Chapter 307: a confession V

Chapter 307: Chapter 307: a confession V

For a few moments, neither of them moved.

Vivienne was still smiling.

She couldn’t seem to stop.

Her heart was still beating too quickly, and she was suddenly very aware of how close she was standing to him.

Then she glanced around.

They were still standing in front of the residence hall.

Under a tree.

At nearly ten in the evening.

"Oh..."

Christopher looked at her.

"What?"

Vivienne looked around again.

"Maybe..."

She hesitated.

"Maybe we should sit somewhere?"

Christopher nodded.

"Yeah."

Vivienne glanced around the grounds.

There was a bench a little farther beneath the trees, away from the entrance but still close enough that she could see the residence hall.

"There."

She pointed.

"We can sit there."

"Okay."

She stepped out of his hold, then reached for his hand.

Her fingers slipped between his.

She froze for half a second.

Her face grew warm.

She turned so he wouldn’t see her face and started walking.

A step ahead of him.

Christopher glanced down.

Their hands were joined.

He looked at her back.

The faint flush on her ears was visible from behind.

A small smile touched his lips.

He let her lead.

Vivienne reached the bench and sat down quickly.

Then she looked back at him.

"Come sit."

Christopher smiled.

"All right."

He sat beside her.

Their hands remained joined between them.

Vivienne looked down at them again.

She tried very hard not to smile.

She failed.

Christopher glanced at her.

He had the sudden, almost absurd thought that he still couldn’t quite believe this was happening.

A few minutes ago, she had asked him to date her.

And now she was sitting beside him, holding his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He liked it.

More than he probably should have admitted to himself this quickly.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The campus was quiet around them.

It wasn’t completely empty. Every now and then, a student passed somewhere along the walkway, talking quietly with a friend or carrying something back toward one of the buildings.

But nobody seemed to pay them any attention.

Vivienne was grateful for that.

She looked at Christopher.

Then immediately looked away.

She let out a small, nervous laugh.

"I’m sorry."

He turned toward her.

"For what?"

"I just..."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I think I’m not very good at this."

"At what?"

She glanced down at their joined hands.

"This."

Her voice dropped.

"Being in a relationship."

Christopher watched her.

There was something almost endearing about the way she said it.

He squeezed her hand lightly.

"You’re doing fine."

Vivienne looked at him.

"Am I?"

"Yeah."

The answer came easily.

Because, as far as he was concerned, she was.

Vivienne gave a tiny, embarrassed laugh.

"I mean..."

She hesitated.

"This feels new to me."

Christopher smiled faintly.

Vivienne glanced at him.

Then, after a moment, she asked quietly,

"How about you?"

Christopher looked at her.

"How about me?"

"Have you..."

She hesitated.

"Have you done this before?"

"You mean, have I had a relationship before?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Oh."

Vivienne looked at him with quiet curiosity.

"You did?"

Christopher nodded.

"Yes."

He paused.

"But that was quite a while ago."

He looked at her.

"So this feels new to me too."

Something about that made her relax.

"Oh."

She smiled faintly.

"Okay."

Christopher watched the little change in her expression.

He liked that he could make her feel more at ease simply by being honest with her.

She looked down at their hands again.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Then Vivienne shifted slightly beside him.

"So..."

Vivienne glanced at him.

Her fingers were still intertwined with his.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

Christopher looked at her for a moment.

"Tomorrow?"

She nodded.

"Yeah."

He thought briefly.

"I have fencing at ten."

"Oh."

Her expression brightened.

"Can I... go there to watch?"

Christopher gave her a knowing smile.

She blushed, then looked down at their hands before looking back at him.

"Well... I watched you on Monday, but..."

She hesitated.

"This time is different."

"How?"

Vivienne’s cheeks warmed.

"Because..."

She looked away.

"Because I’m your girlfriend now."

His smile widened slightly.

"And you’re going to cheer for your boyfriend?"

She looked at him.

"Yes."

