Walking a fine line✔️

32. First date

"What!" I exclaimed, leaping up. "You're his cousin?"

Griffin raised his eyebrows. "He didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't tell me!" 

How on earth had I missed this? Now that I think about it, they do actually look rather similar. Same hair colour, same build — although Griffin's was slightly more defined — and they even had the same shade of dark blue eyes. I inwardly facepalmed. I'd been in an ongoing blonde moment the whole of championships. 

"Has he been working with you the entire time?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

Griffin laughed. "No, I did try to get him to switch teams but he stood by you mostly. Team apocalypse till the end or something."

I narrowed my eyes. "Mostly? The sunscreen?"

"No, he was innocent to that prank. I'm talking about bringing a sparkle to your day."

My thoughts flashed back to Noah insisting June and I step through the doorway before. I'd thought that was a bit suspicious and now it seemed I was right.

"I'm going to throttle his neck when we get back," I said. "He's been withholding valuable information."

Griffin laughed and walked over to his coat and began fumbling around in its pocket. "Are you hungry?" My stomach rumbled as a response and he laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. I have some muesli bars."

I smiled and sat down at the table opposite to Griffin. "Of course you do." I'd eaten all of mine while stuck in the net.

"Gotta keep the tank filled." He slid me two muesli bars across the table."This isn't exactly how I pictured our first date to go but it'll have to do."

I ignored the butterflies spiralling in my stomach and opened the muesli bar. "This is not a date. This is us being forced together by the weather."

He raised his eyebrows teasingly. "Fine, this is our pre first date. How do you picture our first date?"

Through a mouthful of food I said, "For starters, you have not won the prank war yet."

He smirked. "Yet?"

"And you never will," I added. "I won't be going on a date with you." 

"We'll say," he said with a smirk and I realised that he had deliberately reused my words from the library so many days ago. "I am now in the lead after all."

I scowled. "I can't believe I didn't wake up when you were tying my wrists together."

He chuckled. "I was surprised too. I thought you had when you mumbled my name, but after a few seconds I realised you must've been dreaming." He gave me a grin. "What were we doing in your dream?"

I shook my head. "You're lying. I did not dream about you."

Not to my memory at least.

"Unless you know another Griffin" — he leaned closer across the table— "and in that case I'm very curious who my competition is, you were dreaming about me."

"I was probably dreaming about beating you."

"It didn't sound like that."

What on earth had I said?

He caught my expression and laughed. "You began talking about ice cream."

"Ice cream?" I echoed. 

"An ice princess even in your sleep."

"Sleeping Beauty is Aurora, not Elsa. You're mixing fairy tales."

He shook his head. "The pranks you pull are cold hearted and your frosty looks can kill. You're definitely an ice princess." He laughed. "And yet you have the ironic weakness of being unable to withstand the cold."

"You make me sound like the villain of the story, not the princess," I replied. 

He winked. "I don't mind being Prince Evil, rather than Prince Charming. We'd spend our days plotting the downfall of the good."

I decided to play along. "And our dates whispering evil secrets to one another." His smile turned to a frown when I added, "Only to end up caught and live unhappily ever—"

"Scratch that," Griffin interrupted. "We can't have that. Take two. I'm Prince Charming, the only one able to melt your cold heart and free the kingdom from snow."

I shook my head. "You're the one with the cold heart, Mr. I don't date anyone."

"Maybe it's not so cold anymore, princess," he said, then cleared his throat. "You know, I already have our first date planned."

"You do?" I asked curiously. 

He nodded. "It will be just after camp finishes. I'll drive to your house and pick you up — old school. And then I'd take you down to the beach just before sunset." He paused. "I'd buy us ice creams—"

"Chocolate flavoured of course," I interrupted. 

He smiled. "I'd buy us chocolate ice creams and we'd walk along the beach eating them."

"And then?"

He stood up. "And then once we'd finished I'd offer you my hand." He held his out and I took it. "And we'd dance in the light of the dying sun."

"Poetic," I whispered.

He took my other hand and placed it on his shoulder before putting his own around my waist. We swayed in a comfortable silence, our bodies in tune with one another, no one feeling the urge to take. After a few minutes had past he gave me a twirl then pulled me back into his arms and sat down on the couch with me in his lap.

"After dancing we'd sit in the sand together and watch the sun go down under a blanket like this." He pulled a blanket over us.

"Minus the moth holes," I breathed.

"Minus the moth holes," he repeated. "And then, if the mood was right, I'd maybe lean in for a kiss—"

I let go of him and stepped back off his lap, reality coming back to me. "And then you'd sleep with me and move on."

"No."

"Really?" I asked, my voice rising. "The whole idea of having a date if you won was literally to prove to me why so many girls want to sleep with you."

As if on cue, thunder crashed outside. I shivered and turned my gaze to Griffin who met my eyes with warmth.

"That was before I got to know you," he said quietly. "The situation has changed."

A/N:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 

Do you celebrate Christmas? If so what traditions do you have?

Every year me and my family always watch the Snowman - an all time classic <3

SouthernAlps over and out... (to go eat mince pies!)