Love, Emma

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

"Hey, don't insult my intelligence, we both know who aced that Spanish quiz this week, and it certainly wasn't you."

"You aced it because you watch Dora in your free time."

"Well you know what-"

"Boys, boys, for the love of all that's holy, please just give it a rest. Luke, your muscles are fine, Beau, you're smart don't worry. Now can someone tell me why I was woken up rather rudely?"

Their stare off lasts only seconds before they both cave, turning to me with matching grins.

"It snowed last night." Our smiles match as the implied meaning in the words falls over us, and in seconds we're up and moving, too excited to waste another minute.

Say no more.

.   .   .   .   .

The hill rose up into the sky like the sun, piercing the bright blue. From the top, you could see the entire Toronto sky line, and it was more than worth the long walk up.

Like many things in the bustling city, our not-so-secret secret hill was lost among the sky scrapers and roads, a little sanctuary of nature in a city of glass.

The park is usually inhabited by young families, or elderly couples, providing a nice, leisurely stroll in the summer months. Caged in by a strip mall on one side, a subdivision blocked by a 9-foot fence on the other, and towering condominiums on the remaining two, it isn't particularly popular to the outside world.

It isn't too packed today, just a few kids are building a snow man, their laughter providing the sound track to the wintery scene, while their parents watch from a park bench.

"Are your ready for this?" Beau claps me on the back as he leads us out, our destination being the glorious, snow cloaked hill before us, the highest point in the park.

It rises up as we near, a wide, monstrous expanse of sleek snow and ice, just waiting to be the battle grounds to our sleds.

"RACE YOU UP THE HILL!" It doesn't even matter who called it, we're running before they an even finish the sentence, pushing and shoving our way up the steep incline, slipping and sliding more than anything.

Any ounce of maturity we have is lost in the climb; our laughter rings out, echoing off the face of the hill and bouncing back at us, while our smiles light up the early morning, too excited to wait.

The moment we reach the top is like no other, our laughter comes to a halt, and for a matter of seconds it's blissful quiet as we center ourselves on the small, flattened peak.

Our labored breathing is all to be heard as we take in the view, admiring the endless sky and the rising sun, just barely visible between buildings, reflecting off their glass sidings and showering the city in light. Everything seems bigger and smaller all at once, and somewhere in the middle of it all, you realize that you're barely even a part in the world, and, in some way, I find that both comforting and terrifying, all rolled into one.

Like the little children we still secretly are, we argue over who gets to go down first, and in the end decide that we'll all go down on the long, wooden sled first anyways, just to keep things fair.

I settle myself down in the middle, between Beau at the front and Luke in the back, trying to keep my anticipating grin at bay as we inch forwards, over the sloped edge of the hill.

In seconds we're down, flying over the bumps in the hill, our shrieks and laughter bursting the quiet that had settled over us.

We're a jumbled huddle of limbs and laughter as we reach the bottom, our sled tipped on it's side with us sprawled over top. Wiping the snow from my face, I sit back on my heels, content to enjoy the moment while it lasts, before we race up the hill for the next one.

.   .   .   .  .

"What do you feel like doing tonight?" I roll my head to glance at Nathan beside me before looking back up to the T.V..

I feel rather than see him shrug, fiddling with the remote in his hands as he thinks.

"I-I d-don't k-kn-know. W-what do y-you feel l-l-like do-doing?"

Thinking over my plan, I fully roll onto my side, smiling as he mirrors my action, propping his chin up in his palm.

"How do you feel about coffee shops?"

.   .   .  .   .

"Are you ready to go?" I skip down the steps, adjusting the beanie on my head as I go.

"Y-yeah, are y-you?" He jams his hands deep in his pockets, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the hard wood flooring.

I nod, guiding him up the street to the cross walk. We wait patiently for the lights to change among the other pedestrians, lost in our own world as we share a glance and a smile.

Despite Christmas being long over, a lot of shops and houses still have lights up, making for a great scenic route as we walk along, winding our way through the bustling streets.

Nathan keeps me tight to his side, looking down at me every few seconds as if to make sure I'm still in fact there, that I haven't disappeared in the throngs of people.

We finally arrive, welcomed by the mouth watering aroma spewing from the doors as soon as we enter.

The small dining room was rather empty, only a few customers here and there, sprawled out in the plush, mix matched arm chairs and couches. Up a narrow, winding stair case was more seating room, unoccupied despite the cozy look of the couches.

Lanterns and candles lit up the room, guiding us forward to the counter. The women behind the counter smiles, and helps us order off the oddly large menu before we take a seat, both of us heading right for the stairs.

After removing our coats, we settle onto the love seat, forced to sit closely to fit comfortably.

Silence overtakes us as I glance around the little shop, admiring the vintage decorations adorning the walls, and the potted plants on nearly every surface.

A record player was turning away by the counter, playing a melodic, slow song in the peaceful silence of the room.

Leaning closer, I smile at Nathan, trying to ease any worries that may be playing behind his eyes, guarded by his usual poker face.

"What do you think?"

"A-about wh-what?"

"Anything, the first thing that pops into your head." I pull a pillow onto my lap, thanking the lady who brings out or order, settling our mugs and a plate of cookies down on the low coffee table.

Reaching for his mug, Nathan traces his finger over the edge, glancing up at me.

"Y-you look r-re-re-really pr-pretty." His blush is instant, but he doesn't look away, instead he watches my reaction, eyes trained on my own.

It gives my heart a jump start, seeing such an intense look on his face, watching him watch me, analyzing everything I do. I've never felt so vulnerable in my life, staring back at him, trying to stop from burying myself under the throw pillows around us.

Swallowing hard I take a sip of my drink, nearly burning my tongue with the heat of it.

"And you look very handsome."

His grin is enough to ease any insecurities I had, melting away the doubt in my mind about whatever this is, or whatever we may grow to be.

For right now, we're Nathan and Emma, to kids in a coffee shop, enjoying their night. Two random people out of the billions on the face of the planet, out of which millions are probably doing the same thing as us right now, in a different pace, at a different time. And, honestly, I'm more than okay with that. Just Nathan and Emma seems pretty good to me.