A Test

They had one day to prepare for their weekend with their parents.

Niko had been buried himself in his work so that he would not be disturbed on the trip, as Shen Shu selected a few outfits to pack—some revealing and some not before folding them in a duffel bag.

They barely had time for each other until the morning of their trip. Niko put their stuff in the trunk of his car as he came around to the driver's seat. Shen Shu had settled next to him for their two-hour drive to Suzhou.

Shen Shu played games on her phone for most of the drive, but she'd occasionally lift her eyes to glance at Niko. Niko would catch her stare and grin at her before his attention returned to the road.

Shen Shu liked that they were going somewhere together, even if it meant they could no longer have moments like this at their destination. They could have this, for now.

Shen Shu's hand inched toward his. Her heart fluttered, wanting nothing more than to touch him. Niko's attention remained on the road, but she watched as his free hand slid toward hers, their fingers connecting. He then lifted her hand, kissing the inside of her palm gently.

Shen Shu felt like she could hardly breathe. Everything about Niko was overpowering. He consumed her just as much as she consumed him, and she believed she'd never had enough of him.

Shen Shu's hand tightened around his, unable to let go. But his fingers slipped from her grasp as they pulled up to their destination and watched as their parents stood in front of a pavilion, waiting for them.

This was the part where they had to pretend the relationship between them was platonic, not affection—familial but not romantic. Shen Shu watched as Niko's expression changed. His mask was on. His walls were up. She was now a sister to him, not the woman he had nearly fucked the other day.

She dreaded how much she had to pretend she didn't want Niko and certainly not in—that—way. But it was only for two days. She reminded herself. But then it'd be forever. Would it not?

She stepped from the car as her mother ran up to her, squeezing her tight. Shen Shu hugged her back, watching her father approach Niko.

"Come, come," her mother began. "You two must be hungry!"

Niko and Shen Shu followed her mother inside the pavilion. Shen Shu glanced at Niko, but he wasn't looking at her—he hardly acknowledged her.

"I hope you two behaved and were not at each other's throats," her mother chuckled.

More like in each other's throats, Shen Shu thought and flushed. She was desperate to do that again with Niko. Maybe later…

No. She shook her head. This was a family trip, and that was it.

In the dining hall, Shen Shu sat across Niko as her mother sat across her father. Her mother wore red, and she looked as beautiful and young as Shen Shu always remembered. The servers then came and splayed the food in front of them. They thanked the food before they began to eat.

"I'm assuming your relationship has improved?" her father muttered across the table.

Shen Shu chuckled nervously. She was not good at lying or hiding anything. Her relationship with Niko was so raw. She was desperate to tell someone—anyone—they were together. But she'd take their secret to her grave.

"Yeah, I guess," she began. "I was worried we'd fight over remotes and the trash, but it turns out I've discovered there were other ways Shen Chi got under my skin."

Niko turned to look at her with an amused grin. "Like what?"

"Hmmm," Shen Shu responded. "Like the way you brainlessly watch films to sleep at night." She lied. It did not annoy her at all. She loved the way he'd watch them. And she liked it when he watched them with her. It always ended in cuddling. "It disrupts my sleep." It did not.

"As if you don't eat until your stomach aches and then complain about how you ate too much," he countered. She did eat a lot. Sometimes it ended in aches, but he'd always be there to soothe her.

Shen Shu fought a grin. She was supposed to pretend to be mad at him or, at the very least, annoyed. She only narrowed her eyes.

Her father didn't look pleased. "Perhaps I should give up on hope for the two of you," her father commented.

He should. But in a way, her father's plan worked but not in the way he expected. He wanted to bring them closer together, and he did. But they were close in the way a man and woman were when they desired each other.

"You mustn't worry about Shen Shu and me," Niko began. "We now find each other…tolerable."

Shen Shu nearly laughed. Tolerable indeed.

"Good," her father said. "Because we will all be spending the weekend bonding to ensure it."

Niko and Shen Shu exchanged a wry look. Shen Shu wanted to spend time with Niko, but they stayed at a place that looked like a romantic getaway. There were candles lit on small tables everywhere, and rose petals lay beneath their feet. She could smell the salty breeze of the canals and overhear people from nearby shops and eateries. She now realized why her parents decided to stay here for a short while of all places.

Shen Shu desperately wanted to explore it with Niko, but perhaps she could test just how much she could pretend that this was nothing. She felt like she had been doing it for years, trying to convince herself what she felt for Niko was nothing more than platonic feelings.

Her parent's attention went back to their food. Shen Shu felt a hand seeking her out, connecting with her. Her stomach fluttered. She now realized that it wasn't only a test for her self-control but a test for Niko, too.

He had it bad for her just as she had for him.

Shen Shu glanced at Niko, but he pretended not to notice, not to care, even as his hand gripped tighter around her fingers.