Baby, It's Cold Outside

It was a day like any other, or, at least, it started that way. Dawn Ackheart started her day the way she always did. She got out of bed, took care of some essential processes in the bathroom, and ate her breakfast as a start to her day. She dressed to impress from her colourful wardrobe and grabbed her bright red coat of the way out the door.

Dawn was going shopping downtown. Sure, there weren’t that many places to go in downtown River Town, but that had never stopped her before and she knew she would find something fabulous before the day was out. She was a woman on a mission!

For those that knew Dawn the event that took place on the corner of King Street and Water Street would come as no surprise. Dawn was skipping down Water Street, eager to get to Second Cup around the corner. If she had made this trip the week before maybe that would have been all that happened but this week had brought the cold and with it, ice. And ice, as everyone knows, does not help the uncoordinated.

Dawn whirled around the corner in a blur of colours. She was too caught up in where she was going and the prospect of warm coffee to pay attention to her feet and did not notice the patch of ice directly ahead. As she skipped onto it, looking completely the opposite direction, her feet began to slide and before she knew it she was sliding uncontrollably faster. Just as she started to call out she crashed into a stranger with an “oomph”!

Dawn’s legs tangled with the stranger’s and, although she tried to prevent it from happening, they both fell onto the ice with a groan. They didn’t hit hard because they’d cushioned each other’s landings but it still took Dawn a few seconds to get her bearings. When she did get her bearings she was mildly horrified. She had just smashed into a complete stranger and bowled him over! Usually her klutziness only affected her and she’d learned to deal with it but a complete stranger! She was just about to apologize when he spoke,

“Crashing into strange blokes in the middle of the street is so not on,” he said in a devastating baritone, “You know that right?”

He pulled them up so that they were sitting on the ground and turned to look at her.

Dawn stared. That was about all she could do at the moment. As his lips curled into a smile at his joke she took in the man she had run into.

What had originally rendered her speechless was his voice which felt like melted chocolate as it poured over her. That and his sexy British accent would have been enough to silence her but now that she looked there was so much more. Her gaze skimmed over his impressive figure of broad, lightly muscled shoulders and continued downward across his defined chest and abdomen to his narrow hips and then travelled back up until his eyes locked with hers. His amber eyes, alight with amusement met hers and he raised an eyebrow. It was then she remembered that he’d asked a question and probably expected an answer.

“Yeah, I kinda do that a lot,” Dawn answered.

“You actually make a habit out of knocking people over?” The stranger grinned as he stood up and the sound rumbled through his chest.

“No! Not the knocking people over, the falling down part!” Dawn explained.

Dawn also tried to stand up but slipped and was about to become reacquainted with the ground when a pair of strong arms caught her and pulled her into a warm body.

He was really laughing now. Dawn could feel the vibrations through their coats.

“I see what you mean!” He chuckled as he pulled back to look at her and offered her his hand. “I’m Felix, by the way.”

Of all the people Dawn could have bumped into she was glad it had been Felix. Slightly taller than her, she could see that now that they were standing, with his sandy blonde hair falling just slightly into his eyes, eyes that were still sparkling with delight even if the rest of his face had become more composed after his laughter. As she grasped his hand she admired his strength of his grip and the firm confidence of his hold.

“Dawn.” She said, returning his smile.

“Well Dawn, now that you seem to be at equilibrium again, can I ask you where you were going so fast?”

He hadn’t looked away from her yet and Dawn felt a bit of a blush rise to her cheeks at the intensity of his gaze.

“I was actually going around the corner to Second Cup,” she replied and managed to drag her eyes away from him long enough to glance in the direction of the shop.

“That’s a coffee place, yeah?” Felix asked. When she nodded he added, “Would you mind if I tagged along?”

For the first time in their conversation Felix looked a little unsure of himself. This was what really struck Dawn. A sexy, British, considerate, and mildly heroic guy was asking, but not expecting, to spend more time with her? There was only one answer she could give.

“Of course you can, silly!” She burst out.

Felix laughed and Dawn, back to her bold self, linked their arms and lead them down the street to Second Cup, conversation, laughter, and some steamy... drinks!