"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but your accent is very beautiful."

Natalia looked at Steve in surprise. "Thank you and I don't mind. No one has ever told me that before."

"What a shame." He smiled at her with a tenderness that made her heart beat fast. "They should pay more attention."

She looked away in mild embarrassment, unsure of how to respond. There was a blush rising on her cheeks and she felt silly for her body's reaction. Steve may be a stranger - kind of - to her, but he knew how to make her feel like a silly schoolgirl with a crush.

"What about you? Are you American by birth or were your parents from another country?"

"My parents were second generation Irish immigrants, so I was born and raised here. In Brooklyn, specifically."

"Ah, that explains the accent."

"Yep, but it's not very strong."

"My accent is the same, at least by normal Russian standards. It's much weaker now, although it gets stronger when I'm upset or excited."

"Have you had any reason to feel that way recently?"

"No, but my life is pretty uneventful at this point. All I do is work, go to school and spend time with my cousins. I don't have a lot of time for anything else."

"But you managed to come to the carnival."

"That was pure luck. Most of my students are out of town, so I cancelled this week's lessons to give the rest a break. I would have stayed at home with my cousins tonight, but they were both out on dates and I didn't want to stay at home by myself, so here I am."

"Good. Everyone needs a bit of fun time and I think you were definitely due."

"Thank you." Natalia rested her chin on her hand. "How long have you been a grammar teacher?"

"It's been nine years now. To be honest, I've been thinking of quitting."

"Don't you like teaching?"

"Yes, but it was a career that I chose as a back up in case my paintings never sold. Now they're popular in the East Village and Soho. People come to the gallery asking for me by name and it's a bit of a hassle juggling that and grading papers."

"So your heart is with artistry."

"That's right. Teaching is nice and I like it, but it's no match for the feel of a paintbrush in my hand and the smell of the acrylic on the canvas. Painting is perfect for me, you know? I can't see myself doing anything else."

"Then you should follow your heart. There aren't many of us who are in a place where we can do what we love. Go for it. You'll be happy you did in the long run."

"I suppose you're right. It's not fair to myself if I stay in a place where I'm unfulfilled."

"Exactly." Natalia touched Steve's hand assuringly.

They kept talking and after the next several minutes, Natalia was convinced that she'd fallen a little bit in love with him. It was preposterous to think about and if she told her cousins, they would likely laugh in her face, but it was true all the same.

Steve Rogers was everything Natalia ever wanted in a man: handsome, intelligent, compassionate and even though his sense of humor was a bit old fashioned, it was still charming. He also had a sense of chivalry that was refreshing and irresistibly endearing. It was nice to know that she could be treated like a lady in this day and age.

If her gaze hadn't occasionally drifted to the lights around them, Natalia wouldn't have remembered where they were. Steve helped offset her previous anxiety by asking questions about her life at home and how it was different from her life in America.

Natalia felt like he was truly interested in hearing what she had to say and that stroked her ego nicely. It had been a long time since a man treated her with such regard and she feared that she was getting spoiled by him.

Steve, in turn, had avoided asking Natalia if she had a boyfriend because he didn't want to sound like he was digging for information. Eventually, he was unable to resist, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the Ferris wheel started moving.

Natalia gasped and grabbed ahold of his arm. "We're moving again?"

"Yeah." Steve glanced at his watch. "And it only took them thirty-six minutes. Not bad."

"Not bad? Has this thing stopped before?"

"Mmhm. I think the longest time it stopped was for two and a half hours."

"Well, thank God we weren't up here for that long."

"Was my company that hard to bear?" There was a twinkle in Steve's eyes.

"Oh, no! That isn't what I meant!" Natalia furrowed her brow only to realise that she'd just been had. "You're an ass," came her lighthearted reply.

"At least you had a pleasant evening with an ass instead of some jerk who would have hit on you the entire time."

"If you had hit on me, I wouldn't have minded..." Natalia looked up at Steve from under her eyelashes and was pleased to hear him suck in a breath and see his pupils dilate.

"I don't know if that would be appropriate. We are strangers after all." His tone was husky and tinged with emotion. Interesting.

"Mm, not really. In fact, I feel as if I've known you my whole life." Natalia slid her hands around his neck, pulling him closer until she was practically in his lap. Instinctively, Steve held her securely by the waist.

"I was going to say the same thing."

"So what would you like to do next?"

Natalia brushed her fingertips against Steve's mouth. His eyes were locked into hers and neither of them blinked. "I want to kiss you," she whispered.

"I guess I can allow that," he replied back with a teasing smile.

The redhead grinned and leaned forward, her lips gently touching his parted ones. Steve let Natalia control the pace - something she hadn't expected at all, but greatly appreciated - and she hummed softly, enjoying the feel of his mouth on hers.

A warm rush of excitement rushed through her as she cocked her head to the side and moved her hand to cradle his cheek. She felt the pounding of Steve's heart when their chests met. His muscled torso felt so good against her softer one and, without even realizing it, their bodies had begun rocking together. The more they touched, the damper Natalia's panties grew.

Oh.

She did not expect such a reaction, but she sure as hell wasn't going to feel bad about it. Still, they were on a moving Ferris wheel and she was rocking on Steve's knee. This was not a desired place to have an orgasm.

Natalia inwardly scoffed when that thought came into her head. As if she'd be having any kind of orgasm with Steve. She probably needed to just go home and pull out her vibrator since she was thinking in that direction. Another lonely night by herself...or perhaps not alone.

"Wait, Steve..." She panted, pulling away from him so she could speak. He didn't make it easy because he tugged her back to him, crushing his mouth against hers once more. This caused Natalia to buck her hips forward and they both groaned. His erection was now poking her in the stomach - not that she minded because it was flattering as hell.

"Steve. St-stop a minute."

It took a few more calls of his name before he finally pulled away, a red flush spreading on his skin. "Ah, sorry."

"It's okay. Um...listen, since we both have nothing to do tonight, I was wondering if you'd like to see a movie with me."

"Really?" Steve's eyes looked so alive and surprised by her suggestion.

"Yeah. There's an old movie marathon at the theater a few blocks away. Do you think you'd want to-"

"Yes. If it's with you, then my answer is yes."

Natalia's cheeks tinted pink and she smiled. "Good. I think we'll have a lot of fun."

"I agree. And theaters are great places to make out."

"You're speaking my language, Rogers."