Mina found herself feeling chilled despite the warm day. She was sitting on the balcony of her apartment enjoying the sun and the unusually quiet Sunday. Here she was back in LA feeling confused and worried. Why was it life never went the way she planned. Just when things were going well, a visit to San Francisco to see her friends had forever changed the course of her life.
She had finally completed shooting her latest film and the cast and crew had had a great party. She had been overjoyed at this latest success in her life. The film would open in Christmas, and although she had not seen the edited version she and the other members of the cast were convinced it would make a big hit with the audience. There was no guarantee however, but despite all that, she was happy to finally have true success. This role would undoubtedly lead to others.
That same weekend after hearing about the completion of the movie, Serena had invited her up to San Francisco to celebrate her success as well as the arrival of Rita and Andrew who were visiting. It hadn't taken much convincing from Rita to get Andrew to accompany her to San Francisco. It was a prime opportunity to see Darien, his best friend whom he hadn't seen in years.
It had been fun. But Rita hadn't been able to attend the party. She had a previous engagement with an entomologist and fellow member of the archaeological team with whom she'd worked on a dig in North Africa. The party had been fun though, Serena had really went all out.
Mina couldn't help feeling a certain detachment from Serena now. With each time she saw her, she seemed to grow more regal and distant. She always seemed to have something on her mind. She had changed so much since they'd been in school together.
They used to be so much alike, but it seemed in the last few years Serena had really changed a lot. She was more like the Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium than the Serena she remembered. She was still one of her best friends and the most honest person Mina had ever met but she was slowly realizing that Serena was not and would never be the same flighty air head she had once been.
Serena had spent a good portion of the evening being a good hostess and the other half talking seriously with Darien, those two were definitely intense. Amy had been no fun either, spending all her time with Zach, they were definitely nauseating. She hadn't had to spend the evening alone however, after all she was a friend of guest of honor number two.
Andrew had been just as she had remembered him with the exception of being even more handsome. He was just as sweet as he had been in the past and she was beginning to understand how this man had been Serena's first big crush.
They had spent a good portion of the night talking. They basically caught up on their lives up to this point. Andrew was now a certified MD at Tokyo General Hospital, Pediatrics naturally. It suited him. She found herself deeply attracted to him.
How typical. Strange how the daughter of the planet associated with love had no luck in the affairs of the same name. It was true irony. She didn't think it was as ironic as it was depressing. Here in front of her was the perfect man and he was already attached, and had been for a really long time.
Her depression had grown more intense as they had gone outside by the pool to continue their conversation. She tried to cover it up with her sunny smiles and warm-hearted laughs. Andrew was very much in tune with her emotions however, and easily recognized the shift in her emotions.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Why do you think something's wrong?" Mina asked smiling up at him?
"Call it male intuition," he said grinning.
He had the most beautiful smile. His eyes seemed to twinkle and the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled was just so very cute. Mina found herself simply staring into his pale blue eyes. Could it be she was actually about to kiss him? That would be too embarrassing, he belonged to someone else.
She found herself in a daze. She was in a flurry of overwhelming emotion and shock when she found his lips closing over her own. With him this close she could smell the sweet scent of his skin and feel the warmth of his body as his hands came to rest on her hips. She closed her eyes and let herself go. She was so lost in him it would be morning before she realized she hadn't kissed him, he'd kissed her but it didn't matter anymore; they spent the evening kissing each other.
Lita hugged herself, trying to keep out the chilly wind as she walked down the busy street to work. It hadn't taken her long to find a good gym in New York. It had been one of the first things she sought out. She hadn't needed one for the first few days or so as it had taken her a lot of energy to figure out the source of the litter box smell in her apartment.
She had gotten rid of the drapes and dumped the carpets and the couch. Her credit card had taken quite a beating, finding a nice couch to replace the smelly old furniture the old woman had left, and a complete redecorating job. It was all worth it of course as her apartment was now truly her own. As she walked she bumped shoulders with someone she was trying to pass.
"I'm so sorry," she apologized hurriedly. She turned to make sure whoever it was she'd bumped into was ok. She found herself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes. This guy was quite a bit taller than she was, quite an accomplishment in height, and the wavy auburn hair that hung past his shoulder made an odd but attractive combination with his business suit and full-length black coat. She opened her mouth slightly to say something but found her mind was empty.
He simply smiled at her. "It's ok, really."
His voice was so deep. She was silent. She was staring at him. Why was she staring at him?
"Is something wrong miss?"
She was silent for another second, before she found her voice. "I'm so sorry," she began hurriedly, in a nervous tone she was not used to hearing from herself. "I didn't mean to stare it's just that…" Her brain began the hurried process of trying to come up with something other than 'you're absolutely gorgeous'
"It's jut that… I… uh… You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"I'm afraid that's unlikely, I'm not from around here."
"Neither am I."
"Your accent is familiar. You wouldn't be Japanese would you?"
"Yeah, I am but I was living in France for a while before I moved here."
I Live in San Francisco; I'm here on business.
"That explains the suit." He grinned at her bluntness.
"Yeah, I'm one of those graphic design people, mostly the business side of it of course. You?"
"I'm a Chef," she glanced at her watch, "a very late chef."
"Where do you work?" He asked as they began walking together. "I was on my way to lunch, I wouldn't mind having something you cooked."
Lita smiled at him. He liked her smile as much as she seemed to like his. "I work at the Blue Lagoon."
"What a coincidence. That's where I was headed. I heard it was really good. It just opened right?"
"Yeah that's right. It's not a good time for me to be late for work."
"I'm sure your boss won't mind. You were after all convincing a potential customer to come in… Well. What exactly is it that you serve? You have to give me a reason to come in," he urged on, "you're supposed to be convincing me…"
"Well… we serve…"
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