that we'd be better parted/It's gonna hurt me, but I'll break away from you/Well, just give me the sign and I will be gone, yeah…'

The familiar melody of the classic song drifted untimely into the scene.

[Wasn't this song like four decades old? Of all the times, why was it playing now?]

Both listeners in the car reached for the button to switch the song, coincidentally chancing a skim on each other's hand. As fast as that brief contact was, Kurtis retracted his hand as if he just touched something formidable.

Not offended by his uncalled for reaction, Lyra continued to run through the radio stations for a more lighthearted tune. When she finally did decide on a channel, she turned back to check on her speechless brother-in-law.

His green eyes befell hers in slight hesitation before looking away again to gather his thoughts.

When he opened his mouth to say something, he ended up closing it and falling back silently onto his seat. Lyra lifted an eyebrow in worry.

[Was I too blunt?]

"You okay?"

Kurtis nodded with a smile, but then dropped it mid-way.

"Lyra…" his voice trailed. "You…me…oh lord…"

Kurtis ran his hands through his hair as he was sorting out whatever was on his mind. Lyra just waited patiently. Of course she didn't expect him to take it so stressfully, but she did anticipate giving him some time for him to process.

After all, he just found out that his wife's younger sister had feelings for him. Things could get messy if he didn't handle it correctly.

But when a generous fifteen second down-time turned into a torturous minute, Lyra grew impatient.

[Was he not the ultimate playboy before he got married? Shouldn't this be a common thing when girls confess their feelings to him?]

Due to a lack of prompt response on his end, she decided that it was time to deliver the rest of her message.

"Kurtis, I respect that you're married to my sister. I'm telling you this now because I want to set our boundaries straight."

The brother-in-law glanced at Lyra and nodded, shifting his body so that it was facing her. He could manage to at least concentrate on the rest of what she had to say.

"I know that it is in your character to be kind and it may be wrong of me to ask you to change. But can you maybe just make that exception for me?" Lyra pressed her hands together. "You've always meant well, but I have repeatedly taken your intentions the wrong way. In the short time that I've been back, you're doing it again. I've never had a brother-in-law before and I wouldn't dream of another, but I don't think in-laws are usually this friendly with each other. I already tried to imagine that you're like Dev Andrews who was like a brother to me, but it's a little hard considering everything that we've been through. So to save me the headache, can you possibly try to care for me a little less?"

Lyra was surprised she finally successfully delivered her inner monologue out to the public and actually finished it all in one breath. Now all that was left was to wait for the target audience to catch on.

Luckily, it seemed like he did. The dumbstruck Kurtis cleared his throat when he confirmed that it was his cue to speak.

"Does Angela know?" he asked cautiously, perhaps testing the waters on how he should best respond.

"I will tell her one of these days," the sister answered. "When I get the chance, I will tell her as soon as I can. But I thought you deserved to know first."

Kurtis thanked her before sitting back into a more relaxed position. He wasn't sure how he'd handle it if he had to keep the news from Angela. At least now, there wasn't a secret he needed to keep.

"And just to clarify, you don't feel…that way…towards me anymore right?"

"I shouldn't, but when you do things like give me your scarf, open the car doors for me, buy me lunch, invite me to this and that, play with my hair, drive me at 1:30AM to go shopping, and things like that…" The girl counted the items with her fingers for everything he did wrong that day.

Seeing the disheartened expression on his face when guilt finally found a place in his "gentleman" spirit, Lyra smiled.

"I don't expect anything too much from you," she slipped in conveniently. "I'm just asking you to be more mindful of how close we are right now so in the future, you make sure to keep a larger distance between us."

The ex-playboy had never experienced a girl demanding distance from him and genuinely want it. Somehow hearing this from his wife's sister was a little insulting, but alas, this was coming from the girl who just didn't seem to care much about his feelings.

Had she ever considered his position in all this? But he wasn't going to go back on his word. She was right to be selfish and get her feelings out rather than bottle it all in and hurt herself with her once incurable kindness.

"Okay. I'll practice some distance."

"Good."

Both came to terms with one another before Kurtis shifted gears and got back on the road. Upon pulling up in front of the store, Kurtis habitually unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to unlock the door when Lyra got out one second earlier by herself.

"Don't get out the car," she ordered.

Her brother-in-law was a bit stiff, but he didn't move. Instead, he rolled down the window and bid her a good night's rest. Lyra waved a goodbye, but when she went to the top of the stairs and still found him waiting outside, she was a little uncertain if he understood her.

She motioned him to leave and when he noticed the less friendly expression on his sister-in-law's face, he put back on his seatbelt and rolled up the window to avoid getting yelled at.

Kurtis wanted to wait for Lyra to go in before driving away, but it seemed like the girl didn't even accept such a trivial gesture. She simply bore the cold, standing in place waiting for him to leave first.

'She sure is stubborn…' Kurtis thought to himself before putting his car in drive and checking his sideview mirror. 'She does know she's still wearing my scarf right?' he wondered with a defeated smile before releasing the brake and adding gas.

When the sports-car finally turned the next street, Lyra felt she won her first battle. She walked back triumphantly into the comfort of her warm residence, tiptoeing as not to wake her roommate who was out like a light.

As she closed the door behind her, she still felt very accomplished until the very moment she started undressing.

[You've got to be kidding me…]