Frozen In Love

Chapter 22

22

(JACK)

            ‘Close your eyes.’ I whispered, standing behind Alice with my arms wrapped tightly around her waist and my head resting lightly on her shoulder.

            ‘Why?’ she asked.

            ‘You ask too many questions.’ I laughed, before gently reaching around to fold her eyelids closed myself. This time she didn’t hesitate, she kept them shut.

            In a few moments I had lifted her upwards onto the highest flat roof in town, far above the pulse of the traffic and the voices of passing people. From up here, everything looked small. It was just the two of us, quietly private and absolutely beautiful.

            ‘Alright, you can open them now.’ I told her.

            As soon as she did, she stiffened in my arms and let out a gasp.

‘H-How did you...?’ she stammered.  I held her tighter as I felt her heart speed up.

            Oh no. She didn’t like it. She was scared.

            ‘Wow, it’s wonderful up here. Jack, how did you-‘

            ‘Too many questions.’ I cut her off, shaking my head. She was so adorably curious. I was so glad she liked it; I let out the breath that I had been holding.

            ‘You know…’ she said slowly, ‘if this was a date with any normal boy we’d just have gone to some restaurant or something.’

            I chuckled under my breath. ‘Alice, since when has anything that I have done been even remotely normal?’ I asked her, watching her face relax into a smile at my words.

            I slowly turned her around to face me. She had chosen a dark top underneath a leather jacket that went well with her faded jeans. It wasn’t what I would have expected her to wear, but with Alice what was normal? That spark of insecurity reappeared in her eyes as she caught me looking her up and down. But she needn’t have worried. She actually looked really good. Too good, perhaps.

          The whole of me ached to kiss her. It would be so easy to pull her close and mold my lips against hers. At that moment I envied every other boy who didn’t have to worry about losing control. But I knew that if I was to surrender to these feelings, she would be the one who paid the price.

          So instead of taking that step closer, I pulled her down to the ground with me, laying on our backs in the snow and gazing up at the sky. At first Alice looked at me questioningly, but then obviously decided to give up on her interrogations. Good- she was learning.

           ‘There are no stars.’ Her whisper broke into my thoughts.

            ‘Stars?’ I asked, amused at her disappointed tone.

         ‘Yeah, in the movies when the people do crazy things like this there are always stars.’ she sighed lightly.

            Her wondering gave me an idea.

            ‘Well, I apologise for the lack of stars.’ I laughed. ‘Unfortunately I cannot go get them back without disappointing little Toby, but I can show you something better.’

          Now I had her attention. I leant over to whisper in her ear, tensing at our closeness and the sudden overwhelming surge of desire it bought. This girl was going to be the death of me.