After that first pool lesson John and Natalie played every day for a week. Natalie was starting to trust John. She stopped flinching every time he came to close and had even hugged him on one occasion. He had just made a very difficult shot and, caught up in the excitement of the moment, she had impulsively hugged him. She had jumped back quickly but the damage had been done. She knew what it felt like to have his arms around her and to Natalie's irritation she liked it entirely too much.
Right now John was staring at a paper trying to figure out what it meant. There were a list of chemicals on it he didn't know what were. Putting it aside he made a mental note to consult the lab to ask them what they were. He was startled when Natasha picked up the paper and began studying it.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's a list of chemicals I need to know more about." John said reaching for the list. He stopped short when she spoke.
"It's the ingredients in make up," she said handing back the paper.
Surprised John looked at her, "Excuse me? You understand it? "
Looking down Natalie said, "Yeah, These are the ingredients in make up. These are the ingredients in lip blush specifically."
Looking at her in amazement John asked, "lip blush?"
"Yeah, color for your lips." Natalie said bring her hand to her lips touching them lightly.
John, followed the motion of her hand to her mouth. He stared at her mouth for a minute contemplating what it would be like to kiss her before forcing his thoughts back to the matter at hand. "How do you know that?"
"I used to work in a beauty salon," Natalie said shrugging, "long hours."
"Tell me something," John said excitedly, "would the color wash off leaving a chemical residue if it got wet, rained on?"
"I guess," Natalie said.
John jumped up from the table he was at heading toward a quiet part of the bar saying, "I have to make a call." Turning back he said, "You have no idea how much you just helped me out," then he went to a quiet spot to make his call leaving Natalie smiling shyly.
Natalie went to wait on other customers and, before she knew it, it was the end of her shift. John had left about 2 hours ago so Natalie was surprised when she turned around from putting her stuff away and saw him standing behind her.
"Hey," Natalie said shyly.
"Hey," John said just as shyly. He had no idea what he was doing back here. He had left but when he had gotten home he had wanted to see Natalie again so he had come back.
"What are you doing back here?" Natalie asked sternly but was secretly pleased that he had come back.
"I don't know exactly," John said. "I just can't seem to stay away from you."
Natalie shook her head confused, "What are you saying John?"
"I don't know. I just wasn't ready to go home so I thought maybe I would walk you home. It's not safe to walk alone at night." John said lamely. He just wanted to spend more time with her. John himself was confused by his feelings. He didn't know what to make of them. He had never felt this way before. Not even with Caitlyn, a fact that both excited him and scared him to death.
Natalie looked at him curiously. He had never offered to walk her home before. She was a little wary of his unexpected offer but in a sense he was right. It was dangerous for her to walk home. She worried Cris would find her. After all this time she expected him to be there. He usually had found her by now. It was driving her crazy, constantly looking for him. Expecting him to be there in her apartment when she got home. But still.. she didn't know if she should accept John's offer. "ok" she said then looked shocked. It had just slipped out.
John smiled, relieved that she said yes. "So ready to go?" She nodded and they headed for the door. As they walked John attempted to make small talk. After talking for about 10 minutes about nothing in particular John reached for her hand. Taking it in his as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Natalie jumped when John took her hand and started to pull away. She stopped walking abruptly, yanking her hand out of his. "Why did you do that?"
John looked down at his feet then back up again. Looking straight into her beautiful blue eyes he said, "I don't know. It just felt right." Looking down again he said, "I..I.. I really like you Natasha."
Natalie looked at him in amazement. "John," she said softly and he looked up. Looking into his intense gaze Natalie slowly reached out her hand to him. When he brought his hand back up Natalie took hold of his hand intertwining their fingers and squeezing them lightly. "I like you to John."
John smiled widely at her and she gave a little tug at their hands to indicate that they should start walking again. When they reached Natalie's apartment John let go of her hand and looked at her. "Could I walk you home tomorrow night too?" John asked hoping she would agree.