Canada x OC

Ice Skating Love

Snow fell as I walked from my car to the frozen lake. My jet-black curls were pulled back into a tight ponytail and I wore a cute little outfit consisting of a long sleeve white sweater over a black tank top, a dark green puffy vest, dark wash skinny jeans, and knee-high tan boots. My hair was up and out of the way so that my hair wouldn't get in my face while I skated. I was carrying my ice blue backpack that carried my snow-white skates.

It was around noon, the middle of the day, and I thought that no one would be on the lake to skate. Everyone would either be in school or at work and I luckily had the day off, kind of hoping to just have a quiet skating time.

I was wrong, but I'm not sorry that I was wrong.

I got to the lake and found that there was one other person skating on the ice. It was a guy, skating as if she was a professional skater. I watched him for a little while, noticing his violet eyes and cheek length hair of a lighter blond on top, with more of an orange (or darker blond) shade on the bottom and tips with a nice wave to it and on lone curl that fell on his forehead. He wore a thick navy-blue jacket, dark wash jeans, and black skates. On the side of the lake closest to me, a tan bear was sitting at a picnic table eating a fish. Oh, it was so cute!

The guy stopped skating and turned to look in my direction. "Oh, hello. I didn't see you there," he said in a very soft-toned voice.

I gave him a smile. "It's no problem. You seemed pretty into your skating with all the amazing moves you were showing off," I replied, moving to sit at the picnic table with the cute bear. "Mind if I skate with you?" I asked him, sitting down to change from my boots to my skates.

"Um, sure. I mean, if you really want to," he said, sounding very nervous and just as quiet as before.

I opened my backpack and pulled out my skates. One by one, I swapped my boots for my skates. I looked up from tying my laces to see this man rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous state. I smiled. "There is no need to be nervous." I stood up and took the three steps from the table to the ice. I did a little spin to level my balance and turned back to him. "How about we introduce ourselves?" I skated up to him and offered him my hand to shake his. "Hello, I am Carrie Kent. I'm a barista at the Twilight Café in town."

He smiled and took my hand in his but instead of shaking my hand, he kissed the knuckles of my hand while slightly bowing. I felt my cheeks heat up at the very gentleman and chivalrous action. "Mon chéri, I am Matthew Williams. I am a government agent," he introduced himself. His entire demeanor shifted from nervous to charming.

"Well, it is refreshing to meet such a gentleman," I stated, my cheeks still tinted pink. I pulled my hand away to me as he straightened up. "A government agent? Sounds glamorous. What do you do or is it top secret?" I asked, skating a circle around him with my hands clasped behind my back.

"I'm an ambassador," he told me, easily skating out of the circle I was making. "I can't really say more than that."

"No problem," I told him. "I bet you get to travel with your job, seeing some really cool places."

"The traveling is nice," he agreed, "but some of the people I deal with…" He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Like they're too big for their britches?" I asked sympathetically.

He nodded. "I'm sure you have seen people like that while working as a barista."

"Let's not forget un-caffeinated zombies masquerading as university students," I added with a giggle. "Late night shifts bring out the more unique characters."

We shared a laugh and skated next to each other, sharing funny stories between each other. I learned that the bear was named Kumajirou, or Kuma, and that he belonged to Matthew.

"He's so cute!" I told Matthew, the two of us watching Kuma slide around on the ice.

"He is cute, but he is also a butthead," Matthew told me. "He's my best friend, though."

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked, doing a small jump and landing into a spin.

He nodded, following my jump and spin moved. "I have a couple older brothers and a twin brother."

"Must be nice to have so many siblings," I said sadly. "I grew up an only child."

He shrugged. "My brothers can be…how can I put this lightly without sounding like a jerk?"

I giggled. "That bad?" I asked, doing another spin.

"They aren't bad people," he stated. "They can just be full of themselves and hardheaded. One of them likes to flirt with anything that moves." He shook his head. "How about we just skate and not talk about my brothers?"

I smiled and nodded.

We moved in sync with each other. If one did a jump, the other did a jump. If someone did a tight spin, so did the other. It was a delightful time. At one point, we ended up skating while holding hands, moving very closely together. It was like a first date, even if it was a total coincidence that we met. We skated until the sun began to set.

"It's going to get dark soon," Matthew stated. "Is your car parked far away?"

