Chapter 49 Boyfriend?
"Where are we going?" Chris asks for the umpteenth time from the passenger's seat; it hasn't even been five minutes since they left.
"I told you. You'll find out when we get there. Stop asking already."
"Ugh... This is annoying," Chris grumbles.
"You acting like a child is annoying," Steph retorts. They've only been driving for a few minutes and Chris seems to be running out of patience. Though Chris is acting like he doesn't like the situation one bit, he's very happy. Getting to see Hazel alone has made his day but getting to spend time with her on his birthday is on a whole new level. He doesn't think he has ever been this happy on his birthday. Albeit she doesn't seem to know it's his birthday, he doesn't mind. He can't expect her to remember it since it's been a while he told her. She probably even forgot it right after they spoke about it. So it's all good.
"Can you give me a hint?"
"No!"
Chris sighs. " Can I at least turn on the radio?"
"I never said you couldn't," Steph replies, the ghost of a smile on her lips.
Chris reaches over and turns the radio on and the music fills the car. Steph remembers that they're driving close to the café that they seem to be recently frequenting and a thought comes to her mind.
"Have you had breakfast?" Steph glances at him.
Chris grins. "Yes, and it was delicious."
"Oh, okay." She mumbles, disappointed. She had hoped they'd get breakfast together but he's already had his.
Chris stares at her. "You haven't had breakfast, have you?"
"I haven't," Steph confesses.
"Then let's get you breakfast at our spot."
"Our spot? We have a spot?"
"Of course we do. How can you not know this? We went there yesterday." Chris mutters in disbelief.
"Oh, you mean the café ahead."
"Yes. Stop there. You're getting breakfast."
"There's no need for that. I'm not that hungry," Steph says.
"If you don't get breakfast, I'm not going to wherever you're taking me. I can't believe you didn't have breakfast before leaving home," Chris says in a tone you'd use to scold a child.
"What are you gonna do if I don't stop? Jump out of the car?" Steph scoffs.
"Just watch and you'll see what I'll do."
"Fine," Steph gives in. It's not like she needed much persuasion. She's kinda hungry. She navigates towards the café and parks in an empty spot. Chris is the first one out of the car. He leads the way and like the gentleman he is, he holds the door open for her.
"Thank you," she smiles.
They find an empty table near a window and settle down. A waitress comes to take their order and Stephanie's good mode vanishes when she sees that it's 'Ashley'. She had hoped she was fired when they didn't see her yesterday.
"OMG! It's you. It's such a delight to see you here again," Ashley chirps to Christopher. She always acts like Steph is invisible and it annoys her a lot.
Chris smiles politely. "Yeah, we can't stay away, I guess."
Why does he have to be so jovial? Steph wonders as she zones out. She can see Chris' lips moving but she's too into her thoughts to hear what he's saying.
I bet he's happy that she's swooning over him, Steph thinks and narrows her eyes at him.
"What would you like to order?" Ashley asks Chris. She somehow managed to make the question sound flirtatious.
"I'm not ordering anything. I'm here for her." Chris replies, gesturing to Stephanie.
"Oh, okay." Ashley finally turns to Steph. "What would you like to order?" She questions but because Steph has zoned out, she doesn't hear.
"Hello... Earth to Hazel," Chris says, waving his fingers in front of her face.
Only then does Steph snap out of it.
"Yes, yes. What is it?"
"Where did you go?" Chris inquires, leaning closer to her with concern all over his face.
"Excuse me, can I take your order?" Ashley interrupts before Steph can answer because she's feeling a little jealous. She doesn't like the way Chris is looking at her. It's obvious that she means a lot to him.
"Um, an espresso and a bagel will do."
Ashley jots it down and turns to Chris. "Not that it's any of my business but are you guys together?"
Her question makes Chris stare at Steph as she anticipates his answer. He wants to say 'Not yet' but he doesn't want Steph to her upset so he says, "No."
Steph doesn't like his answer but she tries not to show it on her face. She watches the grin on Ashley's face as she walks away to her her order.
