Chapter 236: Only One
[Long Chapter, might cost more coins]
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Natalia looked at him incredulously for a while as he handed her the skating shoes, and she wasn’t at all surprised to see that it was perfectly her size.
She wanted to ask him how he knew that she absolutely used to love skating but then stopped herself, she knew if she asked he’d just say something mysterious that would make her feel curious about where they had met in the past again.
He held out his hand to her as he helped her to sit on the nearby bench before squatting right in front of her, he took her smooth delicate feet in his hands before helping her wear the skating shoes after which he helped her up.
Smilingly she playfully asked, "Mr Grayson, you’re beginning to lead me to believe that you’re a very sweet man, the loving and romantic type."
Thoughtfully, he replied, "Hmm, you are the first woman to believe that of me, I’m very honored, how about we make it permanent, from now on, be the woman for whom I give all the sweetness, all the love..." Looking into her eyes he added, "...The only one."
Her heart skipped again and she internally chastised her mind for not getting used to his sweet words, however it still made her heart pound every time.
He slowly led her towards the ice rink, but just before she stepped onto the ice Natalia quickly said, "Wait!"
Chris gave her a questioning look,
"I’m sorry, I’m just... I’m not sure if I can still skate." Natalia was feeling incredibly nervous, though she had been excited seeing the ice rink, it was at this moment that the nervousness kicked in, she used to love ice skating a lot, it was a hobby she used to really enjoy, however it had been years since she last wore skating shoes not to mention actually skating.
She was scared of the fact that she might have actually forgotten how to skate, she still had such great memories of skating in her heart, if she stepped onto the ice right now and she failed to be able to skate, she might just ruin those wonderful memories she had in her heart.
"Maybe..maybe I just shouldn’t do this." She said looking up at Christopher nervously.
Chris wrapped her hands up in his large ones, looking straight into her face, "Look at this ice? Don’t you feel like at least trying again, you used to love skating so much right?"
"Yes but..."
"Then there’s no buts, you don’t have to be afraid of failing, because I’ll be right here, just know that I’ll never let you fall." She looked at the ice, she couldn’t deny that she really wanted to try it out again, she shifted her gaze back to Chris slightly doubtfully, not of his words but of herself, he gave her a small reassuring smile saying, "Come on now." He slowly led her but this time she didn’t resist.
She raised one foot and placed it onto the ice feeling herself glide forward slightly, the nervousness came back again and she almost lost her balance, but still holding her Chris was quick to steady her making her stand straight.
"No sudden movements," He said to her, "Just, trust your instincts, this is something you know how to do, don’t let the fear overwhelm you." He said reassuringly.
Natalia however looked around her, seeing the vastness of the ice rink again, she felt really intimidated.
Seeing the doubt in her eyes once again, Chris said, "Close your eyes."
"Huh?" She looked at him surprised.
"Come on, close them." He insisted.
Natalia still had doubt in her eyes, but she did as he said closing her eyes while still feeling him holding her hand.
"Remember the last time you skated, how did it feel?" He asked softly.
A small smile crossed her lips when she recalled that memory, "It felt like I could fly, it always does."
She recalled how she’d always used to loved skating just for that feeling, gliding across the ice, feeling the wind whoosh past, that was an incomparable feeling.
"I’m sure you would like to experience that feeling again, am I right?"
With a smile still on her face as she envisioned a younger her with arms wide open to the passing wind as she glided across the ice she replied, "Yes, I’d like that very much."
"Then let me guide you." He suggested softly.
Natalia slowly opened her eyes to look up at him, she was met with his dark eyes, soft and reassuring.
"Trust me." He added, for some reason looking into his eyes, she dazedly nodded, she did trust him.
Christopher moved backwards slowly gliding back on the ice while still holding her hands in his, she completely let go of her fear and doubts distracted unknowingly by his eyes, she was led to slowly glide on the ice without even fully realizing it.
How could someone be so warm, kind and sweet? Staring into his eyes she felt this inexplicable sense of security and safety, as if being in the safest place she could ever find herself, she also didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt all her guard that she’d let up slowly melt into air, she trusted, she let him lead her, let him take away her fears making her feel safe.
Slowly, like birds dancing in the wind, the two figures glided smoothly over the ice, Natalia was still dazed in his stare when he suddenly twirled her, though she had been slightly caught off guard, her internal instincts that knew the feeling of being on the ice was quick to kick in, she moved fluidly following his own, that was when she suddenly realized that she was actually doing it.
Natalia looked down at herself in pleasant surprise then looked up at Chris beaming excitedly, "I didn’t fall!" She said in an astonished voice as if she also couldn’t believe that she was actually standing on the ice without stumbling or falling.
"Yes, I told you it’d be fine."
She smiled, then looked at their hands still held in each other’s.
"Can I try on my own?" She asked.
Chris nodded slowly releasing her hand, she took slow movements to test out her stability on the ice first before looking back at him beaming, he urged her,
"Go on, don’t hold back. You can do it." He assured.
Trusting his words, Natalia let go and swirled on the ice taking a huge step, her feet were quick to fluidly steady herself swiping across the ice speedily she moved smoothly to the other side of the ice and as she neared the edge did a swerve and came to a stop, she turned back to Christopher’s direction beaming happily.
"I did it! I really did it!" It had been ages since she last stepped onto the ice, she never really expected to be able to still move so fluidly on the ice like she used to.
Chris gave her a thumbs up from the distance, his eyes holding pride as if he never doubted she could, "Of course you could do it if you stopped holding back, and when you did, you ended up doing great."
She skated back towards him then extended her hand,
"Shall we do it together then?"
