Coming Out

Roland turned around to see a tall, muscular woman with her hand out to greet him. Her long, black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her deep gold eyes betrayed the nervousness within her.

Ashes knew how much Tilly idolized this elder brother of hers, so making a good first impression was of paramount importance.

Although he was dazed by the sudden turn of events, as expected of a successful CEO, Roland quickly recovered and shook the hand offered by Ashes. However, he didn't smile or return the greeting.

"Ashes, is it? I hear you want to take my sister away from me."

Roland's grip tightened as he said that, and his stern voice shocked both women before Tilly grumbled, "Damn it, Roland. What kind of first impression is that?"

Roland's facade broke, and he laughed. "Haha, sorry, sorry. Nice to meet you, too, Ashes."

He quickly got up to move the empty chair out. "Please take a seat."

Ashes smiled in relief. 'It seems he is as nice as Tilly made out, and just as much of a joker as well.'

She took her seat. "Thank you."

"Did you get here ok? How long were you waiting before I noticed you in the window? I hope it wasn't too long. Oh, I bet it was; I'm so sorry." Tilly fired an extensive string of questions at Ashes. Apparently, they were both nervous about this first meeting.

Roland, in a bid to ease the atmosphere, sighed in relief. "Ashes, I'm glad to finally meet a partner of Tilly's. I was scared she was going to die alone. Well, I knew she wouldn't die alone… she seems like the type to become a crazy cat lady instead."

Ashes snorted with laughter, and Tilly went bright red in embarrassment. In the end though, she smiled. 'I should have known Roland would have been great about this. I literally could not have asked for anything else from him.'

"So, Ashes," Roland continued, trying to start a proper conversation, "is Ashes a nickname or your given name, if you don't mind me asking? It's just that I've never heard it before."

"It's my given name. I know, it's super uncommon. It actually comes from the Bible, like most names. It refers to 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust.'" She smiled like she was used to this question.

Roland smiled good-naturedly. "Oh, that is interesting. Thanks."

He then pondered for a moment. As neither of the other two said anything, he asked, "You know I have to ask this, how did you two meet?"

"We are actually on the same course. We were friends first, and things just developed from there."

"Drats, I was hoping there would've been more drama. Can you please stop being so normal? Help a brother out!"

The trio laugh heartily. For Tilly especially, Roland's use of 'normal' made her heart warm. The last thing she wanted was for him to be overly sensitive or to treat her differently because of this.

"So, Ashes, what do you like to do in your spare time, any hobbies or sports you're involved in?" Roland questioned, then added, "I hope you don't mind the interrogation, but it's my duty as the older brother."

"No biggie. I actually don't get up to too much in my spare time, just some martial arts, soccer on Saturdays, run girl scouts on Wednesdays… yeah, not much."

'Ah, an overachiever. That's not a bad thing to see in a partner.'

"A martial artist, excellent! Make sure to protect my sister," Roland said with a wink.