Reluctant lovers- TDWT Aleheather retelling

Chapter 10

Alejandro needed to somehow deter Bridgette enough so that his team could have the advantage. There were two ways he could do this, overwhelm her mentally or somehow stop her physically. He figured he would wait, staying close to her as they hopped over the ice floats. Alejandro had never been more grateful for his boots, it made jumping from each block of ice easier. He figured out a system to pick out a selection of ice floats, carefully calculating the risk of each before he jumped. As he calculated his next move, Bridgette slid on the ice next to him, about to continue past him into the freezing waters. For a moment he considered letting her fall in the frigid waters to halt her physically, but decided that it was too cruel. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards him.

"Woah, thanks. You know we're on different teams right?"

"My mother raised a gentleman. Team's are irrelevant." She appeared to be shocked and a little bit guilt ridden by his response. He looked deep into her eyes.

"Confession." She muttered, though it was obvious that she hadn't intended for him to hear her.

"Let's say we finish this part of the challenge together." Alejandro suggested. Bridgette giggled nervously.

"Uh, sure." Alejnadro leaped to the next block of ice he had been examining before, holding out a hand to catch Bridgette. As she did, he let her stay there for a few moments longer than necessary, letting her warm up against his chest. As they continued along, Alejandro formulated a plan. He wasn't a big fan of it, but it would cause Bridgette to be either overcome with guilt or it could deepen Bridgette's infatuation with him. On the next leap, Alejandro deliberately chose a leap that might have been too far for Bridgette to jump.

"It's too far!" She looked nervously at the large space between them. Alejandro prepared himself to fall back onto the ice.

"You can do it, just jump." With his courage instilled in her she leapt into his arms. Though he didn't like to think about his days in the child circus, it did teach him valuable things, like how to fall without injuring himself. He fell with Bridgette in his arms until his body met the ice and his lips met hers. Though her lips were chapped from the cold, it wasn't a bad kiss, he moved his lips tenderly against hers, trying not to startle her into remembering she was spoken for. For a moment she reciprocated the kiss, he wrapped his arms around her lower back, pulling her closer to his warmth. She relaxed into it, letting him pull her close until she gasped and pulled away quickly. She looked away and blushed as she lay atop him.

"Uh- thank you for catching me." She attempted to dismiss. He hummed,

"Thank you for kissing me." She stood up.

"That was an accident." Alejandro wasn't sure how to turn that around.

"One man's accident is another man's... treasure." Thank god he was attractive. She gasped, seemingly flattered despite the incompetence that just came out of his mouth.

"I kinda have a boyfriend." She seemed uncertain, all he needed to do was remain confident and exploit that uncertainty.

"You have a boyfriend or you... eh... kinda have a boyfriend?" He asked with a joking smile.

"I kinda- uh I have a- kinda a boyfriend- kinda." She stuttered. He smiled at her knowingly.

"Come on, it will be easier if I carry you across the rest of the way, if that's okay with you, of course." And although he saw the guilt in her eyes she accepted his offer. He scooped her up in his arms, holding her for a moment and looking at her lips again. As it turned out, Bridgette was quite loyal, which was shocking to Alejandro after his past experiences. He just needed a better plan, and to make that plan he needed more time.