The dizziness she felt was euphoric.
Kristina wasn't sure how long she and Dex had been in Rice Plaza, the cold air chomping at their cheeks. His lips were still firmly on hers, moving against them ever-so-gently. There was an intensity building within her, clawing its way up to the surface. She remained mostly still: she gently grabbed his upper arms to steady herself as the rush to her head figuratively swept her off her feet.
Dex eventually pulled away, his eyes fluttering open. He felt guilt and shame course through him as he saw the sparkle in Kristina's eye, shocked and confused. He swiftly let go of her cheeks and took a step back.
"Oh God…" his breathing was sharp and quick, "Krissy, I…damn, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
She stood still, eyes closed, coming down from the high she was caught up in.
"I'm so sorry. God," Dex shook his head, turning and speed-walking off. Kristina opened her eyes and watched him leave, entering the nearby park. Part of her wanted to stay put and evaluate what had just happened, but another part of her wanted to sprint towards him. And sprint she did.
"Dex!" she called out, "Wait!"
Dex made it to an open spot on the grass as her voice tickled his ears. He slowly turned around to see her rushing towards him. When Kristina got close enough, she launched herself at him and kissed him back. He stumbled backwards a step or two when she collided with him. When he managed to stand upright, he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her suspended off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck to stay in place.
Their lips moved in perfect sync, surface against surface before it went deeper. Kristina felt herself grow dizzy again, pulling Dex into her. His breathing was hot and deep, feeling an intense rush to his head. She swallowed the moan that left his mouth before pulling away, her nose mere inches away from his. They stare deep into one another's eyes, a heavy silence between them that's broken when Dex pulls her back in.
His second kiss is deeper and firmer, slow and sensual. Kristina moved a hand up into his hair, the other hand gently on his shoulder. She matches his depth expertly, her cheeks burning a bright red. She pulled away to rest her forehead against his. All either person could hear was the sound of their deep, labored breathing.
"God…" Kristina's voice was soft, cracking as she cupped his cheeks. His eyes sparkled as he stared at her. He tried to force himself to speak, to say something, anything, but he stayed quiet.
"I'm not mad," Kristina ran a thumb against his cheek, her tone soothing. He instinctively held her tighter against him, "...Please say something."
"You…" he took a deep breath, still trying to calm himself down, "You have no idea…how badly…I wanted…to do that."
Kristina smiled in response, "I'm glad you did. I'm glad it went like this."
"We…We can't just be friends."
"And I don't want us to be."
The tension in Dex's posture left with her words. He gently let her go, making sure she stood on her own two feet. Her stare was passionate and joyful, and he could see a distinct rosy color on her cheeks.
"I want more," she finally said, her hands in her jacket pockets, "That's what I was trying to say earlier; I just couldn't get the words out."
"And that's my fault-"
"No, God no. It's mine. I was taking too long to just say it because I was so worried that me saying it would cost me you. You were brave enough to take that leap first."
"You? Being scared?"
"I do feel it sometimes, yes, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart."
Dex felt his heart skip a beat, "...I mean that much?"
"You do," Kristina nodded, pulling one hand out of a pocket to hold his, "I want us to be something. I know my feelings, I know what I know about you and I'm happy about all of it. You're just…you're too good to pass up."
"So are you."
"And…" Kristina sighed, "if it means everything we do is in secret, where all our dates are Chinese takeout in your apartment late at night, then that's what it is. What matters to me is you, and I want to be with you."
"I want to be with you too," Dex replied, wrapping his arms around her. His hands were balled together against the small of her back, "I've wanted it for a while."
"No, really?" Kristina giggled.
"Really," Dex laughed with her, "But seriously: meeting you and getting to know you…there's no one I'd rather spend time with. I've lived a life of sadness and pain; you've injected nothing but joy and bliss into it. I couldn't be more grateful, and I'd happily hide us from the world if it meant I still had you."
"So…we're doing this," Kristina said, "we're going to give it, give us, a try."
"That we are."
"...Good," Kristina leaned up, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Dex on the lips, "Then I think we need to get our bearings in order. Next stop: Noodle Buddha."
"And so it begins," Dex winked as he let Kristina go. He offered the crook of his elbow to her, and she happily obliged.
"Yes, I know it's getting late, Ava! I am free to be out and about in Port Charles by myself, you know."
Nina scowled as she talked on the phone. She walked through the restaurant district of town, stopping by the PC Grill.
"You do know there is a madwoman with a hook out there, right? Who hooked me and murdered Brando? Brando, Sonny's cousin? Why are you even down there, anyway?"
"I plan on making a reservation at the PC Grill: a date night for Sonny and I."
"In person?"
"I can't do that?"
"I mean, you can. It's just weird, and given the current circumstances, dangerous."
"I just left Crimson for the day, I wanted to take a walk, I'm killing two birds with one stone. And even then, this…hook person hasn't attacked in quite awhile. I think it's safe enough to go outside."
"It's your funeral. You can do what you want; I just think it's safer and easier to call it in."
"Uh huh…" Nina rolled her eyes, "Well, thanks for the advice, Ava."
