Love in Ice

Heat reached me in two places, the first on my arm, which stayed there. The other seemed to jump from places on my face, favoring my cheek and my lips. In addition to the heat were little prickling sensations, making me shiver.

I opened my eyes slowly, seeing a pair of light blue ones stare back. He gave me a crooked smile, and I smiled back, blushing slightly. Antti's hand ran up and down my arm, and I noticed the goosebumps dotting my skin. It was not because I was cold though, not in the least.

Antti leaned closer until his lips touched my cheek, and my face continued to burn. "Good morning Alex," he whispered against my cheek, and I could feel my head getting slightly hazy. My lips pulled upwards, and I wished, lifting my hand to cup his cheek, "Good morning to you too, Antti."

The crooked smile on his face sparked a sudden impulse that was hard to control. As I continued to rub my thumb against his growing facial hair, his stunning, almost transparent blue eyes closed. I moved closer to him, feeling his warmth attack me a little more. With my eyes half-open, I watched as he stared intently at me, touching skin just under the shirt he let me borrow to sleep in. He leaned in, shutting his eyes once again, and without a second thought, I met him halfway.

Immediately the tingling darted straight to my lips, and I continued to feel lightheaded. His hand pulled me closer by the hip, if that was even possible. I reached for his hair, threading my fingers through the sandy-colored strands. As I tugged lightly on the soft hair, Antti applied more pressure on my lips. I blushed furiously at the progressively passionate kiss, knowing that I did not want to stop.

I let go of his lips, a more difficult task than I thought, dangerously low on air. My face was still close to his; in fact, our noses just nearly bumped each other. When I got a sufficient amount of air, I nuzzled his nose with a smile, feeling him nuzzle me back. I got a quick glimpse of his eyes, deep blue and half-lidded with an extra shine to them. He closed his eyes completely and quickly kissed me without giving me the opportunity to breathe a little more, moving his other hand to my head to keep our lips locked. Despite the fact that I just got to breathe, all of it left me as soon as the contact resumed.

We stayed like this for a little while longer before we broke the kiss, panting. I stammered incoherently, not knowing what to say to him or how to say it. Moments later, he parted his lips and muttered, looking into my eyes, "...Wow, Alex..."

I nodded, still attempting to regain my ability to think and speak. Placing my hand on his bare shoulder, I struggled to control my breathing. My other hand trailed along his chin smoothly, liking the way it felt on my skin. Antti leaned over towards me and placed a light kiss on my neck, the growing beard tickling my skin.

Something seemed to spark in his eyes, a sudden realization, because he stuttered in Finnish,
"Vau...O-Olen pahoillani, minä vain...suudellut s-sinua ilman v-varoituksia...Ja en edes k-kysy...Olen varmaan..." As soon as he started to speak in Finnish, I stared at him, trying to translate but to nearly no avail. When he paused, realizing he had just spoken in his native language and was about to explain, I took advantage of the pause by smashing our lips together. He was just as surprised as he was earlier, but he reacted immediately this time. Our lips moved in sync again, and Antti's hand resting on my waist moved upward slightly on my skin. The heat, kisses, and closeness was almost enough to make me lose my self-control. It took a big effort from both of us to break away from each other.

I instinctively touched my lips, still feeling the after effects of the series of kisses. Antti affected me so much that he hardly even knew how much. I muttered, "I might not have understood all of what you said, but I...I really don't mind...I really don't mind it. Um...I liked it."

The last part I just about whispered, but the now light hues gazed into my eyes, signaling he heard my admitting to...liking the kiss.

Kisses.

Make-out session.

He donned a half-smirk, half-smile on his face, stealing a brief peck from me. I whined a little, wanting him to keep his lips where they were. He chuckled, moving to kiss my neck again as I struggled out a breathy, "Don't...Don't, Antti." I giggled as a result of being so ticklish, even along my neck, and Antti worked his lips along my neck, consciously tickling me. I squirmed in his grasp, feeling his chest rumble underneath my hand with the laughter ready to come out. He took his time in pulling away, purposely skimming my skin with the fuzz along his jawbone to get me to laugh.

Antti fully sat up, offering a hand to pull me up. I grabbed his hand gratefully and sat up, flushing red when he placed his other hand on my lower back to carefully help me. As I sat in front of him, I took advantage of the time to look at the beautiful eyes that returned to their light blue color. Then Antti held me close to him, placing kisses on my hair. He wrapped his arms around me, grabbing my hand almost questioningly, as if he wanted to know if he could hold it. I squeezed his hand softly, smiling as I leaned against him. He played with my fingers, and I blushed again, feeling the trembling-like sensation take over my stomach.

"Alex," Antti started, grabbing my attention right away. "Um...How's tomorrow? For our date? At six thirty?" Face singing, I snuggled into him with a smile.

"That sounds good." His arms around my waist tightened a little to give me a hug. I would be lying through my teeth if I said I did not like that morning.

I would also be lying if I said I wouldn't like a repeat of that morning sometime in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I slipped on my black pencil skirt, I watched the weather on my favorite news channel. In just a half hour, I was to go on a date with the Finn that stayed in mind since the time I left his apartment to go home. All night last night, all day today. He was the only one I thought about.

Not once did he leave my mind.