I shook my head. "I live very close by." I pointed in the direction of a small one-story blue and white cottage just beyond the forest lining of the lake. "Why don't you guys come over for hot chocolate and dinner?" I offered with a smile.

"Oh, are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "I don't have guests often and my parents live in a couple hours away. It will be fun to have guests." I took his hands in mine, giving him a bright smile and seeing his handsome face turn bright red.

"Um…okay. Kuma and I will come over," he agreed, his voice back to that soft and shy tone.

"Yay!" I pulled him to the picnic bench, letting go of his hands to take my skates of and put my boots back on. "I have some yummy stew in the crockpot and I will make some yummy rolls to go with it." I stood up, zipping my backpack up. I watched him swap his skates for boots as well. "Shall we?"

He nodded. "I'm going to move my car to your house, so I don't have to trek back out here when we go home," he said.

"Okay. I'll see you when you get there," I told him. "Just come in when you park." With that, I turned and walked back to my house. The snow was starting to fall harder as the sun fell behind the horizon.

My walk was five minutes and I stomped my feet on the outside mat before walking into my small cottage. The cottage was designed to resemble something out of a fairytale with the stone walls, the small square shape, and the rustic brown roof. The arches above the two front windows and the door were arched into points. A chimney rose up the front of the house and bushes covered the bottom of the house, bare because of the winter weather. My bright, jewel red SUV was parked under a hand-built wooden gazebo next to the house. On the inside, the place is a one room house with a bathroom in the back-left corner. The walls were painted teal with white clouds on all four walls with a cream hardwood floor. On the wall next to the door hung a dark brown coat rack. My living area, to the direct left upon entering, was a teal couch bed with two glass side tables and a glass coffee table with my latest books to read strewn across it with my laptop on there as well. Two teal arm chairs rested on either end of the coffee table.

Straight across from the living area was a small kitchenette with a white fridge, teal upper and lower cupboards with a white marble countertop. A small counter separated the fridge and the stove. The sink was under a window that had sheer teal and white curtains over it. A small square glass table with white chairs sat in between the living area and the kitchenette with a teal and white vase holding lilies in the middle.

I hung my backpack and vest on the coat rack by the door, heading to the kitchen to check on the meat and potato stew cooking on the counter. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, and carrots. It took me back to eating Sunday dinner at my grandmother's; especially considering that it was her recipe that I used to make dinner.

The door opened behind me and I turned to see Matthew and Kuma enter the room. Kuma, the cute bear that he is, walked over to my couch and climbed up onto it. The cute bear quickly fell asleep, looking like a life-like stuffed bear resting on the couch after a child had gotten up from naptime.

"Oh, he is such a cutie," I stated as Matthew took his jacket off, revealing a loose white long sleeve shirt with the red Maple Leaf in the middle of the front. "Very patriotic," I commented.

"It is our national symbol," he stated, hanging up his jacket on the coat rack. He walked into the kitchen with me. "The stew smells wonderful."

I smiled with my cheeks turning pink again at the compliment. "Thank you." I moved to the fridge and opened the bottom drawer to grab a bag of dinner rolls out of the freezer. I turned the oven on, setting it to the directed temperature.

"Would you like help?" he asked, moving to stand next to me.

I bent down and got a baking sheet from a small cupboard between the stove and the fridge. "Well, in the cupboard above the crockpot is the dishware. Can you get the bowls and set them by the crockpot?" With that comment, the oven beeped in being ready. I opened the oven door and slid the baking sheet in to get the rolls baking.

He smiled and moved to do just that, getting three bowls out and setting them up to be fill with dinner. Once the bowls were set up, he turned to me and we both leaned against the counter. We stood there, just staring into each other's eyes; violet into green. There was silence, but it was a comfortable silence. While we were staring at each other, I felt his hand touch mine. "You're beautiful," he whispered to me.

"And you're handsome," I whispered in kind.

Our foreheads touched as we moved closer to each other, our nose brushing, and our eyes still gazing into each other's.

"You know," I said softly. "I would love to see you again after tonight. You seem like a wonderful person to be around."

"You want me around?" he asked.

I nodded. "Would you like to hang out again?"

"Would the hanging out end in something…more going on?" he asked, shy and biting his lower lip.

"Perhaps," I answered coyly. "You would have to keep coming over to see."

He then grinned. "I guess I will." In response to this conversation, he wrapped his free arm around my waist and kissed my cheek-almost on my lips because it was on the corner of my mouth.

It was the beginning of a sweet relationship.