She pulled away from him for a bit. He was too close to her. She couldn't breathe when he was that close to her. It was almost like being next to an irresistible force.
"Why?" he repeated. "I have been waiting for an answer for two years."
"I was humiliated, Owen. I had put out myself out there and I was shot down. I was embarrassed and I was thinking that you just thought it was a continuation of my schoolgirl crush," she said. "I was 21 and you were 29. I didn't think that you were ever going to take me, seriously. Besides, you told me you were with Lindsay. You were dating someone else and I figured there was no place for me."
"If only you had waited to hear me finish what I had to say, Cristina but you rushed off like a madwoman in your car and drove off," he said. "That's why I called Clarissa to tell her to give you the number I was using in Buenos Aires. I wanted you to call me. I wanted to tell you that I was willing to break up with Lindsay – to stop dating her."
Cristina stared at him. She really didn't know what to say. She hadn't called him to find out what he wanted. If she had known that, then maybe, everything would have been different.
"Then why didn't you call me?" she asked.
"I wanted to hear from you first. If you really wanted to be with me, I thought you would call me. When I told Clarissa to give you the number, she also gave me your number. I waited two weeks, waiting for you to call me back. But I knew that you weren't going to do it, so I called my number but when I called, I only got the message that the number was no longer in service," he said. "I tried it a couple of times, thinking that maybe, I got the number wrong, but I kept getting the same message."
"Oh," she said. Then, she thought about it for a bit. "I know what happened. I got a call from Farallon and they told me to come in for a second interview. I did and I got the job at Farallon. It was really a whirlwind. Within two weeks, I was out of the country and Farallon had given me a new number for the country that I was working in. Dad disconnected my phone, since I wasn't using it, anymore. He said Farallon saved him a ton of money, since he didn't have to pay for my phone calls anymore. So that phone no longer worked, when you called."
"Oh, that was my bad luck," he said. "I should have tried sooner but I was just giving you some time. Little did I know that my own company had worked against me, in this instance."
"I guess," she said, quietly.
"So how are you enjoying it in Mexico?" he asked.
"I am doing fine. Very enjoyable," she said. "I have been there six months."
"Is that where you met your boyfriend?" he asked. She gave him a quick glance. So he knew that she had a boyfriend.
"Yes," she replied. "His name is Adam Kim. He's 23 and a construction engineer. He is a great guy."
"Is it serious?" he asked.
"Well, we have been together for four months. I guess as serious as four months could be," she told him. He shook his head.
"I have known you for eight years and you couldn't give me the benefit of the doubt to call me," he said. He was still upset about the fact that she never called.
"Technically, that's not true. We haven't really known each other for eight years," she said. He was surprised. What was she talking about?
"What? We met when you were 15. That's eight years," Owen said.
"No, it's like 10 days," she said. "Two days when I was 15, two days when I was 17, two days when I was 19, three days when I was 21 and if we count today, that's 10 days. We have known each other for 10 days. I have spent more time with Adam in the last four months."
"Well, when you put it like that," he said. "It does seem minimal but we have lived more in those 10 days. Don't you agree?"
She snickered a bit. She looked around and realized that they were the only two people left on the balcony. Everyone else had gone back inside.
"I guess we should get back inside. We're the only ones out here. Adam is probably looking for me," she said, as she made a move to go back inside. He gently pulled her back.
"So what if we are the only ones out there," he said. "I want to spend as much time as I can with you in this limited time that I have. Is that so wrong?"
"No," she said. "So what do you want to do?"
"Listen to the music coming from the banquet hall. The dj is playing a great song," he said, putting a finger behind his ear. "You can dance with me."
"It's not that kind of party," she said. "Just a drinking, eating and mingling kind of a party. It's a getting to know you shindig and I really should give other people a chance to know me." He sighed.
"Okay, go if you want," he said. She started to walk away. As she almost reached the door back to the hall, she turned around and looked at him. He was staring the other way, taking in the city skyline. She walked back to him and touched him on his back.
"If you really want to dance," she said. He broke out in a huge grin.
"Of course," he said, as he took her in his arms. They started dancing the normal way with her hand in his with each of them having a hand on the other's back. As the song progressed, their bodies moved closer together and their positions shifted, as she put her arms around his neck and he responded by putting both his hands around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder and there was very little space between the two of them. The smell of her hair was getting him drunk with desire. He knew he shouldn't because she had a boyfriend but he raised her face towards him and kissed her. If she fought the kiss, he would stop, immediately. But she didn't. She didn't stop him and she kissed him back. Their mouths were hungry for each other as their tongues thrashed together. Their kisses became ever more ardent, as they continued to kiss. Then, they finally stopped. They were both breathless as they stared at each other for a moment.
