Winter Love

Chapter 4

They kissed for a few seconds and pulled away. "What do you want to do next?" Tom asked, gently grasping her hand and they skated off the ice. "Have you ever had bubble tea?" She asked. "Yeah, I have. Do you wanna go get bubble tea?" She nodded, blushing gently. "I'm sorry." She started to skate off the ice. "What for?" He asked, grabbing her wrist gently. "I'm such an idiot." He looked at her, confused. "How could you say you're an idiot. You're pretty, funny, smart and kind. There's no way in hell that you are an idiot." He leaned down to kiss her again, his hands wrapping around her waist as the rest of the skaters left the ice. They broke apart again and she clung to him tightly, sobbing.

"You don't understand. The reason I lost all that weight is because I wanted to look good for you. I changed myself to be what I thought you would think was pretty. I cut out things I loved from my diet, started walking daily. I was so sure I wouldn't be enough for you that I refused to believe I could ever be enough for you until I reached the standards of the girls I see walking down the street every day."

He just held her until eventually the people who were managing the ice rink told them to move off the ice. She blushed again, scared of what he would think of her now.

At Hi tea

Olivia was quiet until they got to Hi tea and she ordered. She got the money out to pay and he stopped her. "I told you earlier I was paying for everything." She blushed, realising that she'd probably offended him in some way by trying to pay. "Right, I forgot. Sorry."

After getting their bubble tea

He led her to the park outside the shopping centre and sat down with her on a bench. "Why are you so self conscious?" He asked, his voice and tone gentle. "I don't know...I've never had very much confidence. I mean, you saw it at my baptism. I couldn't get the words out." She looked down, embarrassed and annoyed. She couldn't get the words out here either. And she was only talking to him. "About the ice rink..." She started.
"Oh, you mean, the kiss." She nodded. "The kiss. So, what does this make us?" He pulled her in for another kiss. "How does boyfriend and girlfriend sound?" She smiled, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, the height difference still noticeable even when they were sat down.

"Is it too early to say I love you?" She asked as they walked back to the bus stop. "I don't think so. I love you too, by the way." She smiled gently. "Would you mind if we kept it on the down low for a little while?" She asked, seeing Amy and her girlfriend Alice walking down the street towards them. "Can we tell these guys at least?" Olivia smiled, nodding. She couldn't keep the fact that they were dating from her best friend. "Amy, Alice, we have something to tell you guys." She looked up at Tom, gesturing for him to tell them. "Liv and I are dating." Alice looked up from her book. "Pardon?" She exclaimed, "Since when?"
Olivia spoke up. "We kissed on the ice rink and then again in the park." She looked over at Amy who was having a mini party in her head. "Finally!" Olivia kissed Tom's cheek and he picked her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. "Livvy..." He looked down at her. "Are you alright? You seem kinda...I don't know...uncomfortable." She blushed, realising he'd probably noticed. "I'll talk to you on the bus." He nodded, putting her down and kissing her forehead. Their bus pulled up and Amy and Alice got on first, scanning their tickets followed by Olivia and Tom who did the same.