Thanks to everyone who reads my story and a special thanks to everyone who leaves a review.

Just wanted to let you all know that I'll be travelling back to Europe for a month. I will try to update at least once but I don't know when or if I'll have access to a computer. Sorry :(

Chapter 9

Oh my gosh, Cristina, how could you agree to this? Cristina was staring at the clothes hanging in her closet. How was it possible not to have anything to wear? In the back, partially hidden by a two handbags, were her favourite pajamas, the ones with the bears. Even though she had sworn to burn them after the incident with Owen, Cristina just couldn't get herself to get rid of them. Instead, she settled for leaving them in her wardrobe where no one would see them. But at the moment Cristina wasn't concerned with her sleepwear. She was staring at her dresses. She needed to look perfect at dinner. The girl wasn't entirely sure what Preston wanted or whether she even wanted things to anywhere. All she knew was that she had to look hot and show what her ex had broken up with.

Come on, you've been standing here for 40 minutes. Just pick a dress. You look great in all of them, that's why you bought them. She was trying to be more decisive, after all she didn't have a lot of time to get ready. She hadn't even taken her shower yet. Finally, Cristina grabbed two hangers and stood in front of the mirror. She put each dress in front of her to see how it looked. The first was a navy blue dress, which went down to her knees. The top of dress was a see-through blue lace, which made the dress extremely sexy yet conservative. The other dress, Cristina had chosen, was a red one she had worn only once: the night she had met Owen. Stacy had made her buy something new and later dragged her out to a club, forgetting to mention she had a date. It wasn't something Cristina would usually wear as it was a bit revealing. And by "a bit" she meant very. It was sleeveless, with a deep v-neck and no back. The straps tied around her neck. The question was which one she should wear. She looked at the blue one again. This is a nice dress. It's respectable and fits you well. Then shelooked at the other one. But this one so bold. I don't want to play it safe anymore. Safe got me dumped and safe left me hiding in my room for months.

The red one it is. Picking an outfit gave Cristina more confidence. She laid her outfit out on her bed and went to check the time again. Crap, she thought. It was almost 5:30. How was it possible to spend almost two hours on clothes? She could feel the panic again. She took her clothes off and dashed into the bathroom.

Owen was mad. Scratch that. Owen was furious. He had just spoken with Stacy. Or rather Stacy had spoken with him. After hearing what she had to say, Owen just left. He was sick and tired of being in meaningless relationships. And he was hurt. Surprisingly though, he wasn't hurt because Stacy had cheated on him or because they had broken up, he was hurt because Cristina hadn't told him about it. He was sure that she knew. This explained the way she had acted that morning. He actually trusted her. He thought that they had grown closer over the past months. But apparently it was all in his head. Girls stick together. He needed to clear his head. He started aimlessly walking down the streets until he realized that what he needed was to talk to Cristina. And he needed to return the key Stacy had given him. But mostly to talk to Cristina.

He let himself in and called her name. He received no response and was about to leave when he heard that the shower was running. He decided to wait. After 20 minutes Owen heard the water go off. He wondered whether he should tell her he was there, but decided against it. He thought it would scare her more if he yelled while she was in the bathroom. He heard her get out of the shower and looked towards the bathroom. The door was left slightly and Owen could see Cristina rubbing lotion on one leg. Her skin was slightly pink from the warm water. Even though he felt like he was intruding, he couldn't look away. It wasn't until he felt the urge to run his hands all over her did he avert his gaze. Then Cristina came out and Owen stood up.

Cristina jumped back when she saw Owen standing in her living room.

"You should really stop sneaking up on me, it's creepy."

"We need to talk. Now!" Owen remembered he was angry. "I can't believe you!"

"Me? What have I done to you?" Now Cristina was the one confused. She could see that Owen was angry. The only explanation she could think of was that Stacy had told him. But why would he be here, angry at her?

"You know, I really thought we had something. I thought all the talk about friendship and all the time we spent together was just a load of crap." Owen started yelling.

"It wasn't. What are you talking about?" Cristina was startled by Owen's outburst.

"You know what I'm talking about. I can't believe you didn't tell me about Stacy! But I guess my feeling don't really matter to you do they? I guess all those nights I spent helping you study don't really matter!" Owen continued to raise his voice and unconsciously walked closer to Cristina.

Now it was her turn to get mad: "You really think I'm that selfish? Thanks, good to know! For your information, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you. What was I supposed to say, huh? 'Hey, uh, Owen, your girlfriend made out with someone else. Wanna get some ice cream?' It wasn't my place to say anything."

Cristina wasn't expecting silence from Owen. She was suddenly aware of their closeness. In the spur of the moment both of them had moved closer together, leaving only a few inches between their bodies. Cristina also felt very naked, only in a towel that barely covered her. And Owen's intense gaze wasn't helping at all. Then just as she was about to break the silence, Owen pushed her up at the wall and kissed her. It was an angry kiss, as if he was trying to show her how hurt he was. He moved one of his hands to her lower back while keeping the other one at the small of her neck. He could feel Cristina melting into him so he forced his tongue into her mouth and continued exploring her with his hands.

Cristina was shocked by what had just happened, but couldn't deny that it felt amazing. But then reality hit her. She couldn't be kissing Owen. Plus, she had a date to get ready for. She placed her hands on Owen's chest and gently pushed him away. He opened his eyes, which were noticeable darker and stared into hers. He moved his hands from her body and placed them on the wall on both sides of her, essentially trapping her.

"What was that?" Cristina asked once she had caught her breath.

"Something I've wanted to do for a long, long time."

Cristina couldn't hold his intense gaze and looked down awkwardly. Sensing she was uncomfortable, Owen lowered his arms and took a few steps backwards:

"I'm sorry. Should I not have done that? It's just that it's you, in a towel. And you kissed me back if I'm not mistaken."

Cristina self-consciously tried pulled that towel down: "No, it felt…it's just that… I have a date to get ready for." Holding her towel tightly around her body she walked into her bedroom, once again leaving Owen confused.

"Wait, what?"