Christopher accepted her hand then tugged her towards him wrapping his arm around her waist, she was a bit surprised, but not uncomfortable with the closeness between them.
However being this close to him she was suddenly aware of every little detail on his face and this time she didn’t stop herself from looking. His thick brows, straight nose bridge, beautiful kissable lips, and perfect jawline, he was indeed a looker of a man.
Chris smiled faintly his gaze on her face as well, neither of them said a word, but along with their soft movements on the ice they were both lost in each other’s stare.
Softly, the wind blew by, the moon still hanging up in the sky in it’s full glory, like a great spotlight casting it’s magnificent rays down on the pair dancing on the ice, the atmosphere was warm, peaceful and incredibly romantic and for some reason, Natalia found herself feeling like it should never come to an end. As if she could remain, stuck in this one moment for as long as she could.
Once again she was bewildered by her own thoughts, she had only just met him, though he said they had met before, she wasn’t certain how much they’d known each other in the past but she was certain had they been very familiar with one another, she wouldn’t have forgotten so much so she didn’t recall a single thing about him.
"You skate really well, apart from being a successful second generation businessman, what other skills are you hiding?" She asked playfully.
Christopher smiled, "I’ll take that as a compliment, both actually, let’s just say that, I’ve got a lot of hidden talents."
Of course he wouldn’t tell her that he had spent months learning how to skate after hearing that it was her favorite thing to do back then, it had been very hard to learn at first, but of course he was dedicated, as long as it was something related to her, he would learn it with all his might, and in a few months he had already learnt how to skate pretty well.
"I’m sure you do, and you won’t cease to amaze me." She replied, Chris chuckled softly shaking his head.
Looking Into his face Natalia’s expression turned serious, "Just who are you Christopher Grayson? Why do you know me so well?"
He never ceased to surprise her every time, and everything he did tonight had surprised her immensely, he seemed to know everything about her, and every time he did something, she couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat for him, how come he knew so much about her? How come he seemed to...feel something deep for her?
For some reason, she now began to feel bad about not recalling anything about whatever time they must have met in the past.
"Hello Natalia." Chris suddenly said as if he was introducing himself for the first time, "I’m Christopher Grayson, whom a certain someone has tagged as the modern day male Cinderella."
Natalia couldn’t help but laugh at that and he continued.
"And if you’re still curious about who I am, then know that... I’m someone who will always be here for you, someone who won’t let you down and will never break your heart, and...I assure you the next time I see that whatever Ramford guy I’m going to punch him so hard in the face for having the galls to break your heart, then, I’ll slowly take it back from him and keep it safe with mine."
Natalia didn’t know if she should laugh at his corny words, but she didn’t even feel like they sounded corny anymore, to her ears they sounded incredibly sweet, making her heart flutter as if a thousand butterflies were tickling her slowly taking their flight in her stomach.
These sort of feelings were often described in romance novels as the sweet moments of falling in love, however, though Natalia had been in love before, such sweet and heartwarming feelings were something she had never felt before, not even for Peter.
It was said that time usually passed by swiftly in beautiful moments one enjoyed the most, they both didn’t even realize when the time flowed by.
A few minutes to midnight, Christopher’s car came to a stop in front of their houses.
Looking at her watch Natalia remarked, "Well done prince charming, you’re on time."
"But now it has to end." Christopher gave a disappointed sigh then got out of the car walking over to the other side he opened the door for her to come out.
Natalia stepped out of the car, turning around to face him she said, "Thanks a lot for tonight."
Chris was about to open his mouth to speak but then stopped himself, he silently gazed at her face for some time before saying, "It’s nothing, I enjoyed every moment."
"Me too." Natalia admitted with a smile before saying, "Goodnight." Her voice sounding soft.
A hint of hesitation showed in his eyes, but after a while he nodded, "Goodnight."
Natalia turned around and began to head towards her own apartment, but for some reason, she felt a sort of hesitation and unwillingness in her heart, she was just about to step onto her porch when she suddenly stopped.
But the moment she turned around she saw him approaching her, he came to stop right in front of her, Natalia looked up at him as he took another step forward to close the distance between them.
"It’s just one minute to midnight my lady," Slowly raising his hand he caressed her cheeks softly, Natalia sucked in a breath of air feeling a tingling sensation the moment his hands came in contact with her skin, "Can I ask for a kiss?" He asked softly.
She looked up at him with slight surprise in her eyes, his eyes were on her lips, and with the feeling of his breath close to her, she felt herself pulled in like a vortex of desire drawing her in, she couldn’t deny the fact that she felt no sort of resistance or disgust to his touch at all, in fact she felt deeply drawn to him.
"It’s alright if you don’t want to..." He began about to withdraw but subconsciously she felt her hand move on it’s own, she grabbed his coat holding him from moving back.
She was a bit surprised by her own actions, but she wouldn’t hold herself back if she felt attracted to him, "I guess now you have less than a minute to kiss me." She said.
A smile crossed his lips as his arm wound around her waist, the other held her face angling it upwards, her eyes slowly closed, an inexplicably ecstatic feeling flowing through her as his lips met hers.
It started soft and smooth, a classic first kiss, but it was unlike anything she had ever felt before, but like a burst of flames it grew hotter, her arms grabbed onto him for support, she didn’t realize she was clinging onto him so tightly, but he grabbed onto her even tighter, bodies glued to each other as if to be merged Into one, there was deep closeness, but it didn’t feel close enough.
An innate unknown hunger she hadn’t known existed began growing in the pits of her stomach. Her lungs grew tight needing a desperate intake of air, only then did their lips part.
’I’ll come find you, I promise.’ A voice once again rang in her head, a voice from the past. With surprise in her eyes Natalia looked up at him In astonishment.