The Private Moment / Confession.
"We're almost wearing matching outfits," I said, glancing down at his clothes before looking back up at him.
Chris looked down at his clothes, then his eyes travelled back to me, taking in my dress properly this time. A playful smile slowly spread across his face. "I know," he said. "Almost."
"Yeah, I guess." I tried to sound casual, but I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "Wait, almost? How?"
"Well, obviously yours is prettier."
I blinked. "Was that a compliment?"
Chris placed a hand dramatically over his chest. "Felicity, I have been complimenting you all evening. Are you only just noticing?"
A laugh escaped me. "Oh, please."
Chris stepped a little closer. His ocean blue eyes moved over me for a second before settling on my face. "But it's true." His smile softened as he held my gaze. "You look very beautiful tonight, Felicity."
I immediately looked away, feeling a quick rush of warmth in my cheeks, and suddenly finding the snow beneath my shoes very interesting. "Oh, stop. I'm blushing."
"Oh, you're blushing, huh?" Chris teased, his smile widening as he watched me. "The confident girl from the Grand Hall is actually blushing."
"Don't start, Chris," I warned. His grin widened.
Before I could move away from him, his warm fingers found my side and tickled me.
I gasped and burst into loud laughter. "Chris! Stop!"
He laughed softly and tickled me again, making me twist away from his touch on the snow-covered bench. I stumbled away from him, laughing. "Stop! Stop, stop!"
"You really are blushing," Chris said between laughs. "Oh, so this is how we deal with blushing now?" he asked, following me through the snow.
"Christopher!"
"You called me Christopher. That's serious."
"Chris, I said stop!" I tried to push his hands away, but he only laughed harder and tickled me again.
He reached for me once more, and I tried to escape, my boots slipping slightly against the snow-covered ground. I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer. I reached out, grabbed his strong wrists, and finally managed to pull his hands away.
I was breathing hard as I glared at him. "You're impossible, Chris."
Chris grinned down at me. "And yet you're still smiling."
I opened my mouth to argue with him, but no words came out because he was right. His laughter slowly faded as our eyes met. For a moment, the playful teasing disappeared completely, leaving only the two of us standing close beneath the moonlight, both of us suddenly aware of how little space remained between us.
Chris sat down beside me on the bench again, his expression much softer than before. For a moment, he said nothing. His eyes moved from my face to his heavy suit wrapped tightly around my shoulders, then back to my eyes.
"I'm sorry about tonight, Felicity," Chris said quietly. His deep voice carried none of the confidence he usually showed so easily. "I don't know what came over me in the hall."
He reached out and gently brushed a stray snowflake from my hair before letting his hand fall back down to his side.
"I let my emotions get the better of me," Chris admitted, his eyes holding mine without looking away. "That wasn't fair to you at all."
I watched him silently. Chris gave a small, almost embarrassed smile. "I'm still a gentleman, you know."
Despite everything that had happened inside, a faint smile tugged at my lips. "You have a very strange way of showing it, Chris," I whispered.
Chris chuckled softly, lowering his gaze for a moment. "I know."
When he looked back up at me, the humour had disappeared again. His expression was warm, honest, and unexpectedly vulnerable.
"But I mean it, Felicity. I don't want you to feel pressured by me. I couldn't stand watching everything happen tonight and pretending I didn't care about you."
His fingers lightly brushed mine against the edge of his suit. "And I care about you far more than I know how to explain," Chris added softly.
I looked down at our hands. His fingers were only inches from mine, but somehow that tiny distance felt impossible to ignore.
"Chris," I whispered.
He lifted his eyes back to mine. "What is it, Fel?"
I swallowed, suddenly aware of how close he was sitting beside me again. "You're making this very difficult."
Chris pulled his eyebrows together. "What am I making difficult?"
"Everything," I said with a frown.
A faint smile touched his lips, but it quickly disappeared when he saw the seriousness in my eyes. Chris shifted even closer, his knee brushing mine beneath the dark suit. That small contact sent a nervous shiver through my whole body.
"I don't want to make you choose tonight," Chris said softly. "I just want you to know that when I look at you, I don't see a prize or a competition. I see you, Felicity."
My breath caught. His hand slowly found mine on the bench. This time, he didn't touch my cheek. He held my cold fingers, giving me every chance to pull away if I wanted to, but I didn't. Chris looked down at our joined hands, then lifted his eyes back to my face. Snow continued falling around us, soft and silent, while my heart seemed determined to beat loud enough for the whole university to hear.
Chris leaned closer. I didn't move away. His warm breath touched my lips. "Felicity," he whispered.
I looked into his ocean blue eyes. For one quiet second, neither of us spoke a word.
"Oh, don't get sentimental on me now, Chris," I said, trying to hide the big smile threatening to appear on my lips.
I stood up from the bench, taking a slow, deep breath as the cool night air filled my lungs. I turned around to face Chris and held out my open hand to him. "Are you coming or what, Chris?" I asked.
For a second, Chris simply stared at my outstretched hand. Then his eyes lifted to mine, and a warm look flickered across his handsome face. Without saying another word, Chris stood up and reached for my hand. His fingers slipped between mine, warm and steady despite the freezing air. I looked down at our joined hands, then back up at him. My heart gave an annoying little flutter.
I rolled my eyes playfully, but I couldn't stop smiling. Together, we walked away from the bench and moved towards the garden path, our hands still intertwined. Snowflakes drifted all around us, catching in Chris's dark hair and settling softly across my shoulders. The old Oxford buildings stood peacefully around us, glowing under the bright moonlight.
For once, neither of us talked about Noah, Alex, Mia, Laura, or the terrible disaster inside the Grand Hall. It was just Chris and me walking side by side beneath the winter moon. Somehow, that felt more dangerous to my heart than anything that had happened all evening.
"Don't look so surprised, Chris," I teased.
"I'm not surprised," Chris replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I'm just enjoying this moment with you."
Chris's fingers tightened gently around mine as we walked beneath the silver moonlight, our footsteps crunching softly against the fresh snow.
After a few steps, Chris glanced down at me, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "Can I have this dance, Felicity?"
I blinked up at him in surprise. "Here in the snow, Chris?"
"Why not?" Chris asked softly.
Before I could answer, Chris gently pulled me closer to him. His right hand settled warm against my waist while I rested my hand against his shoulder. There was no music playing in the garden, only the whisper of the winter wind and the quiet crunch of snow beneath our feet. Yet somehow, we moved together anyway.
Then Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, and the soft opening of Last Kiss by Taylor Swift began playing through the quiet garden.
I stared at him in surprise. "How did you know Taylor Swift is my favourite artist?"
Chris smiled, his eyes holding mine. "Because I know you."
Something about those simple words made my heart flutter.
One slow step. Then another step. I laughed softly when Chris spun me around gently, and for a few seconds, everything felt ridiculously perfect.