"You're always welcome."
"How are you doing?"
"Much better. I should be getting discharged tomorrow. You have no idea how badly I want to go home and be with my loved ones, which, of course, includes you."
"Aw," Nina grinned, "well, whenever you're released, I'll be there to pick you up."
"I appreciate it."
"You have a good night, okay? I'll talk to you later."
"Have a good night."
"You too," the line went dead. Nina pocketed her phone as she stepped closer to the restaurant. It was a packed night, waiters going back and forth between busy tables. Nina frowned at the sight before proceeding to walk off, "You win this one, Ava…"
The woman walks further down until she reaches the crosswalk. When the walk light flashed, she rushed across the white lines on the asphalt. She ended up directly across the street from the PC Grill, right in front of Noodle Buddha. She looked into the windows of the restaurant, eyebrows shooting up as she caught sight of an occupied bench. She did her best to quietly slip into the eatery, taking a booth directly behind them. She was grateful that there was enough divider material to shield her from their line of sight.
"What do you recommend?" Dex asked Kristina, looking over the menu.
"I love the chow mein and teriyaki," Kristina replied, pointing at different selections, "but their orange chicken is really good too. You literally can't go wrong with anything. The Yi family is incredible."
"You know that didn't make anything easier for me, right?"
Kristina shrugged, "I know what I like."
"Whatever," Dex playfully rolled his eyes, taking a sip of water.
"What are they doing…?" Nina whispered to herself, her thoughts racing a mile a minute.
"So…" Dex cleared his throat, "when you said that our dates would be Chinese takeout at my place, I thought we'd be at my place."
"Well, yeah, but the place is super empty. I figured dining in wouldn't hurt this one time. Plus, this is our first date. I want it to be somewhat special."
"Well, I appreciate it," Dex smiled as the waiter came by their table. Nina slouched down in her seat, hoping she'd be ignored. To her luck, another waiter approached her.
"Is there anything I can get you?"
"Just water for now," Nina's response was quiet and quick. Both waiters walked off shortly thereafter.
"Okay," Kristina cleared her throat, setting her glass down, "so."
"So?" Dex asked.
"I think it's time I start cracking the Dex Heller code."
"Oh yeah? Do your worst."
"Alright," Kristina narrowed her eyes, trying to think of the perfect question. Dex wore a smirk on his face, which slowly began to slip away the longer she stared.
The first one was a sucker punch: "What was the best day of your life?"
Dex sat on the question for longer than he would've liked. He bit his bottom lip as he thought of what to say. Each and every memory that came to mind, the ones he thought were happy enough to work, faded into a sorrow he was accustomed to as a child. The more he dug, the sadder it became.
"Hard question?"
"...Kind of," his voice cracked.
Kristina's smirk instantly dropped as she observed his posture, "Oh…crap. Dex, I'm sorry-"
"I was twelve."
Kristina froze in place. Nina's ears perked up the more she processed the scene her ears bore witness to.
"I…" Dex took a deep breath, "If there was one thing my family was united over, it was baseball. We're all big Dodgers fans, and when I was twelve, I got to see them in person."
"Tell me more," Kristina slightly leaned forward, an elbow on the table and a fist under her chin.
"It was early October in 2008. My dad won some tickets to the game from a raffle at his job."
"What did he do for a living?"
"He's a cop. Or, at least, he was a cop. I don't know for sure; I haven't spoken to him since I left for the military."
"Oh," she nodded, sticking her bottom lip out, "well, uh, how was the game?"
"Fun, and I mean fun. It was a tight game, three to one against the Cubs, but still. We had some decent seats near home plate, kind of in the middle of the lower sections. The Dodgers were not only first in the NL West, but by winning the game, they knocked the Cubs out of the playoffs and got to advance further in. The whole stadium erupted in joy and…God, it was the best. It was easily the best day of my life, one of the very few times my brothers and I got along, and ultimately, it's one of the few happy childhood memories I have."
"Wow," Kristina's words were breathless. Her cheeks turned pink as she took in the passion Dex gave her, "that's…that's pretty cool, being at a baseball game with that much importance and very little conflict."
"If I could relive it one hundred times over, I would."
"If the circumstances weren't what they were, you and Dante would get along great."
"Circumstances?" Nina whispered to herself, the realization soon hitting her like a train. She quickly glanced at Dex before turning away, trying to sink into her spot in the booth.
"Yeah…" Dex sighed sharply, "Are you sure this is okay?"
"The place is empty," Kristina gestured out at the rest of the restaurant, "and if you really sense trouble, then we can get our meal to go."
Dex stared at her sheepishly, gently biting his bottom lip. Kristina stared for a moment before sighing in defeat. The waiter approached them to refill their glasses.
"Actually," she held up her index finger, "is there any way we can get our food to go?"
The waiter nodded and walked off. Nina huffed silently and scooted towards the wall, shielding her face with her hand. She heard footsteps pass her by and the sound of a bell ringing a few moments later. She watched Kristina pass by the window, and for a second, locked eyes with Dex when he followed. There was fear and shock in his pupils in the time Nina had to see him; it tugged at her a bit.