She probably thinks she has a chance with Chris, Steph mentally scoffs.
Silence envelopes them after the waitress leaves and Steph doesn't like it so she speaks.
"Aren't you getting anything?"
"No, I'm okay. Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?" Her brows furrow.
"You seemed to have zoned out a while ago. Is there something bothering you?" Chris inquires softly.
Why is he such a sweetheart? Steph asks herself.
"No, nothing is bothering me," she lies. "I'm okay."
She can't possibly tell him that the way Ashley's flirting with him is bothering her, can she? You only say that to someone you're in a relationship with.
Annoying Ashley returns with Steph's order, a flirty smile, and a piece of paper. Of course, the flirty smile and piece of paper are for the swoon-worthy guy seated before her. She winks before walking away and Steph feels like she's about to snap but she keeps the lid close.
You don't have the right to, Stephanie. It's not like he's your boyfriend, she tells herself.
"What's that?" Steph tries to act nonchalant as she nods towards the paper in Chris' hand.
Chris has a blank look on his face as he turns the paper for her to see. It's a phone number with a 'call me' written on top of it.
Steph scoffs. "Wow. She sure moves fast."
Normally, Chris would have a cocky smirk on his face at times like this but right now, his face is expressionless; and Steph notices. She begins to wonder if he's contemplating calling her.
So she takes a sip of her espresso and clears her throat. "So, are you gonna call her?"
"I don't know, should I?"
Steph shrugs. "I don't know. I don't care." She begins to eat her bagel and Chris smiles as he watches her.
"You're the one that asked," he retorts.
Steph's phone buzzes in her pocket before she can think of something to defend herself. She checks her phone to see a text from Brooke.
Brooke: Where are you? I'm feeling lonely, wanna hang out?
Steph: I'm with Chris. I'm taking him to the place. Wanna come with me?
Brooke: No, I'd feel even worse around you two love birds. You'd make me feel so damn single.
Steph: Hey! I'm single too.
Brooke: Not for long. We'll talk later.
Steph smiles as she puts her phone away and continues eating.
"Who was that?"
"Brooke."
"How's she holding up?" Chris has always asked about Brooke whenever he gets the chance since the breakup. He says 'Break up can be a bitch.'
"She's better."
After eating, Chris insists he pays. On their way out, he intentionally drops the piece of paper with Ashley's number on their table. Steph wanted to scream in triumph and say "In your face, bitch," to Ashley but she restricts herself.
They get back in the car and Steph starts to drive, heading to their destination. They drive for about 10 minutes more and Chris keeps singing along with the stereo. Chris is excited when Steph finally pulls into a parking lot.
"Where are we?" Chris inquires in confusion.
"Can you just shut it for some seconds? We're almost there so you'll find out soon." Steph chides him.
A moment later, he realizes where she has brought them.
"You brought me to an ice rink?"
"Duh!"
"Why?"
Steph feeling a little timid, answers softly. "You once told me you like ice skating and that it has been a while since you did it so I decided to bring you here."
Chris follows her as she leads the way.
"Wow, that's sweet. Thank you."
Steph waves him off. "It's no big deal."
"Can you skate though?" Chris asks with a giddy smile on his face.
Steph scoffs. "Of course, I can. I'm a natural."
Chris is about to say something but is distracted by a woman greeting them. Steph gives her their tickets and she asks for their skate sizes.
Steph answers for both of them and the woman returns with two pairs of ice skates. They both walk to one of the benches to change. Chris finishes first so he crouches down before her to help her with hers. She watches him tie the laces with a smile and when he's done, she stops smiling.
"Thanks."
Chris helps her up and holds her hand as he carefully leads them to the rink where a few people are already skating.
"I'm gonna let go of your hand now. You ready?"
