Hello

Later that week, Kris invited me to a home game, but I reluctantly had to turn the offer down. I had a late class that night, and no matter how much of me wanted to skip it, the smart part won out. I was walking back to my dorm around 11:00 after the class, careful to stay on the lit path and not stray away from it. I wasn't going to lie; I felt as though I was in a cliche, sorority horror movie and a man with a black cloak and a hook for a hand was going to pop out of the shadows and kill me. Okay, maybe I got my horror movies confused. Either way, I was terrified. So when my phone buzzed in my pocket, I nearly dropped my books. It was the smallest thing, a movement against my leg instead of a noise, but it scared me all the same. I wanted to stop to catch my breath, but I wanted to make it to my building as quick as possible. I could swear I heard shuffling behind me and decided to book it. When I had made it safely into the apartment lobby, I leaned against the wall, catching my breath and ignoring the looks of the people at the front desk, and finally pulled out my phone.

Your class is over at 11:00, right?

A sense of relief washed over me at the sight of Kris' name above the message.

Yeah.

I'll be there at 11:30.

I glanced at the time: 1120. I ran my hands through my hair and glanced in the mirror hung on the wall by the two couches, flipping my hair every which way and trying to fix it. I was not happy with the red mess at the moment. I weighed my options, knowing that I didn't have enough time to go upstairs and fix my hair. I knew if I fixed my hair, I'd want to fix my makeup, and then change my clothes...

I plopped down on one of the couches, tearing myself away from the mirror. I closed my eyes to catch a breather, calming my heart rate until I heard the doors open and it sped right up again.

I shot up out of my seat and made my way over to Kris. He looked particularly wonderful today; the scruff of a beard was appearing on his face and his hair was simply... there. I was certain there was no one in the world who could do nothing to the way they looked and still look... imperfectly perfect.

I left my books with the lady at the counter, promising I'd be back within 2 hours. She simply nodded and stared at Kris. I wasn't sure if she knew who he was or simply thought he was incredibly good-looking; either way I felt overprotective.

We made our way out into the frigid air and I shivered. Kris gave me a sideways smile which I returned as we headed to his car. He opened the door for me and I paused before getting in.

"What exactly is there to do at 11:30 at night?"

Kris simply motioned for me to get in and I pouted, trying to make him cave, but all he did was grin and say, "I was trying to be a gentleman, but I will make you close the door for yourself if you don't let me close it for you." I rolled my eyes and tucked my legs in, allowing him to shut the door.

***
Kris slammed the car door shut and I joined him on the other side, looking around. All I could tell was that we were at some sort of park.

"What are we doing?"

Kris gave me a tiny ssmile. I leaned back against the car and crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow at him. He simply looked around the park before meeting my eyes again and nodding his head towards the pathway that led through the park. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off of the car, falling into step beside him. The ground was frozen. It wasn't cold enough to snow, but it was cold enough for the ground to become hard under our feet. It was cold enough for me to be freezing. Kris and I were in close proximity; our shoulders would brush every so often, sending even more chills through my body... although I knew those weren't from the cold.

"Okay," Kris said after a few minutes of walking in silence. "Now you have to close your eyes."

I looked at him with wide eyes before shaking my head. "No."

Kris gave me a puppy dog look, and I sighed, closing my eyes. "Fine. But how are you going to-" I stopped talking as Kris cold hand found mine. My eyes shot open and my heart started to beat like a drummer on crack as I realized he was extremely close. His front was nearly touching mine, and I couldn't break his gaze as his fingers intertwined into mine. It was safe to say I wasn't as cold anymore; there was warmth flooding throughout my entire body. It was probably showing on my face, too, judging by the slight smile on the corner of Kris' lips.

"I said eyes closed," he whispered. I did as I was told, swallowing hard and shutting my eyes. I managed to ignore the fact that our hands were squeezed together as I stumbled a few times over unseen objects, letting out a whine every now and then. Kris would simply laugh and shush me. Finally, he pulled to a stop and told me I could open my eyes.

We were standing on a little path beside the river that flowed through downtown Pittsburgh. I realized we had cut through the park and it was now behind us. I could see Downtown Pittsburgh shining brightly in front of us, the lights reflecting on the water looking like tiny sparkling stars as the lights moved with the gentle waves of the river. I watched the cars speed over the bridge, mesmerized.

"Wow, Kris," I breathed. I realized our hands were still together as I felt a light squeeze. I finally turned to meet his gaze. "This is.. this is seriously amazing. Wow."

Kris smiled at me and I looked back out over the river. "You hadn't seen Pittsburgh at night," he said. "And it is quite the sight, no?"

I smiled at his French accent and nodded. "It is. It really is." I ran my free hand up and down my arm, laughing as my teeth chattered. "It's freezing though."

I felt a gentle pull on my hand and gravitated towards Kris. His hand left mine as his arms wrapped around me, turning me into his chest. His hands moved up and down my arm, the friction instantly warming them. It was quiet until I heard the faint buzzing of Kris' cell phone in his jacket pocket. I pulled away so he could read it, but he held onto me with one strong arm, holding me slightly away from him so he could pull out his phone. When he had it, he pulled me back into him and flipped the phone open.

"Allo?" I felt him nod with his chin against my head, and watched the flickering lights on the water as I waited for him to finish. "Oui. Em..." I felt his eyes on me, but didn't look up. "Oui. Okay. Oui." He hung up the phone and gently pushed me away so that I could look up at him.

"Who was that?"

"How would you feel about meeting someone?"