Snow It Up [Shake It Up]

chapter seventeen

Gunther's hand tightly gripped CeCe's as he led her toward the apartment. She stumbled behind him, tripping over her frozen feet. The only thing she could feel was his hand in hers. Well, that and the ghost of his lips on hers. She wouldn't ever be able to forget the way it felt to have him kiss, to have him hold her. However, all good things come to an end, and in this case, CeCe was freezing to death. She knew that if she stayed outside she would get cold, but she didn't want disrupt their special moment. 

"Don't blame yourself," CeCe blurted out through her chattering teeth. Gunther threw her a look over her shoulder, his eyes looking concerned. "I agreed to go out."

"If I did not force you to play in the snow," Gunther said, looking forward again, "then you would not be freezing."

"I'll be fine. This happened earlier and I was okay."

"What?"

CeCe sighed, pulling Gunther to a stop. They had made it to the bottom of the stairs anyway, and she wasn't sure if her feet could go up them. "Earlier today, I walked around Chicago after being turned away from SIU. I was so cold but I thawed pretty well." She chuckled, looking over at Gunther. "Seriously. I'm fine."

"If you are fine, walk up the stairs." Gunther raised an eyebrow when she didn't move. "That is what I thought." He took a step forward, making CeCe's heart rate skyrocket. She really wanted him to kiss her again, but that's not what he was planning on doing. "I am going to carry you the rest of the way, okay?"

"You don't have to do that," she quickly said, trying to move away from. Her back hit the wall that she didn't was behind her. Gunther took another step forward, and it felt like the air was sucked out of the hallway. He moved so that his arms were hovering near her own arms, making CeCe's knees go jelly. She was so flustered because of the close proximity between them that she didn't even realize what he was doing. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and the other one swept her off of her feet. Literally. "Gunther!"

"I am carrying you to your apartment," he said firmly, his voice reverberated in his chest. "I got you in this mess and I will get you out."

"But -"

"Just . . . stop," Gunther said softly. His arms tightened around her, so CeCe looked up at him. He was staring down at her with an unreadable expression on his face. "I need to do this."

"Okay," she reluctantly said. The way he was staring at her made her say it. It was like he was remembering something from his past that wasn't good. She didn't want to make upset. "But when we get to my apartment, just set me down on the couch."

"Okay." Gunther started climbing the stairs, brushing CeCe's feet against the wall. She could hear his heart thudding against his chest, which either meant that he was struggling to carry her or he was nervous. Something had changed between them when they kissed out in the snow, so she hoped that he was struggling to carry her up the stairs. She didn't want him to be nervous because that meant that he truly did like her. She was afraid of that and she didn't know why. 

Gunther made it to the top of the stairs and appeared right in front of CeCe's apartment. "I kept it unlocked," she said quietly. "I didn't know how long we were going to be gone and I didn't want to carry my key with me."

Gunther grunted, pushing the door open. He rushed forward and gently set her down on the couch, standing back up and stretching. He made a big show of popping his back, making CeCe frown. "Was I really that heavy?"

"No," Gunther said with a grin. "I have carried heavier things."

"If you say so," CeCe said jokingly. She sat up slightly, but he rushed over to her and pushed her back down on the couch. "Hey! What are you doing?"