Soon we were running through the fresh snow like two children who had completely forgotten the elegant dinner, the silly arguments, the deep confessions, and everything waiting for us back inside the building. Chris threw one snowball. I ducked fast. I threw another snowball at him.
Chris caught it against his arm. "You missed me, Felicity."
"Oh, shut up!" I shot back, rolling my eyes.
Chris wiped the snow off his arm and took long steps toward me through the deep snow. Before I could run away, he reached out, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me close against his chest. I screamed playfully and tried to escape, laughing so hard I could barely breathe, but Chris caught up with me easily. He scooped up more snow, making me scream again. I grabbed his strong arm for balance, but that was my mistake. Our boots slipped at the exact same time, and we both lost our balance. We tumbled together into the soft, deep snow.
I landed right beside Chris, half flat on my back and half against his warm shoulder. For a moment, neither of us moved. We were both laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. Chris hovered over me, resting his hands on either side of my head in the cold snow. Then we looked into each other's eyes, and that was enough to make us completely lose control again. I laughed until my stomach hurt, while Chris laughed beside me, his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath.
He was breathing heavily, his dark hair messy and covered in snowflakes. Snow clung to his dark hair, his coat, and even his long eyelashes. Then his laughter slowly faded away. His ocean blue eyes stayed fixed on mine, warm and full of deep affection. For a quiet moment, neither of us said a single word. We simply lay there in the soft snow, staring at each other, with the winter night quietly surrounding us.
"You're ridiculous, Chris," I managed to say between my laughs.
Chris turned his head towards me in the snow. "You're the one who started a snowball war," he reminded me.
"You threw the first real one," I argued.
"After you attacked me first," he shot back.
"With only one tiny snowball, Chris," I protested.
"It was a very aggressive snowball, Felicity," he replied.
I laughed out loud again. The laughing slowly died down between us. The chilly wind blew softly across the garden, but I didn't feel cold at all with Chris lying so close above me.
"I caught you, Felicity," Chris whispered, his deep voice low and steady.
"You cheated, Chris," I whispered back, my heart pounding fast against my ribs.
"I didn't cheat, Felicity," Chris said softly, his face drifting closer to mine. "I just wanted to be close to you."
For what felt like an entire minute, we simply lay there together in the snow, laughing until the laughter slowly faded into quiet, sweet smiles. Then I realized just how close we were. My smile disappeared first. Chris's eyes met mine. Neither of us spoke a word. The laughter, the teasing, the running, all of it seemed to fall away completely. I could hear my own breathing in the quiet night. I could feel the incredible warmth of his body against the cold snow beneath us.
Chris slowly lifted his hand and gently brushed a small piece of snow from my hair. His warm fingers lingered against my skin. "Are you okay, Felicity?" Chris whispered.
I nodded my head softly. "Are you?"
He smiled faintly down at me. "Better than I was five minutes ago."
My heart skipped a beat as Chris moved even closer. He leaned down slowly, giving me plenty of time to stop him if I wanted to but I didn't move away from him.
His eyes dropped briefly to my lips before returning to meet my eyes.
"Felicity," Chris whispered.
I barely managed to whisper back, "What, Chris?"
He didn't answer with words. Instead, Chris leaned in, slowly enough to give me every single chance to pull away. I didn't pull away from him. His lips met mine gently. The kiss was soft at first, almost hesitant, as though neither of us quite believed we were actually doing it.
Then I closed my eyes and leaned closer to him, my hands moving up to rest against his warm chest, my fingers curling lightly into the front of his coat. Chris gently pressed his lips to mine, giving me a soft, warm kiss beneath the falling snow. The kiss was gentle, sweet, and full of honest feeling. His warm hand rested gently against my cheek, his touch making me forget how cold the winter air had been.
For those few quiet seconds beneath the Oxford moonlight, the cold air disappeared completely. The snow disappeared. Everything else in the world disappeared around us. There was only Chris, his warmth, his gentle touch, and me, lost in that quiet kiss beneath the falling snow. For that moment, nothing else in the world mattered except Chris and me.
For a few seconds after the kiss ended, neither of us moved away. I opened my eyes slowly and found Chris still looking down at me. There was something different in his expression now. The usual confidence was completely gone. In its place was something quieter, warmer, and deeply honest. A snowflake landed softly on his dark hair. I smiled up at him.
"So," I whispered, "are you always this dramatic?"
Chris's mouth curved into a small, breathtaking smile. "Only around you, Felicity."
I rolled my eyes playfully, but I couldn't stop smiling. Eventually, we pushed ourselves up from the soft snow. Chris offered me his hand, and I took it right away. He pulled me gently to my feet, then brushed the remaining snow from his suit, which was wrapped around my shoulders, and my hair.
"You're completely covered in snow, Felicity," Chris said softly.
"So are you, Chris," I replied with a playful smile.
"I look better in snow," Chris joked.
I laughed. "Of course you do, Chris."
We started walking back towards the building together, our footsteps sinking into the fresh snow. Neither of us seemed to be in a hurry at all. Our shoulders brushed occasionally as we walked, and every time they did, I became very aware of how close he was to me. The garden had grown quieter around us. Snow continued falling beneath the silver moonlight, coating the garden paths and rooftops in pure white. Oxford looked peaceful now, almost completely untouched by the mess we had left behind inside the hall. When we reached the entrance, I stopped walking.
"Should you come inside?" I asked softly.
Chris looked through the apartment doors, then looked back at me. For a moment, he didn't answer. His ocean blue eyes lingered on my face, and I could tell he was thinking about it.
"It's getting late, Felicity," Chris finally said. "I should go."
"It's not a bother at all," I replied softly. "You should come inside."
Chris hesitated again. For one brief second, I thought he might say yes to me. Instead, he gave me a soft smile and shook his head. "No, Felicity. I should go."
I nodded my head, though a small part of my heart wished he wouldn't leave just yet. Chris reached for my hand one last time, his warm fingers closing gently around my fingers. He slowly raised my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles softly.
"Goodnight, Felicity," he whispered.
"Goodnight, Chris. And don't worry, I'll bring your suit and jacket tomorrow. The jacket you gave me on the very first day we met. I never gave it back the next day," I promised with a small smile.
Chris smiled back, his eyes lingering on mine for another quiet second. "Promise?" he asked softly.
"I promise," I said softly, holding his gaze.
Chris gave my hand one final squeeze before releasing it gently. I watched him walk away through the falling snow, his figure slowly disappearing into the quiet Oxford night. I stood beneath the entrance for a long moment, watching him until he was almost out of sight. Somehow, the garden felt a little quieter without him. I finally looked up at the sky.
The moon was still shining brightly above the rooftops, with snow falling softly through its silver light. I gently touched my lips, remembering our warm kiss, and a small smile appeared on my face. For the first time all evening, my heart wasn't asking me to choose between anyone. My heart was simply beating fast. And somehow, beneath that beautiful winter moon, that was more than enough.