We're getting married!

I was introduced to Jun by a co-worker, Caroline, who was his thesis-mate in college. I was visiting the US for work and was only there for 4 months. Caroline lives in California and she invited Jun to join us for dinner so I can have a new acquaintance in New Jersey. A few friends were visiting and we planned a tour of New York. I asked Jun to join us since he has never been to some of the tourist spots. A friend took a picture of Jun and myself at the Top of the Rock and said we looked good together. Jun offered to drive me home after having dinner. While in the car, he expressed his desire to get to know me more, not by words, but by holding my hand. I was surprised and didn't know what to do. I let his hand go and mumbled an apology. I was asked to travel to California and work from there for the duration of my stay in the US. Jun drove me to the airport and I thought I would never see him again. But as fate would have it, I came back to New Jersey and our good friend Caroline asked Jun to pick me up from the airport. I wanted to see Jun one last time, just as friends. I finally mustered up the courage and asked him to come with me to the Museum of Modern Art. This was two weeks before my departure from the US and we met almost everyday after that. On the day I left, I told Jun I loved him and left my heart with him before boarding the plane.

It was unexpected. I was not looking for love at that time, but since we first met, I could not stop thinking about Linel. I was baffled. A stream of questions ran through my mind, "Why am I thinking about her so much? What do I like about her? Is it her eyes? Her smile?" I kept these questions hidden away in the back of my mind as I tried to make sense of what is happening to me. Linel invited me to a weekend tour of New York with her friends. For some reason, I was happy at the chance of a second encounter. I thought to myself, "Why not? It could be fun." Before the weekend started, I was asked to come in to work on the coming Saturday due to an emergency. Linel and her friends had to start the tour without me. While stuck at work all day and night, I could not help myself feel agitated and I thought, "I cannot miss the rest of this tour!" On the next day, the tour continued with an early morning boat ride on the Hudson river. On the bow of the boat, with the Statue of Liberty in view, tourists were flocking to take pictures of the moment. As I took my turn to take a photo, Linel was standing ahead of me focused on keeping her hands steady with her camera. Time went to a stand still. Everything else in my field of vision was a blur except for her. I saw the subtle movements of her hair as the wind played with it. I was drawn to her and I could not help but think of how comfortable it must be to hug her at that exact moment. I spent the rest of the tour navigating through the stream of questions that have found their way out of my subconscious. I caught myself stealing glimpses and glances of Linel. As the night ended, I offered to give Linel a ride to her hotel. While driving, I shook my head in disbelief and I thought to myself, "This doesn't make sense. She lives in the Philippines, thousands of miles away. No way." We were halfway through the trip when I came to a realization and I thought, "Who am I kidding? I love her!"