Steph looks up at him, into his soft green eyes staring at her. She wants to tell him no. That she isn't ready. That she doesn't know how to remain standing on these blades. But she doesn't. Instead, she nods. Chris lets go and after getting used to the feeling, skates away in excitement. He has missed the feeling of gliding on ice so damn much. As Chris effortlessly and swiftly skate around the rink, he conspicuously keeps his eyes on Stephanie. He watches her struggle to move for a while with a lot of concentration before she lands on her butt. She huffs and manages to get up. A few seconds later, she falls again.
Chris shakes his head with a smile. She sure looks like a natural. He slows down, watching her rise again with a determined look on her face. She falls again after a moment.
At least she lasted longer on her feet this time, Chris thinks as he begins to skate back to her.
Steph groans on her butt after falling for the third time.
Hopefully, Chris is too busy enjoying himself to notice my failed attempts at ice skating, Steph thinks.
She looks around the rink, trying to find him only for her to hear his voice behind her.
"You don't look like a natural to me," Chris taunts her.
"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in," Steph says as he comes to her view. He begins to laugh.
"Stop laughing. Nothing's funny," Steph grumbles as she gets up but he continues to laugh.
"Christopher Gregory Hayes, stop laughing."
Chris stops for a second at her chiding tone, only for him to start laughing harder than before.
This only irks her and she narrows her eyes at him.
"You're infuriating," she asserts and tries to skate away.
A few slides away, she's trying not to fall. Chris skates towards her and holds her by the waist. "Easy there, Hazel. We wouldn't want you falling again."
Stephanie wants to wiggle out of his arms and hit him on the chest for laughing, but it feels so natural being in his arms. And she honestly doesn't want to fall again. He carefully turns her around to face him.
"I've only gone ice skating once," she confesses. "And I hated it. I couldn't stop falling. I told Brody that I never wanted to do it again when he tried to teach me."
"You shouldn't have brought me here then," Chris tells her, adjusting her beanie.
"This is about you so it doesn't matter. I should have just sat on one of the benches and watched you. I should go do that."
"Where's the fun in that? Let me teach you, it's easy."
"Fine."
"Firstly, don't lean back. Lean forward slightly. Bend your knees and keep your weight forward," Chris begins to guide her on the ice. Slowly, Steph starts to do it right and doesn't fall too often.
After passing Chris' beginner's class, they begin to skate together. Suddenly, Steph remembers what she planned to talk to him about and nerves kick in.
"Um... Hey Chris," she calls.
"Yeah," he answers, slowing down to be in stride with her.
Steph swallows the lump in her throat. "Can you remember the talk we had when I came over, about a month ago?"
This makes him halt on his skates.
"No, don't stop. Keep going," Steph says hastily. If he stops, she'll feel even more nervous. What they're doing makes her feel like they're not talking about something so serious.
Chris surprisingly agrees and continues to skate, though a little bewildered. But of course, he remembers that day. She can only be talking about 'that' day. The day he told her to give him a chance and she asked him to give her some time to think.
"Yes, I can vividly remember that day."
"Well, have you changed your mind? Have your feelings changed?" Steph asks with curiosity, her heart beating wildly.
"What made you think that?"
"It's been more than a month and you haven't mentioned it again."
"I'm just giving you the time you said you needed to think," Chris says.
She gives him an incredulous look. "Are guys usually this patient?"
"No, so you're very lucky it's me." Steph chuckles at this.
"So, you still like me?" She asks in all seriousness.
Chris stops skating, faces her, and holds her by the shoulders. He looks into her eyes for her to see the sincerity in them.
"Yes, very much."
Steph mentally sighs in relief. He likes her. Nothing has changed. And here she was, panicking.
As for Chris, he doesn't where this is going but he's hoping he finds out soon.
Steph takes a deep breath as she repeats the words she's about to say in her head. She can't believe she's about to do this. She allows a few beats to pass as she stares at Chris who is staring right back at her. Some months ago, she could never have imagined herself doing this. She'd have told anyone that said she would that they're insane. But here she is. Doing it.
"So will you be my boyfriend?"
Chris' eyes widen and somehow, maybe due to shock, he lands on his ass.