A/N: Okay, I've definitely taken way too long on this chapter, but I have an excuse. Sort of. The truth is, this chapter troubled me. I'm not at all satisfied with it, but whatever. There's not a lot of action in it so excuse that, but it's the lead-up to the next chapter. It worried me because I had four other possible plotlines for this chapter and I had to decide between them all. The plotlines would dictate what the story would be like. I finally decided to do this. Other than that, enjoy!

Chapter 3

'Cause I think way too much.
On a one track mind.
And you're so out of touch
'Cause I'm so far behind...

—Overthinking by Relient K

Adrian took a sip of orange juice and made a face. He hated orange juice. He stared blankly at the glass in his hand. It was clear and had a drawing of a flower curling up from the bottom, leaves brimming with fresh droplets of water.

It's a beautiful girl.

Catching himself, he snorted, turning abruptly to the sink and dumping the orange juice down the drain. Something had to be wrong when he was replacing 'glass' with 'girl' in his thoughts. Shaking his head inwardly, he told himself to calm down.

But it was the pink elephant dilemma. His mind drifted back to Lisa. He pictured her sitting on the porch chair, looking up at him with those large hazel eyes. And what eyes they were. He was a red-blooded male, but cynical enough to recognise that he'd been under their spell most of the night.

He regretted going to the party now, but the truth was, he would've run into her sooner or later. The town wasn't very large and they had too many mutual friends to be able to successfully avoid each other.

Still, he hadn't wanted to meet her so soon. He hadn't been prepared to see her again. It had been such a shock to look up and see her familiar honey-coloured hair. At first, Adrian had only seen her back, and he'd comforted himself by believing that it wasn't really her.

But he'd kept his eyes on her, only to see some guy come and slobber all over her. He'd tensed to stand up, but fought the urge, reminding himself that it might not, after all, be her at all. The exchange had been quick, no more than a few words, and she'd faced forward again.

He'd felt an instant shock, regardless of the fact that he'd known, deep down, that it was her all along. As he'd stared at her—probably drooling the whole time—he'd recognised that she was even more beautiful than she had been all those years.

She had been innocently pretty at fifteen with angelic eyes, a clear complexion and that typical guileless expression; she'd been nothing more than a heaven-sent angel. He was quick to realise, however, that what he was looking at was no longer an angel.

The eyes were still angelic in shape, but the look in them was intelligent, not quite so innocent. Her mouth, for some reason, appeared fuller and more pouty. The complexion, he granted, was still clear.

She was still not a very curvy girl—she'd never been—but it seemed to work, anyway. As his gaze had drifted over her body, he'd recognised that she still had those fantastic legs. Slim and shapely, they had been—and still were, apparently—his biggest turn-on about her.

Put together, she was a woman now, full-grown and bewitching. He'd had to blink several times and chastise himself to calm down, something he felt to be insulting for a man of his age and experience.

And then she'd come over…

Why hadn't he behaved then? But he hadn't been able to resist. He'd played along, intending only to talk and catch up for a night. He should have known, Adrian frowned, that he wasn't able to keep his hands off for her long.

That kiss.

Adrian sighed. Truth be told, he hadn't been able to resist. She'd stood there, with the streetlights dancing over her face. Her eyes had been so wide, so fascinated that he had been unable to resist.

He had paid dearly for it, though. He'd stayed up half the night, aroused half the time and annoyed the other half. Thoughts of her—both in the past and now—hadn't left him. He'd finally fallen asleep into a dreamless sleep, but he didn't feel rested.

She had disturbed him, he admitted. What about her had done it?

Granted, her beauty had probably been a large part of it, but it was more than that. It was her—her. She seemed to be unchanged, except, he thought, that she was no longer his. Frowning, he went to the refrigerator.

Did that bother him? Thinking about it, he pulled out the carton of eggs. It didn't. He didn't want her to be his anymore—or, at least, it was better this way. Pulling out a bowl from the cabinet, he cracked a couple eggs into the bowl, proceeding to whisk it.

The hurt had gone away, most of it. He had been extraordinarily relieved to know that, looking at her, he no longer ached, no longer chafed at the loss. It had been unbearable back then, unbearable enough to send him away for all these years.

It was easier now, easier to talk to her, easier to converse. He wasn't stupid, though. He knew full well that the attraction between them was as strong as it had been back then. In fact, he considered, it was stronger now. They had both grown into their sexuality, allowing a greater awareness of each other.

He made himself an omelette, then poured himself a glass of water, taking both of it to the dining room. The house was his own. He had bought it two weeks ago, and it still needed a lot of work. He had to repaint a few walls, and one of the bathrooms needed severe work.

But it was his. The thought gave him fierce pride. No one could take this away, no one could steal it away.

And, he thought wryly, the house would never hurt him.

He laughed a little. It seemed his thoughts would return to Lisa regardless. Adrian took a bite of the omelette and grimaced slightly. Too much salt. Taking a gulp of water to drown out the taste, he wondered why he was still thinking about her.

He had to accept that it was more than just an attraction. It wasn't that simple.

He shook his head. With Lisa, it had always been complicated. The relationship had never been easy—she had never been easy to deal with. But, God, he'd been completely obsessed with her.

What a female she was, even at fifteen. Those fierce eyes, her wild, untamed laugh. He had been taken by everything about her, every single little bit. Her intelligence, her capability to understand him more than he understood himself, her athletic prowess, allowing her to follow him on his escapades.

