A smirk played on Zaria's lips as she leaned in to ask. "Are you indirectly proposing that I be your girlfriend?"
Rino nodded in disagreement.
"Not really," he answered coolly, taking a sip of his drink without breaking eye contact. "But you can pretend I did."
Zaria broke into a genuine laughter, full-bodied, and loud enough that Madling turned in their direction.
But neither of them cared.
Well, I don't see anything funny with what I just said that caused you to laugh in such a way, he thought amusingly, shocked at the kind of joke Zaria laughed at.
***
Rino sat quietly, sipping his VitaFruit juice while the soft café music played in the background, with the occasional clinking of glass cups from different tables in the café. The flavors of the mango and citrus of which the fruit juice was made touched his tongue, but his mind had long drifted from the drink.
Across the table, opposite him, Zaria drank her won glass, her lips parting slightly with each sip.
