Chapter 198 - A Date After Class (1)

Time has never passed slower and Scarlet was hardly able to pay attention to the things the professor was saying. Her mind was full of thoughts about Edward. He was such a swoon this morning and she couldn't stop blushing over how close he had been to her. It was unthinkable just a few months ago how she would be able to get this close to him and it still made her very nervous when she was with him. While he gave her the flutters, he also gave her the jitters.

She had only one class in the morning and so did Edward. They would be ending early today and it was a rare chance. Scarlet didn't know if Edward had plans but she intended to use this time to catch up on some writing. She had a new story she was working on but due to the pressure of coping with school and moving to Edward's apartment, Scarlet hadn't been able to do anything with it.

They agreed to meet at the foyer after their classes ended and Scarlet was slightly nervous about seeing Edward again. She wondered if they would grab something to eat first before heading back together or stop by somewhere outside of the campus for a meal. It was a lazy day and Scarlet found herself not wanting to actually work on writing for once. It was too good an opportunity to pass up and all she wanted was to spend the rest of the day with Edward just doing anything at all.

Her boyfriend was already waiting at the foyer, looking through his phone with a very serious expression on his face when Scarlet arrived. It was only eleven in the morning but the air around Edward looked as if it was already dusk. He didn't seem to have a good time in class and Scarlet felt slightly bad for him. Instead of going right up to him, Scarlet snuck up behind and deployed one trick she learnt from one of the scenes that she acted in.

Edward wasn't expecting the sun to fall from the sky when his world became dark. He was still scrolling through the list of places he could take Scarlet out to in the city when darkness descended. Startled that he was ambushed in the campus of all places, Edward wanted to struggle but he felt someone shorter than him press against his back with a giggle.

"Guess who?" the cheery voice asked and Edward couldn't stop the smile tugging at his lips.

"Hmm..." he played along. "I wonder who it could be. You're definitely not Alicia, Mandy or Beatrice. Could it be my beautiful girlfriend, Scarlet?"

Scarlet wasn't expecting such a flirtatious response and blushed when Edward gently pried her hands from his eyes and turned around to catch her by the waist, pulling her towards him. Out of reflex, Scarlet placed her hands on his chest to stop the collision and realised that they were too close and still in public where many people could still see them. Such an open display of affection made her jumpy and embarrassed. Edward caught onto that quickly and sighed. He decided to let her off easy and simply planted a kiss on top of her head, her hair tickling his nose in the process before he let her go.

Still, he caught onto her hand and gave her a blinding smile. "Shall we go? What would you prefer? Wheels or blades?"

Scarlet was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

The spy scratched his cheek and looked away. "Does it matter? It's going to be about the same anyway. Just choose one. We're going on an after school date like all the other ordinary couples."

Scarlet took a few moments to process what he said and her mind exploded from overworking.

"A d-d-d-d-date?" she squeaked and clamped up when Edward intertwined their fingers.

"Yes, a date. Since the lectures were short, I thought we'd do something a little more fun and take a break from studying. Besides, you probably haven't seen much of the city. Your older sister said that you were moving around from country to country and you've only come to New York for university. I thought I'd play tour guide today with you. Do you hate it?"

Edward was sly. He knew Scarlet couldn't refuse him if he asked such a question but he really did want to spend time with her now that they were finally together. As expected, Scarlet didn't refuse and Edward did a small victory dance.

"I don't hate it but where are we going? I don't think I've dressed appropriately for the occasion..."

Edward took a look and grinned. "Nah, you're alright. So, wheels or blades?"

Scarlet didn't even need to think twice. "Blades," she grinned. They sounded way more interesting than wheels.

The spy wasn't even fazed by her reply and nodded. "Blades it shall be. I hope you're ready for something new and challenging today."

Always ready for new things, the writer smirked. There was nobody more ready for a challenge than her. Scarlet never rested for long and she wasn't the type to be complacent. If there was something that the world wants to hinder her from accomplishing, she would be the first to break those boundaries. The writer truly believed that there wasn't anything she couldn't overcome if she put her mind to it.

When Edward said blades, Scarlet truly wasn't expecting it to be a sport. She thought he was going to introduce her to a fight club, the one that Claire sometimes spoke about. The ice-skating rink was huge and Scarlet was amazed that the ice didn't melt.

"Won't we fall if the shoes have knives on them? That ice doesn't look steady..."

Amused by Scarlet's concern about the ice's strength instead of the difficulty in skating for a first-timer, he rented two pairs of skates. Scarlet was a little on the smaller side so they had to get her something from the kids' side, making her pout. The disappointment didn't last long because once Scarlet was strapped into the skates, she couldn't wait to glide on the ice.

"Have you done this before?" he asked and held his hand out to her like a true gentleman.

Scarlet shook her head. "I've seen people do it but I've never had the chance. Didn't really have the time to try. Have you skated before?"

Edward grinned. "What do you think?"

Scarlet watched as Edward took to the ice steadily and wobbled a little because of how different it felt to walking. The feeling reminded her a little of running in socks on the polished wooden floors but more intense. The writer flopped forward when the sharp edges of the toe pick hit the ice and she tumbled right into Edward's waiting arms.

Edward didn't want to tell her that he had never ice-skated before. However, he had some practice with inline skates and they were similar. The only difference was how the brakes on in-line skates were at the back and how ice-skates had toe picks at the front. He had to be careful about that. However, seeing Scarlet behaving like a baby deer on ice made his worries insignificant. He didn't think that she would be gliding effortlessly within an hour.

The first few steps were challenging for Scarlet but she was a fast learner and surprised even Edward. Within fifteen minutes, Scarlet was able to let go of Edward's hands to push herself a little over the ice to glide. Edward was a good teacher and went slow so that Scarlet could practice moving on the slippery surface. Of course, there were a few times when Scarlet stood up completely straight in elation and forgot that she was on the ice, resulting in her falling down. Yet, Edward was always there to help her up.

The writer was stubborn and tenacious. Edward liked her drive but he was also worried for her safety when Scarlet declared with fierce determination that she wanted to learn how to do the loopy spin on ice that she saw some other girl trying. Edward couldn't stop her but he tried to steady her if she went too fast and lost control.

"Shall we take a short break and just skate around? Your hands are freezing!" he said and held them tightly within his to warm them up.

Scarlet's cheeks reddened when Edward blew warm air onto them and rubbed them. The act was too tender and she felt shy that he was treating her with so much care. If only he knew that she was an actress who performed harsher stunts compared to this. Back then she was used to hanging on wires that dug into her costume and caused awful bruises for hours. She twisted and turned in the air to perform acrobatic tricks while reenacting fight scenes without the help of a stunt person.

Yet here, she was being treated like a porcelain doll and a very loved one at that. Scarlet's heart warmed and she gave up her ambition to make a jump on the ice. Spending time with Edward beside her just gliding aimlessly was also nice.