Questions and Answers

He grabbed her hand and walked with purpose back down the hall towards where they had been before.

This time, Maria did not pull away or protest, she simply followed after him, her mind not focused on anything but finding answers.

That kiss was the second time Arthur pulled away from her before she had had her fill, and this time she wouldn't let him go until she could figure out why he had made her feel a type of way that Rafael didn't.

He made sure to look down every direction of the hallway to make sure they hadn't been seen by anyone, before he turned into a vacant room and pulled her in with him.

He let go of her hand before he locked the door and finally turned to face her, unmoving.

She should have left because it would cause a scandal if anyone found her locked away in a room with a man before she was married, but at that moment she did not care.

All she cared about was understanding the mystifying connection she felt to the man in front of her.

Maria could see something in his eyes that looked like a mixture of anger and desire, and it immediately made her feel embarrassed for how she jumped him in the hall.

"I'm sorry, I just..." she started before she realized she had no idea what to say for herself.

She averted her eyes that had started to form tears as she felt her face turn red. She buried her head into her hands so that he would not see her cry.

The influx of emotions she felt that she had trouble naming had gotten too overwhelming to control any longer, and she started sobbing out of frustration and humiliation.

She heard Arthur let out a breath and start to walk over to where she was standing.

He did not say anything nor did he try to touch her, he simply waited in front of her for her to figure out what she needed at that moment.

After a while, the tears stopped and she dropped her hands but left her face still tilted towards the ground because she could not bring herself to look at him.

She had never cried like that in front of anyone before, and she was more embarrassed than she could ever put into words.

He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it for her to take, still without a word between them.

She took it and turned her back towards him so that she could wipe her face and finish composing herself.

"Let's talk about it," he said in a voice that wasn't a question and did not leave any room for her to protest.

When she turned back to look at him, she noticed that the anger that was in his face earlier was nearly entirely gone, and had instead been replaced with concern.

She sighed and walked over to the brown couch that was in the corner of the room and sunk down into it as she sat, feeling totally defeated.

He walked over to where she was and sat on the couch just far enough away so that she would not feel suffocated by his presence.

"Was your morning with Rafael really that bad?" Arthur asked jokingly in the tone he usually used with her, in an attempt to normalize the awkward situation they were currently in.

Maria gave a half-hearted chuckle before she answered, "No, quite the opposite actually. It was a perfect date, or, it should have been," she paused but continued to look forward, avoiding looking at him, still. She continued, "It was beautiful and romantic, we talked the whole time, and everything was fine. I don't know, I just felt like something was missing. And then he kissed me and it felt…" she trailed off and let silence fill the room.

Arthur had never been quiet or at a loss for words around Maria, which is why she expected him to say something snarky, or anything for that matter, but he was letting them sit in a room where you could hear a pin drop.

He did nothing but watch her because he somehow knew that she would get the help she desired if she just listened to herself, and she did not need him for that.

"It felt nothing like when you kissed me," she finally admitted in a whisper.

Maria still refused to look at him, so she couldn't see his response to her admission, but the silence that was still deafening made her feel the need to explain, so she continued, "So I guess I just needed to know if kissing you was always going to feel that way or if I was just a little drunk on the day and the wine I had after dinner".

"Feel what way?" he asked her intently, staring down at her.

She finally had just enough courage to face him, so she angled her body towards him and looked up to meet his green eyes before she said, "I honestly don't know. I don't understand it".

"Well maybe if I kiss you again, you'll be able to name it," he said softly before he cupped her face with his hand and slowly bent down to meet her lips.

This kiss was different.

It was patient and gentle, and meant to take care of her.

He moved his body on the couch so that it was now brushing up against hers, and he took his time as he kissed her again.

Maria felt her heart start to race in a different way, and her body felt that same weakness that she had felt the first time he kissed her, so much so that she couldn't even move her hands from her lap.

He kissed her a third time and held on for just a second longer before he ended the kiss and let out a breath.

Maria felt her body protest and yearn for him when he pulled away, but she did not have the courage to lean forward and kiss him again, even though it was all she wanted to do.

They both opened their eyes and leaned back to look at each other, and in that moment Maria knew she was in trouble.

She had strong, unexplainable feelings for a man that she really wanted to ignore.

Feelings that couldn't be matched by Rafael.

Having the clarity she needed, she said, "I have to go," before she broke their eye contact, grabbed his hand to remove it from her face, and got up to move towards the exit.

This time, she had pulled away from him first, leaving him wanting more.

He sat on the couch and watched as she left him behind.