"I'm with Adam," she said, as if to remind the both of them that she had a boyfriend. He released her face from his hands.
"Yes, I know," he said. "But it doesn't change what just happened and the way that I feel." He sought her lips again and they continued to kiss. Between kisses, he whispered, "You are like my drug and I can't get enough of you."
Finally, she pulled away from him. "I can't do this right now," she said. It was basically the same words he had told her, two years ago, when she had dropped him off at the airport.
"I understand," he said. "But if you want to be free to pursue this, let him know. I will be here waiting."
"Okay," she said. She was going to say something more when she heard Adam's voice.
"Oh, there you are," he said. "I have been looking for you all over. I had a glass of white wine for you but since I couldn't find you, I had to drink it." He looked curiously at Owen. Cristina made two steps back away from Owen. She didn't want Adam seeing her standing so close to Owen.
"Oh, hey Adam," she said. "Sorry about that. I met up with an old family friend here. Adam Kim, meet Owen Hunt."
Adam and Owen shook hands. "Yes, I have known Cristina and her family for a while, now," Owen said. "I went to college with her sister and her brother in law."
"Owen Hunt – that name sounds familiar," Adam said. His young, handsome face lit up with recognition. "Ah, yes, you're one of the leads on that massive Filipino project."
"Yes, I am," Owen said. "I have been there for about a year now. It's a big project but it is going well. So I hear you work with Cristina in Mexico."
"Yup," Adam said. "I am a construction engineer, there." He turned to Cristina, "Um, they're serving food, now. Do you want to grab a plate?"
"Yeah, sure," she said. "Owen, I will see you. Okay." As she and Adam walked away, Owen watched as the young man put his arm around Cristina's back, as they stepped back into the banquet hall.
"Remember what I said," Owen said, loudly, so she could hear. She turned around and gave him a brief smile and nodded.
Owen turned back to his view of the skyline. He wasn't sure quite what to feel. He put himself out there for her.
Cristina did not see Owen for the rest of the night. When the party was waning, she told Adam that she wanted to go back to the hotel since they had their flight back to Mexico, early next morning.
After brushing their teeth and washing their faces, they both crashed on to their bed. They were awakened by the sound of Cristina's phone ringing
"Oh, my God," Adam said. "Who could be ringing at this hour?" Cristina looked at the screen. It was her dad.
"Morning, dad. It's pretty early, you know," she said, as she answered the phone.
"Oh, sorry, Cristina," Joseph said. "I wanted to catch you before you all left for the airport."
"Oh, okay, dad," she said. "What can I help you with?"
"Let me talk to Adam," Joseph said. Cristina handed over the phone to her boyfriend. "Dad wants to talk to you."
Adam then started having a long conversation with her father in Korean. Even though he was only half-Korean, Adam could speak his father's native tongue like if he had been born and bred in Seoul. Cristina knew that her father enjoyed speaking Korean with Adam. Cristina and Clarissa only knew words here and there but were never fluent in Korean.
After his conversation, Adam handed back the phone to her. He got up and went to the bathroom. "Okay, dad, what did you want to talk to Adam about?" she asked.
"Um, I was asking if he would like to join our family for Thanksgiving," Joseph asked.
"Thanksgiving?" Cristina repeated. Thanksgiving was a couple of months away. "Isn't this a little early to be inviting anybody for Thanksgiving?
"Yes, but he said he would be delighted to do so. Plus he said he was going to do a couple of Korean dishes for us, too," Joseph said.
"Aww, that's good, I guess," Cristina said. She knew her dad admired men who could cook and even more so, if they could cook ethnic Korean food.
"Thank you, Cristina," Joseph said.
"For what?" she asked, a little puzzled.
"For dating a nice Korean boy," her dad said. "I like him so much. He would fit in so well with our family. Think about it, please." Cristina knew what her father meant about thinking about it. He was thinking about Adam as a possible son-in-law. After all, she was now 23 years old, the same age Clarissa was when she got married.
"Uh, yeah, Adam is great," Cristina murmured. "Anyway, dad, talk to you later."
Adam came back and slipped back under the covers. He reached over and took her in his arms. "Your dad is a cool dude. Much cooler than my dad. Just saying." He kissed her on her neck and then, he fell back asleep. They could grab about two more hours of sleep before they needed to head to the airport.
Cristina did not go back to sleep. Her brain was full of so many thoughts. She didn't know what to do.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you take the time to do so.