She had been his best friend, his confidante, his first love. She'd turned him upside down with lust. He had wanted her since forever, probably, but only admitted it at sixteen. But she'd been fourteen and he'd felt embarrassed. Fourteen and sixteen was a big difference, but now, of course, twenty-eight and thirty was nothing of a difference.

It had taken a year for him to finally give in to his feelings. Until then, he'd fought it, tooth and nail. He still didn't know if she had been unaware of his feelings, but nevertheless, she had wanted him, too.

And then it had happened.

Adrian stopped himself. There was no point going down that road. It was finished, done with. He'd promised himself never to—

Why was he still going there, then?

Sighing, Adrian finished his water in one long swallow. He couldn't afford anything starting between them now. He didn't need the hurt again, didn't need to be screwed over like he'd been.

His eyes fell on the telephone. Closing his eyes tightly, he wondered what he should do now. Apologise for kissing her? Ignore it? Avoid her?

But it wasn't that easy, he thought, frowning. Their past had been too full of emotions for him to be able to decide that quickly. One thing was clear, though: he needed to make sure that, whatever happened, their relationship would remain platonic.

Standing up, he picked up the dirty dishes and went back into the kitchen. Rinsing the plate and glass, he wished suddenly that he had been a smarter boy at seventeen. He wished that he hadn't made himself so—

Stop.

Adrian took a deep breath, forcing himself to not go back there again. He needed, he realised, to get out before he would drive himself demented. Dumping the dishes into the dishwasher, he went out of the kitchen and bounded up the stairs.

He would go out.

Lisa was cleaning the house. On her hands and knees, she scrubbed the kitchen floors. She'd already vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, the bedrooms, and cleaned the windows. She would have dusted, but there was no need for it.

After pacing vigorously for a few minutes, extremely anxious, she'd finally stalked into the kitchen, deciding to clean the refrigerator. But she'd been fascinated by a speck of dirt on the kitchen floor. Before she knew it, she was on the floors, scrubbing the entire thing.

When an image of Adrian popped into her mind, she stopped abruptly, sat back on her haunches. Throwing the scrubber away from her in frustration, she took a deep breath. It wasn't working.

She was still thinking of him, still obsessing.

She picked up the scrubber, the cleaning liquid, and put them into the sink. The floor was clean enough and she knew it. Ripping off her rubber gloves, she dumped them in the sink, too, and went back to her living room.

Flopping on the couch, she covered her eyes with her hands. What was wrong with her? Why was she persisting in avoiding this rather than facing it head on? Leaning back against the back of the couch, she shook her head.

It was time to stop avoiding it like a nervous child. She was going to have to face the fact that Adrian was back in her life. His role in it was still dubious, but he was here, nonetheless. And she had to stop running away.

They'd kissed.

Fine, she could deal with that. In fact, it was normal. Why wouldn't they be still attracted to each other? He was a healthy male; she was a healthy female. They were both attractive and neither had repulsive personalities—who could blame them?

She sighed. She could deal with that, she realised. She could live with it. But something was bothering her about it and she didn't know precisely what.

Uneasy, she stood up, paced. She knew, deep down, that this wasn't over. This wasn't going to be easily dismissed. A chill went down her spine. Flopping down again on the couch, she turned to stare at the windows.

It wasn't going to be last time.

God, why was she thinking it would happen, anyway? A kiss didn't necessitate a relationship. When she was fifteen, maybe, it did. But at twenty-eight, it was nothing. Even sex didn't necessitate a relationship now.

So why was she jumping so far ahead?

She let her neck muscles fall limp; her head flopped back to rest on the back of the couch. Looking up at the ceiling, she considered her feelings.

There was no need for it, she reasoned. No need to jump to conclusions. Nothing was definite. She thought about his guardedness last night. Barring the kiss, he had behaved like nothing more than an old acquaintance.

That was perfectly fine with her. Lisa didn't want a relationship with him. She'd learned her lesson the first time around. She regretted only one thing about it: that she'd succumbed at all to the attraction between them.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She would take this one step at a time. She probably wouldn't even have to see him very often—dentists were busy people, right?

Standing up, Lisa went to the bathroom. She would take a shower.

And try to forget about this for once.

Dressed, clean, and having sprayed himself with cologne, Adrian headed into the living room, looking for his wallet. He'd left it around here somewhere…

The doorbell rang.

Surprised, he glanced up. Frowning inwardly, he located the wallet behind a cushion, pocketed it and headed towards the front door. Without bothering to look to see who it was, he opened the door.

And felt his jaw drop.

"Hey!"

He swallowed deeply, still staring. "Catalina," he said hoarsely. His eyes looked over her absently. Her platinum blond hair was straightened to a perfect shine. Her white teeth gleamed in a perfect smile, hazel eyes warm. She was slender to the point of almost have no curves, but it suited her somehow. She was tall, only a couple of inches shorter than him.

"Glad to see me?" she asked. Her voice was husky and she smiled.

He stepped back automatically, waving her in. "Of course," he murmured, regaining his sanity. Smiling in welcome, he continued, "What are you doing here?"

She beamed. "I missed you, silly." Taking off her jacket, she handed it to him. He took it without noticing.

Smiling, Catalina looked him over for a moment. When she met his eyes again, her gaze was fond. "You look wonderful, as usual."

Then, she stepped into his arms and kissed him.

A/N: Well, well, well. Things are finally heating up. ;) Review, pigeons!