"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Why?" – Arizona asked, a little confused and weirdly flushed at the same time.
"Nothing, just wanted to know. After our talk… I wanted to make sure you're ok." – Amelia said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. What about you?" – Arizona tried to sound as nice as possible. She noticed Amelia's face shrinking and honestly, she feel the same way inside.
"Yeah, trying to deal with it inside. These feelings. Can I… uhm… can I ask you something?" – Amelia asked, pulling Arizona a little further from everyone's sight.
"Yeah, sure, what is it?" – Arizona held Amelia's hand.
"Don't be a stranger, ok?" – Amelia asked, melting Arizona's heart.
"I won't. I care about you a lot to do so" – Arizona smiled and they returned to the table.
Mel noticed the thicken air between the two women and realized something already happened between them. Or it was about to happen. Suddenly she felt weird, like a stranger that didn't belong there. Well, she actually didn't. She was just a guest, Arizona's plus one. She became even quieter once she realized that.
"So, Dr. López, if the 3 hospitals accept your application, have you decided which one you'll choose?" – Maggie asked.
"Please, call me Mel. It's weird being called a doctor around you, all these actually great doctors" – Mel kindly asked, making everyone smile – "My dream is Grey Sloan, mostly because of the opportunity of working and learning from Dr. Grey. But I'll embrace whichever comes, they are all outstanding hospitals"
"I'll insist you call me Meredith, then" – Meredith joked.
"Do you have any family in here?" – Amelia asked.
"Not in Seattle, no. My uncle lives in Portland. I have a few cousins living everywhere in the US, but my closest family still lives in Mexico" – Mel answered.
"Do you have any siblings?" – Maggie asked
"Yes, two. A brother and a sister. I'm the youngest" – Mel answered.
"All doctors?" – Winston asked.
"No, all in business positions. I'm the only doctor" – Mel said.
"Guys, it feels like we're interrogating her" – Arizona joked – "I've promised her she would have a good time tonight"
"I'm having a good time, don't worry, Dr. Robbins" – Mel smiled.
"Arizona is right, we're hovering" – Maggie affirmed – "Let's talk about something else. Are you single, Mel?"
"Guys!" – Arizona protested and Amelia quickly changed her expression, becoming tense.
"It's ok, really. I am single, yes" – Mel answered in a loving way, looking at Arizona right after. Amelia noticed and felt a knot tightening in her stomach.
"Why all the residents are single? If we think about it, we were all single, too" – Maggie enquired.
"Well, we didn't even have time to sleep. Relationship is way more complicated" – Amelia affirmed.
"I actually dated for a while during the residency, but it ended recently" – Mel commented.
"Did you have the time to balance these two things?" – Winston asked.
"I did. I actually believe it's easy to concentrate when you have a fix partner. As long as it's reciprocated, of course" – Mel said.
"Well said" – Meredith joined the new friend.
"And he was a doctor, too?" – Amelia asked Mel.
"She. It was a woman" – Mel corrected, making Amelia blush hard – "Yes, she was. But I met her at a coffee cart in a park, I had no idea she was a doctor"
"I'm sorry, I just… I…" – Amelia was embarrassed, such as Arizona, since she didn't want the Boswell subject to appear in the conversation.
"It's ok. It is strength of habit" – Mel tried to ease Amelia's mind – "I've been practicing with my parents since I was a teen" - she chuckled.
"Well, we have a very diverse group here" – Maggie affirmed.
"What do you mean, baby?" – Winston asked, confused.
"Well, Mel and Arizona are lesbians, we're straight, Meredith don't like labels, and Amelia is… well, actually, how do you define yourself these days, sis?" – Maggie asked Amelia, who blushed.
"Bi…? Well, I've date a non-binary person. And women. And men" – Amelia answered, smiling shyly.
Meredith's phone interrupted the conversation making both Arizona and Amelia sigh in relief. The conversation was heading a path that might reveal a few things they would rather maintain private. After all, they weren't together – and didn't look like they would be at all, in the end.
Meredith had to rush to the hospital due to a 911 page, and that was the perfect excuse for Arizona and Mel leave, too. Arizona was starting to cross the line between sober and tipsy and being so close to Amelia could lead her to do something stupid.
They said their goodbyes, thanking the hosts for the great dinner. When Arizona said goodbye to Amelia, the brunette pulled her close in a hug – one that made people gaze suspiciously – and whispered in her ear.
"It's really hard to stand by what I said yesterday when you're close to me" – Amelia said and quickly untangled herself from the hug, not giving Arizona a chance to respond.
When Arizona and Mel were in the cab heading to their hotel, Mel broke the silence.
"So, do you and Dr. Shepherd are a thing…?" – Mel asked, smiling, a little embarrassed for being so intimate.
"We're friends" – Arizona answered, a little harsh – "It's complicated" – she confessed in the end.
"I see" – Mel remained quiet after that.
Arizona had her head in the clouds, thinking about what Amelia said when she was leaving the house. She was distracted, but more than that, she was a little pissed. Since day one, Amelia took the lead, making the first move all of the times: popping up at her hotel room, confessing her feelings, assuring their dinner was a date. Then, she was also the one who decided to stop wherever this thing was going. Arizona had to navigate through all of those decisions, and tried hard to put her feelings aside and understand the plausible reasons Amelia had. But now, to tell her that, whispering in her ear, felt like marking her territory, showing the world Arizona was taken.
"Are you tired?" – Arizona asked Mel, when they were almost arriving at the hotel.
"No, not so much. Why?" – Mel looked at her sharply.
"Want to grab a drink at the bar?" – Arizona suggested.
"Sure, I'd love to" – Mel agreed, even though she wanted to invite Arizona to have this drink up in her room.