33 Mixed Signals

Lyra skipped a few steps to catch up to him before they enjoyed the company of standing side by side again.

"I think someone once told me that it's extremely selfish to be too kind," the sister-in-law said, turning her head upwards to look at Kurtis.

His kind eyes felly gently on her. "How so in this case?" he asked, continuing with his steady strides to the car which just came into sight.

He opened the door for the lady to get in first before jogging back to his seat and starting the car. Immediately, he flicked on all the buttons for the heater. Lyra placed her cold fingers in front of the fans to be the first to take the warm air.

"When you do things like this…" Lyra motioned at the scarf around her neck. "It can send mixed signals."

Kurtis tilted his head to the side. "You were cold, I gave you a scarf," he stated as a matter of fact, not seeing any wrong in his deed.

"And when you do that, you make me feel confused."

"What's there to be confused about when a gentleman offers a lady something to keep her warm?"

"While you uphold your 'gentleman' image, you make a lady feel special and when you continue to do that, that can lead to stronger feelings."

"Are you saying it's wrong to act like a gentleman?" Kurtis asked, taken aback by the strange turn of conversation.

"I'm saying," Lyra said, trying her best to control her cool. "Normally, men of this century don't act like gentlemen around girls who they aren't trying to court." When Kurtis stayed silent, she took the initiative to clarify even further. "When you're this caring and kind towards me," Lyra brought a hand to her heart. "I'm not at ease."

"You need to get used to it then," Kurtis replied, before lowering the hand brake and starting the car. "From the sound of it, guys in your generation need to learn to treat you better." He was using his authoritative brother-in-law tone again, even though he was only a little over two years her senior.

The younger girl sat back in her seat as he started maneuvering the car out of its parking space. It could be so frustrating making him understand something when he already has such strong opinions of his actions.

"Lyra, you're a great girl and you need to get used to being treated well. What I'm doing is the minimum of what any decent guy should do. Tell me Antoine would do the same because if he doesn't, you better find yourself someone new," Kurtis lectured while driving. "I'm serious," he added with an extra glance to his passenger.

His sister-in-law took a deep breath before exhaling. Kurtis didn't know what it meant but he already guessed she would have some kind of retort. She was never short of those when it came to their conversations.

"Antoine would do the same BECAUSE he is my BOYFRIEND," Lyra emphasized. "You're not so you can't and shouldn't be doing that."

Kurtis shook his head. "You're not getting it. Boyfriend or not, a guy seeing a girl trembling in the cold should offer up either his jacket or scarf. That's what I was taught growing up."

Lyra's shoulders drooped. This could go around in circles with that stubborn competitiveness of his.

"That's not right. You can't be rich, handsome, and kind to every girl you meet. That's just wrong, Kurtis," the sister-in-law said, shaking her head this time. "You're doing it on purpose for the wrong reasons."

The brother-in-law snorted. "Being a gentleman isn't wrong," he defended.

"Do you know what I thought of you when I first saw you?" Lyra asked when he was making a right turn. "Definite heartbreaker."

Kurtis glanced over at the girl with her arms crossed over her chest.

"And that's my fault how?" he asked, curious as to what she could possibly come up with to persecute him next.

"If you didn't be such a 'gentleman' to girls, then they wouldn't fall for you," Lyra explained slowly as if speaking to a child, though the conversation itself sounded a little strange to be a topic between adults in the first place.

A smug smile appeared on her brother-in-law's face as he rested his arm comfortably on the arm rest while steering the wheel with only one hand. Such an expression brought Lyra to a late realization.

[Her brother-in-law liked having girls falling for him left and right…]

"You like it don't you?" Lyra asked, accusation discernible in her voice as she turned her body to look at him.

Of course he shrugged an innocent "maybe."

"So you're not gonna stop?" She sounded infuriated.

Kurtis didn't give a response as he continued to steer the wheel with undisturbed composure. His sister-in-law was just so humorous that he couldn't help but want to test how much further he could push her patience.

For someone who looked so similar to Angela, she was really different. Angela was never this entertaining to tease because most of the time she wouldn't even give these conversations the time of day.

"Fine then…" Lyra bit out before forming a dissatisfied pout and leaning back in her cushion seat.

Her brother-in-law reached out his long arm and ruffled her hair with his large hand like he used to do to Rose whenever she had her tantrums.

"Lyra." Kurtis chuckled as if what she was talking about was completely absurd. "I can't help who I am," he said with a large grin.

He was doing it again. The passenger sighed as she looked forward into the empty streets.

"Then I guess I won't be the last victim."

It was still a green light, but the driver took a swift swerve to the right and slammed on the brakes, causing a loud screech that overpowered the soft radio.

Kurtis's eyes went big as he turned to look at Lyra who was unfazed by the little roller coaster ride that would've definitely earned a ticket had any police were present to witness the driver's mad skills.

"Tell me it's way too early to be awake and I heard wrong," he commanded with a newfound urgency.

Lyra then turned her head slightly to face her thunderstruck brother-in-law with an indifferent expression.

"I'm pretty sure you heard right."