"Cat," Jae mumbled and leaned towards her, taking her face in his hand, "can I kiss you?"

   Ba-bum.

   Ba-bum.

   Ba-bum.

   The sound of Catalina's heart echoed in her head. She gave a slow nod as she placed her hand over his, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering faster and faster.

   His eyes were on her lips as he neared her. Her nod of approval was enough for him as he closed the space between them while he took a hold of her waist with his free hand. He pulled her closer and Catalina could smell the faint scent of his cologne. It made her head spin. The smell of cigarettes lingered around him.

   She hadn't thought his lips would be as soft as they were. In fact, whatever she had ever imagined was nowhere near reality. He treated her so delicately. His kiss was innocent and simple. She never thought she could love it so much.

   One would consider such a simple kiss a peck on the lips, but Catalina felt the butterflies in her gut explode and her heart thump as if it'd run a marathon. He treated her like a treasure and she couldn't help but appreciate him even more.

   He pulled away. His long lashes fluttered open and his cheeks were set ablaze.

   Catalina stopped to admire how beautiful he looked. She almost cursed him for being more beautiful than her, but instead, she wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss.

   He was caught off guard but quickly melted into the kiss. It didn't take time for him to reciprocate it. He could tell she was accommodating him, after all, she was the second person he'd ever kissed.

   Catalina pulled away and rested her forehead against his. "You know, I like you a little too much, Jae." She laughed.

   "Really?" He lifted a brow. "I couldn't tell."

   She scooched closer to him and brought him into a hug. "Thank you," she mumbled and kissed him on the cheek before pulling away.

   "For what?" He furrowed his brows and breathed out a laugh.

   Catalina shrugged and fidgeted with the hem of her sleeves. "Everything...your patience...for..." her voice faded. "For making me feel loved, I guess..."

   He took a hold of her hand and clasped it in between his own, bringing it to his lips and setting a gentle kiss atop it. "You deserve to feel loved every moment of every day."

   Giggles erupted from her and she lightly pushed him. "Why are you so cringey? That was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard!"

   Jae laughed as he was pushed to the floor.

   "I think the tea is getting cold," she shook her head playfully.

   Catalina pushed herself off from the floor but Jae stopped her with a short whine, pulling her back down by her wrist, making her kneel in front of him.

   "Can't the tea wait?" His brows were knitted and he was giving his best puppy eyes.

   Catalina tilted her head in slight adoration. "It's been waiting for, like, ten minutes now."

   Jae pouted his lips in reply.

   Catalina gave him a peck on the lips and shook his hand off before she stood again and tended to the tea, of course earning a whine from Jae who remained on the floor.

   She returned rather quickly with two mugs in her hand.

   "Now that we're all warmed up, let's watch something." She set the mugs on the coffee table before she rounded the couch and went to turn on the lights of the Christmas tree.

   Jae had skipped over it because it'd been nearly hidden away in the corner, but when the lights flickered on, Jae's eyes widened. The Christmas tree wasn't like any he'd ever had in his home. It was decked out with ribbons, bows, colourful ornaments and some strange ones. It was unique and bright, Jae immediately loved it.

   Jae stood up and quickly joined her.

   "You can sit," Catalina smiled as she did so. "Do you have any suggestions on what to watch?"

   He nodded and reached for his tea, sitting down next to her. "Yes, but only if you're into thriller shows."

   Catalina grinned. "Of course!" She played one of his favourite shows before leaning back on the couch.

   Jae's eyes might've been glued to the screen, but his mind was elsewhere. The fact that she was so close to him made his heart skip a few beats and his cheeks feel warm. He snuck a glance at Catalina, who seemed so invested in the show. The golden lights of the Christmas tree gave her a cheerful glow. He smiled and lost himself in his thoughts. Since he'd never had a girlfriend, the concept of a girl liking him almost seemed foreign, but it made him beyond happy.

   Catalina turned to him. "What?" She scrunched her nose. "Do I have something on my face?"

   Jae snapped his head back to the television, the back of his head stung at the sudden movement. "No..." He mumbled.

   "Okay then..."

   "You're just really pretty, that's all." His voice was barely audible and so Catalina leaned towards him.

   "I couldn't hear you, what?" She murmured.

   Jae turned back to her, leaning away because she was awfully close. He gulped as he felt a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "N-nothing."

   Catalina giggled and brushed her hand over his cheek. "You're so cute when you blush." She drew closer to him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "You should do it more often, I love that colour on you."

   Jae pulled away from her and buried his face in his hands. "It's not cute."

