To Catch a Gust of Wind [COMPLETE]

Chapter 6 - Full Circle [#27]

Rafael turned around. There's no need for him to wait a second longer to recognize the voice. Rica remained standing a few feet away from him. She wore a tight-fitting, knee-length, short sleeve black cocktail dress, bare at the shoulders. The dress accentuated the shape of her body and the black color made her beige skin tone stood out.

"Are you going to stand there all night? We don't have all night to spend, Mr. Raffy Cruz," Rica said. Rafael found himself unable to respond immediately to Rica's remarks. Rica's image, her appearance tonight, just blew him away. There wouldn't be another night like this, he thought. Come on, man. Say something to the lady that she would remember forever.

"You beguile me, beautiful lady," Rafael said at last. "Thought you'd stand me up tonight. I'm starting to freak out, thinking I would not have the chance to dance with the most beautiful woman on the planet. One more second, if I did not see you, I'll jump over this railing and catch up with that airplane flying above in the night sky –."

"Silly, hold your tongue there, poet," Rica interrupted Rafael. "And you can never catch up with that plane." She took the remaining steps forward and stood beside him. Rafael faced her as they leaned on the railing, their heads at an angle towards the sky. "I've heard those lines before, Mr. Cruz. If I'm not mistaken, it's what you wrote in one of your letters. Have you got something new?" It's now her turn to face him. Their eyes met, and for a second Rica thought Rafael was looking deep within her. She wondered if he might have found something.

"So you read my letters then? I thought you threw all my letters in the trash can. I never received any letter from you while we're in high school. I was beginning to think you hated men," Rafael said.

"Yes, until you wrote me to meet you in the old church," Rica said. "I never expected somebody can get my attention by having the same interest in literature as I do. Few persons I know of are fond of poetry and the classics. Lest you ask if you're one of them, I tell you, you are. I hope you still have that interest in you."

"You mean my interest in you?" Rafael asked, smiling. He knew he should never stop expressing his intention to the woman who was his target tonight. This would be it, tonight, he should win her over tonight with his persuasion, not tomorrow or any other time after tonight, this would be now or never. "Yet, you never answered one of my letters. Why? If I did get your attention, I think I should have deserved at least one letter. After all these years, I have kept that question in my head. Now that we've met again, you can give me the satisfaction by giving me your answer, in the flesh."

Silence. Sure, man you've got the right move. But don't push it too far.

"What if I won't tell you? Would that make a difference?" Rica said slowly, her voice down almost to a whisper that Rafael leaned closer to hear her speak, over the sound of music played by a live band, coming from inside the hall, drums and electronic organs and guitars all combined to produce one sweet song, sung by the male lead singer. "Even now I still remember..."

Rafael leaned back, caught off-guard by Rica's remarks. He didn't react. Instead, he casually touched Rica's bare shoulders, followed the curves with his eyes, ran his fingers over her neck smoothly, and swept her black hair back a little. Rica turned to face him, looking serious. Rafael paused and looked at Rica facing him sideways. Rica stared at the man on her side. The face might have changed a bit since they parted, but the soulful eyes and the long eyelashes and the curved thick eyebrows, all struck her, held her gaze for at least five seconds. And he half-smiled, that infectious half-smile and the rest was lost to the moment. Rafael saw Rica closed her eyes, waiting for him. He moved his face closer and their lips touched. "You don't need to tell me the reason why. You here with me is enough," he whispered. "But if you tell me now, it wouldn't make any difference at all."

Then he kissed her again. This time he felt Rica's lips moved, being alive and warm and sweet. His hand moved down to Rica's bare shoulders and he held her waist close to him.

You did it, man. What can you wish for more? "...and the feeling's still the same..."

"Raffy, we don't know what we're doing," Rica said softly as Rafael pressed her ever so closely.

"We're no longer in high school, Rica, though I felt like we haven't graduated from S.I. yet. If you feel the same, it's just normal, I think. Why can't we continue what we started before?" Rafael said.

"That's what I mean. We feel we're in high school, but we're not. Yet that feeling overwhelms me. And when it does, I do things which I might regret later," Rica said at last.

Rafael touched Rica's face. The fragrance of her perfume was unmistakable, Estee Lauder Beautiful. They were still standing outside the hall, this time holding hands.

"Is that why you didn't write me any reply?" Rafael asked. "That you would fall for me and not be able to hide it? We could have fallen for each other and be happy for the rest of our lives. Why not show what your heart desires, Rica, even just for tonight? Even now?" "...Even now I think about you..."

"I can't, that time was a thing of the past. There are things you don't know about me. Nor I about you. It's been years. What happened to you and me during those years? You wouldn't care to tell me. Don't you want me to tell you what happened to me during those years?" Rica explained. She broke free of Rafael's hands holding hers and turned to lean on the metal railing. The iron felt cold to the touch and suddenly she felt cold all over. She would remember this tonight not because she's with the man she fell in love with secretly in high school but because the old feelings came back alive, wanting to control her, might overpower what's left of the rationality in her.

Rafael tried to hold Rica's hands again. She didn't flinch at Rafael's quick gesture. "Let's focus on the now, live in the moment. You're free, I'm free, that's all that matter. Let's forget the past. The important thing is, we could not let each other leave again without saying what the both of us feel for each other. I love you, Maria Erica," Rafael said.

"Oh Rafael, I love..." Rica was cut off in mid-sentence. Rafael held her close once again and kissed her lips.

"Ahem," somebody said at their back. "I've been looking for you, Rica."