There was no hesitation that time.

Christopher chuckled softly.

"All right."

"So it’s okay?"

"Of course."

He tilted his head slightly.

"I’d like you to be there."

Vivienne looked at him.

The warmth in his expression made something in her chest tighten pleasantly.

"Okay."

She was quiet for a moment.

Then she remembered something else.

"Oh... I didn’t get to ask... how was your polo match earlier?"

"We won."

"Oh... that’s good. Uhm... congrats..."

"Thanks."

"Then... when’s your next match?"

"Thursday."

"Oh."

Vivienne nodded thoughtfully.

"Then I’ll be there too."

Christopher gave her a small smile.

"Okay."

Vivienne laughed softly.

For a few seconds, they simply sat there.

Their shoulders were close.

Their hands were still joined.

Vivienne could feel the warmth of him beside her.

And somehow, now that they had actually agreed to be together, she became painfully aware of every little thing.

She wanted to move closer.

She wanted to lean against him.

Maybe put her head on his shoulder.

Maybe hug him again.

But she wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to do.

She shifted slightly.

Then stopped.

Christopher noticed.

He looked at her.

Vivienne immediately looked away.

Another small shift.

She stopped again.

He watched her for a moment.

He could tell she wanted something.

She just didn’t seem to know how to ask for it.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

Vivienne bit the inside of her cheek.

"I just..."

She looked down.

"I don’t know."

Christopher looked at her for another second.

Then he understood.

He released her hand and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

He gently pulled her closer.

Vivienne’s breath caught.

She looked up at him.

Christopher’s expression softened.

"There."

Her heart skipped.

"There?"

"Better?"

She stared at him for a moment.

Then she nodded.

"Yeah."

She settled against him.

Her shoulder pressed against his chest, and his arm remained comfortably around her.

Christopher felt her relax against him.

He adjusted his arm around her and held her a little closer.

Vivienne could smell his cologne again.

Why does he smell so good???

She looked up, and their eyes met.

Gods, his face was so near.

And his lips...

They looked so kissable.

He brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face and tucked it gently behind her ear.

Vivienne went still.

Her cheeks warmed again.

Should she just kiss him now?

But they had already kissed earlier.

Would he think she was being too wanton?

Christopher caught the hesitation in her eyes.

He studied her for a moment.

Then his mouth curved slightly.

"You know..."

Vivienne looked at him.

"What?"

"If you want to kiss me, you can."

Her eyes widened.

Christopher’s smile deepened.

"You don’t have to wait for me to do it first."

Vivienne stared at him.

"Oh."

She swallowed.

"Okay."

She hesitated for another second.

Then she leaned toward him.

Her lips met his.

It was a soft kiss.

Brief.

But this time, there was no surprise in it.

No uncertainty.

Just the quiet warmth of knowing they were allowed to do this now.

When she pulled back, she stayed close.

Her face was burning.

Christopher looked at her for a moment.

Then he leaned in again.

This time, the kiss was deeper.

His lips parted against hers, and when she instinctively parted hers in response, he gently deepened the kiss, letting it linger between them.

Vivienne’s fingers tightened slightly around his.

Her heart seemed to stumble.

Christopher’s hand rested against her cheek, his thumb brushing softly along her skin as he kissed her again, slower this time, before finally drawing back.

Vivienne blinked at him.

Her heart was racing.

She could barely catch her breath.

Christopher’s thumb brushed lightly along her cheek.

"There."

She couldn’t help the smile blooming again.

He kept his arm around her, and she settled against him again.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Then Vivienne remembered what she had been about to ask.

"So... after fencing tomorrow..."

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to have lunch with me?"

Christopher looked down at her.

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Of course."

Vivienne looked at him.

He held her gaze calmly.

"That goes without saying."

Her heart fluttered.

She leaned a little closer against him.

"Okay."

Christopher kept his arm around her, holding her comfortably against his side.

This time, neither of them needed to say anything else.

–

Tbc