"They're…together," Nina muttered to herself as she relaxed and centered herself in the booth, "They're going out…" she pulled out her phone, scrolling to find Sonny's contact. Her thumb hovered over the phone icon for a moment before she decided to pocket the device. When the waiter returned to take her order, she gave him enough money to cover her drink before walking out, her steps firm and purposeful as she marched down towards the Harborview Towers.
"Having fun?"
"A little bit."
Dex and Kristina sat together on his sofa, the former's legs crossed at the ankles on the coffee table and the latter's bare feet on the cushion beneath her. He took a sip of beer from his bottle while she swallowed some chow mein noodles caught in her chopsticks.
"Yeah?" Dex cleared his throat, placing the bottle down. He grabbed his food container as an exchange, full of orange chicken, and settled into his spot.
"Yeah."
Dex looked her over, "...I'm sorry."
"For?"
"Rushing us out of the restaurant."
"It's okay," Kristina replied, "I get why you did; you were nervous about being seen. I shouldn't have had us sit down-"
"No, no, it's fine. I appreciate what you did regardless of my anxiety over it," the image of Nina seeing him flashed in his head. He grimaced at the thought, a small wave of dread shooting through him, but he swifty regained his composure, "And besides, I was enjoying it."
"It was a taste of what could be if certain people butt out of our business," Kristina winked, taking another helping of chow mein.
"Yeah…"
"Yeah. But anyway," Kristina settled into her seat, setting the food down on her side of the coffee table. Dex turned towards her, his food on his side, "let's pick up where we left off. I asked you something, so you get to ask me something."
"Oh yeah?" Dex clasped his hands together over the top of the sofa, "Alright, I got one. What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"
"Ask me something else."
"Why?"
"I already told you it: I tried to extort my professor."
"You did, but something tells me you have another answer."
Kristina playfully shot Dex a look before thinking the prompt over. Her eyes darted up, shooting from side to side, "...Okay. I got one."
"Lay it on me."
"Years ago, when I was about eighteen or nineteen, I snuck onto a plane with a guy I had a crush on and ended up staying with him in the Dominican Republic for about a day."
"...Wow," Dex laughed in shock, "you did that?"
"Yep."
"How? Why? I have to know."
"So the guy I had a crush on, his name was Ethan. He was tall, dark hair, blue eyes, Australian, super cool and very, very handsome. I loved him."
"I see," Dex nodded slowly, "Did something happen between you two?"
"I mean, I was definitely interested in being with him, but he always said we're just friends and I was too young for him and all that stuff. Plus, at the time, he was married…ish."
"Married-ish?"
"He was going to the Dominican Republic to get a divorce from his wife. I saw him going to the airport and I decided to follow him. I got a ticket, made it through security, and ended up sitting with him on the plane."
"Something tells me he wasn't thrilled about it."
"He was not," Kristina shook her head, "He swore up and down he'd get me on the first flight back. I ended up staying overnight, and we went clubbing and had some fun. I was with him when he was signing his divorce papers and…"
"And?"
"...I almost married him right then and there."
"Oh my God, Kristina," Dex stiffened his spine, pulling his legs, bent at the knees, onto the sofa.
"He was wearing a white suit, I had a white dress, it was perfect for what it was! Eventually, though, my parents tracked us down, and after Ethan got his divorce, we flew back here on my dad's private jet. They were pissed, but I was an adult and I could make my own choices."
Dex sat in silence, running the story over again in his head, "That…wow."
"Crazy, huh?"
"Very, but…"
"But?"
"It's interesting," Dex moved closer to her, "I mean, it's reckless and insane, but I know you well enough to know you're a bit of a wild child at heart. Kristina Corinthos-Davis is nothing if not interesting, isn't she?"
"That she is," Kristina's voice was quiet but perky as she moved closer to him, "I'm as interesting as I am unpredictable."
"And that's something I like a lot. It's a miracle you can put up with how boring I am."
"Meh, that just makes you easy to deal with," she shrugged.
"Thanks," he laughed. Kristina grinned in response before leaning against the back of the sofa. The pair gazed into each other's eyes, their surroundings beginning to melt away. Kristina felt her cheeks flush as Dex looked her over, his eyes darting in a few different directions as they scanned her face.
"What's on your mind?" her voice was soft.
"Just…you," he responded, his tone gentle. He reached over to tuck some of her hair behind the ear to his right, "and how pretty you look."
"Pretty?"
"Beautiful, actually."
"...Come here," the words that left her lips were airy as she cupped his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. The passion hit them almost instantly, an intensity that made their heads spin. Kristina wrapped her arms around Dex's neck, her body pressing against his. Her legs haphazardly wrapped around his waist as she settled into his lap. He swallowed her moan as their lips continued to move in sync, his hands wrapped around her torso and sprawled across her back. He eventually pulled away, taking a deep breath as their foreheads touched. They stared at one another, a deep haze clouding their minds with each passing second. Kristina felt her heart skip a beat as she took every breathless, hot word of his question in.
"What do you want to do, Kristina?"
