Ice Queen

Chapter 70 ~ "Sealed with a kiss"

Nate

I've said it once, I'll say it a million times; I have the most incredible girlfriend in the world. Every morning I wake up, I just wish it was Saturday night again. I loved the way she looked in that dress, how big her smile was, I've never seen anyone so happy.

The benefit of sticking with Sasha through so many hard times was that now I really got to see her at her best. I got to see her smile, eat a full meal, make friends. This girl was completely different from the one I knew several months ago, she was herself again. Bubbly, kind and full of laughter.

She beamed now when she walked into a room, she filled it with positivity and was truly radiant. Nobody could bring her down anymore, even at her worst Sasha seemed perfect on the outside, composed and put-together. But now that she felt good about herself, she had the ability to make anyone smile, and no matter where she went her smile and personality demanded attention.

But I've seen her that way for years, I knew it was underneath that hard exterior, I just had to have her let me in again. Now everyone knew, she seemed overwhelmed by the attention and the constant questions. I of course reminded her that she didn't have to befriend everyone, that she could make that decision herself.

I took her to a restaurant downtown on Saturday, one where I could watch her earrings sparkle in the candlelight and where the tables were close enough to hold hands. For the first time since we'd started dating I watched her clear her dinner plate and I even ordered a dessert to split. I've never seen her enjoy her food before, never watched her smile while finishing a dish. I quite preferred it to the look of usual panic that accompanied her pushing her food around.

After that I took her to the duck pond we used to go to all the time when we were little. I brought some stale bread and watched the look of sheer joy on her face as the ducks swam with their ducklings. I knew this was right around the time to expect new little ducklings and watching her beam over them made me happier than anything else.

"Look how cute they are." She whispered, holding onto my bicep. "They just swim close to their mom, and make those adorable little peeps."

"They're definitely cute." I admitted, watching them curl up close to their mother.

"We should get some." She whined and I laughed, kissing her temple.

"And what would we do with them?" I asked and she laughed with a simple shrug.

"Cuddle them." She mumbled and my heart melted, she was too cute. 

"They belong here though." I reminded her. "Then they'd grow up and you'd just have a bunch of ducks."

"Then I'd just take them back to the pond and get new ducklings." She insisted and I laughed.

"You want to foster ducklings?" I asked and she laughed.

"We'd make pretty good duck parents, don't you think?" She asked and I immediately lost the breath in my throat. Even though she was teasing, she brought up the concept of being parents and I almost felt my soul leave my body. Not from stress but....because she implied a forever.

"Sorry, is duck parenthood too far?" She asked in a teasing voice and I laughed.

"Not at all." I whispered, pulling her closer and watching the ducks now swim in a perfect line. "There's nobody I'd rather kidnap ducklings from their pond with."

"I guess it would be wrong to steal them from their parents huh?" She sighed. "I'll just cuddle you then."

"Sounds perfect." I whispered back, watching the sunset and the small ducklings cling to their mother for dear life.