   "You're right," she agreed, "It's adorable." She ruffled his hair and laughed lightheartedly.

~~~

   Jae set the table as Catalina was finishing up dinner. The savoury smell of oven-baked chicken started to fill the air as the rice was beginning to boil on the stove. Catalina picked up the lettuce and set in on the cutting board, the effortless chop, chop, chops were fast-paced and had Jae rather surprised.

   "Do you like cooking?" He asked, creeping up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

   Catalina chuckled, leaning into him slightly. "Sometimes...sometimes it's just a pain in the ass."

   "Well, you seem to be really good at it. Like when you made breakfast for me that time...can you teach me how you made those corn things?" He mumbled.

   "Corn things?" Catalina questioned.

   "Yeah, the bread-pancake thing...you know?"

   "Oh! You mean arepas?"

   "Mmhmm." He nodded.

   Smiling, she replied. "Yeah, you should come over when you get back from Korea, I'll teach you."

   "Really?"

   "Of course!" She set the knife down, now that she wasn't chopping anything. Then, she turned around in his arms. "They're really easy to make, and we could add more cheese since last time I was running out."

   "Cheese is good," Jae mumbled and planted a kiss on her forehead before he pulled away from the hug. "Now," he walked to the sink to wash his hands, "tell me what to do."

   Catalina shook her head. "Nothing, you already set the table, you can watch the show without me. I'm nearly done here."

   "Nope." He smiled. "I want to help out, so just tell me."

   "Fine. You can help by cutting this apple." She handed him a knife and a cutting board as he took the apple from the counter. "We're making a fruit salad, so once you're done, you can cut these grapes."

   "Cut grapes? Why would you cut grapes?"

   Shrugging, Catalina sighed. "It's just something we do? Are you going to help me, or are you going to complain?"

   "I'll help, I'll help, okay?"

   Catalina smiled and continued preparing dinner. It wasn't long before they finished up and were just waiting until her parents got home and they could finish setting the table. Of course, Catalina had already asked her parents if it was alright for Jae to join them for dinner and after the reluctant acceptance of her father, they prepared dinner.

   Jae made sure to look extra spiffy for her parents this time, now that his first impression with her father was tainted with how bloody drunk he got that night, he wanted to be pristine. If Catalina would one day be his girlfriend, he needed to show her father that there wasn't anything to worry about; he was a good boy.

   It was a ding of her phone that drew Catalina's attention. She found her phone on the kitchen countertop and opened the notification. Her parents were running late because of the storm. She sighed and left her phone on the table before pulling out a glass and offering Jae orange juice.

   "Will they be here soon?" Jae asked, tilting his head as his hands wrapped around the glass.

   Catalina shook her head. "We could just chill while they get here." She took a seat at the breakfast table, patting the spot next to her. "Let's talk."

   "Talk about what?" Jae sat down.

   She shrugged. "Anything. How about your trip? Are you excited to see Eun-Byul?"

   Jae nodded. "Of course, I've missed her lots this semester. Skype can't do much."

   Catalina nodded. "I totally feel you."

   "What about you? How are you feeling?"

   "Me?" Catalina furrowed her brows. "Feeling normal." She spun her phone on the table. "Why?" She chuckled as she leaned her chin on her free hand.

   Jae's gaze dropped.

   "I'm guessing you're asking about Philip?" She stopped spinning the phone. "It's whatever, honestly." The phone spun again.

   Jae stared at the spinning phone. "I'm guessing you'd rather wait instead of...getting in a relationship, right?"

   "Hm?" Catalina lifted her head and blinked at him. "What makes you think that?"

   Jae bit his cheek. "Shouldn't we wait?"

   "Why would we?"

   "Well," he sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "I think it's best. Maybe we shouldn't jump into a relationship just yet. We could...get to know each other more. Be sure we want this."

   Catalina straightened, she put up her guard once more. "I'm sure, are you not sure? Don't you like me?"

   "I am. I do. I do, it's just..." He ran a hand through his hair. "I need to clear up things with my parents. And...you should take some time for yourself too, don't you think?"

   Catalina rubbed her face.

   "After we establish a good friendship we could move on to dating if you still feel that way about me."

   She sighed. "But why can't we date now? I don't see a problem."

   "Cat." Jae took her hands in his. "I'm serious about you. I don't want to end up hurting you or bringing up something that you'd still be hurting over."

   "Why do you have to be so..."

   "Don't you think it's best? To go into a relationship healed and well? Both for you and me?"

   Slowly, Catalina nodded. "Yeah, as much as I hate to say it, you're right."

   Jae pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned forward, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

   Catalina took his hand and stared at him. She took him in; his messy black hair, his beauty marks, his dark eyes. "Are you sure?" She asked as her eyes fell to his hand.

   He lifted her head so she'd meet his gaze. "I want you to be happy without me first. I want you to be happy with yourself."

   She gave a dry laugh. "Myself..." she echoed.

   Jae squeezed her hand for a second and then let go. "So, let's just start as friends this time."

   Friends. 

~~~

a u t h o r ' s   n o t e

one more chapter plus an epilogue to go! omg I'm so scared!! x.x hope you guys liked this chapter! please remember to vote and comment!

love,

aleja.x