Sparks Fly

Charlotte waited outside nervously for Justin’s car to arrive for their date. She had gotten a text from Justin earlier saying they were headed back to the ice rink to continue their skating lessons, so she dressed accordingly. She put on jeans, a nice sweater, a scarf, and ugg boots. She let her short, black curls out because although they were usually unruly, tonight they were manageable and she also put on some light makeup. Her palms were sweating as Justin pulled up to her house. When she got into the car, she looked over at Justin who was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a baseball cap.

“Hey, you.” he said with a smile. “You look great.”

Charlotte was so nervous she could barely speak. She had been a hockey fan when she was young, but it was Hannah who really got her into the sport, and from the minute she saw Justin Faulk at a game the two of them went to, she was smitten. “Thanks,” she replied “so do you.”

Charlotte and Justin talked pretty much the whole way to the rink. Charlotte talked a little about growing up in North Carolina, met Hannah in middle school, and how they now go to the same college. Justin talked about growing up in Minnesota, playing at UMD and winning the NCAA championships, and finally coming to the Hurricanes last season and what it has been like playing in the NHL.

The conversation continued as they got entered the rink and put on skates. Justin tied Charlotte’s skates which made her heartbeat pick up. Justin looked up at Charlotte while he was tying her skates and smiled. “Not too tight right?”

She smiled back “Nope, not at all.”

Once the skates were tied, Justin helped Charlotte get on the ice, and she hoped that he couldn’t tell that her hands were sweating. They assumed the position they were in last time they were skating; Charlotte skating forwards, and Justin skating backwards with his hands on her waist. Charlotte could barely breathe. Justin was giving instructions, but Charlotte wasn’t even listening. She was thinking about other things; those other things being what she would rather be doing with Justin other than ice skating.

“Charlotte?”

Justin’s voice snapped Charlotte out of her trance. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you wanted to try on your own now.”

“Oh. Yeah I’ll give it a try.”

Justin took his hands of Charlotte’s waist, much to her disappointment, and skated behind her. He gave her a little push and Charlotte began moving forward. After a few seconds, Charlotte stumbled and lost her balance, but before she could hit the ice, Justin caught her.

He giggled. “This is gonna be harder than I thought.”

Charlotte chuckled. Her heart was racing. Justin had his arms around her. They looked at each other for a minute before realizing that they hadn’t moved from their position and that Charlotte was still in Justin’s arms, inches from the ice. Justin pulled her up and they continued to skate. Charlotte was getting better, and they were skating side by side now. Justin’s hand found Charlotte’s and their fingers intertwined. They were going very slow, but it was nice. Charlotte would look at Justin every once and while, occasionally making eye contact with him.

After skating for a while, Justin led Charlotte off the ice and they put their shoes back on. They left the rink and walked to Justin’s car.

“So I was thinking we’d get Chipotle for dinner?” Justin asked

Charlotte’s face lit up “Oh my god yes! I love Chipotle!”

Justin laughed at her enthusiasm “Okay well then Chipotle it is.”

The car ride to the restaurant was quiet, with the dull noise of the car radio filling the space. Eventually they arrived at the restaurant. Justin and Charlotte both ordered burritos and sat at a table.

Justin looked at his burrito and rubbed his hands together. “Get in my belly!” he said before opening the foil and taking a bite.

Charlotte burst into laughter at Justin’s remark. “Excited about your burrito?”

Justin looked up from his food and shot Charlotte a crooked smile, “I’m always excited about Chipotle.”

After they ate, they got into Justin’s car and headed back to Charlotte’s house. When they pulled up to Charlotte’s house, she went to open the door but Justin stopped her. “Wait,” he said. “let me.” He got out and went around to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door and held out his hand to help Charlotte out of his large black SUV.

Charlotte took his hand. “And they say chivalry is dead.”

Justin chuckled. “That’s right, I’m a proper gentleman. Now let me walk you to your door.”

They walked up the front path to Charlotte’s front door. When they reached the top of the front steps, Charlotte turned to face Justin. She took his hands in hers. “I don’t want tonight to end.”

Justin sighed. “Me neither. I had so much fun.”

“I know, me too.”

They stood in silence for a minute. Charlotte turned to open the door. “Well I guess I’ll talk to you tom-”

Justin cut her off by pulling him to face her again and pressing his lips to hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. After the initial surprise, Charlotte moved her arms from on Justin’s chest to around his neck. The kiss deepened. Charlotte’s heart was beating out of her chest. Justin’s tongue moved into her mouth and when her tongue met his he let out a moan. Charlotte’s hands moved into Justin’s hair and Justin pulled Charlotte in closer to him. The butterflies in Charlotte’s stomach continued to flutter until she realized that she was standing outside her front door, making out with a guy in front of her entire block. They rapidly pulled apart, breathing heavily.

Justin spoke first. “I’m sorry about that, it’s just that...I’ve wanted to kiss you from the minute I met you.”

The butterflies began to flutter again, and Charlotte’s cheeks grew hotter. “It’s okay. I’ve...wanted you to kiss me from the minute I met you.” she was pleased with her clever response.

Justin seemed pleased as well. “Well now that I’ve effectively embarrassed you in front of your neighbors, I guess I should get going. I’ll text you tomorrow?”

Charlotte giggled and nodded. “Yeah, sounds great.”
Justin kissed her on the cheek and walked back down the path away from the house and towards his car. After he pulled away, Charlotte went into her house and upstairs to get ready for bed. She took off her makeup, put on pajamas and laid down in bed. She sent out a text to Hannah, who didn’t respond, then closed her eyes and fell asleep thinking about Justin Faulk and Chipotle burritos.