Love is blind

Chapter 6

Kristoff's clothes were huge on me. His pants, strangled with a string, looked like one of those new things I saw played in the street as a child. What was its name? Accordion! They looked like an accordion! And his shirt... well, despite he said it was quite tight at his neck, it ended up slipping down my shoulder at every moment. He really must be a big guy. But those clothes were the most comfortable thing I'd ever worn and, better yet, they smelled of him.

"Tomorrow..." Kristoff began to say shortly after supper.

"Yes?"

For some reason, he seemed distracted as if he had a hard time focusing on his own words.

"I have to work tomorrow."

"I know."

"That... uh..."

There it was again that mental emptiness. What had him so unable to concentrate?

In a second, it became crystal clear to me. Suddenly, he released an exasperated sigh, pulled my shirt collar back into place, and cleared his throat to keep talking as if nothing had happened.

"That means there probably won't be time to go anywhere, sorry."

I smirked amused and somewhat proud of being able to distract him to such an extent by just showing a bit of my shoulder.

"It's fine, I'll entertain myself listening to you working."

"You're hardly going to hear me from here."

"You're not taking me with you?"

"To the lake? No way! That place is dangerous enough seeing where you put your feet."

'Zero tact, no doubt.'

"I mean, uh..." he began to babble then trying unsuccessfully to embellish his previous words. "I don't want... I don't want you to get hurt. It's very dangerous."

'Okay, maybe not so unsuccessfully.'

"If I get back soon, we can go out for a walk, even if only in this area."

I shook my head and gently stroked his arm.

"I don't want you to rush. If it's a dangerous place, do your job carefully and make sure you come back safe, okay?"

"Thank you," he said in a soft thread of voice that almost gave me shivers.

"But I want something in exchange."

"I didn't know we were negotiating," he protested playfully crossing his arms without actually making me let go of him.

"I never miss an opportunity to do good business."

"Fire away."

"Would you read to me until bedtime?"

"What?"

"You have several books on your nightstand."

"They are just old botany books."

"Do you like botany?"

"I like to know what I can put in my mouth."

"Oh, very practical."

"So I have nothing exciting to read. Also, I need to take care of Sven and I'm not used to reading aloud."

"I'll go with you to the stable, and while Sven eats, you can read to me. It's not that I'm expecting anything very professional, you know."

"Anna..."

"Please? Just a little bit... It relaxes me to hear your voice."

I knew he couldn't resist that.

"Only while Sven is eating."

"Yay!!"

I left the cabin hopping and clapping until I reached the stable. At no time did it go unnoticed to me how he always made sure to leave everything in the very same place to avoid me tripping or crashing, and, thanks to his efforts, I was able to move around quite freely.

Sven greeted me warmly and, together, we hopped on the spot until Kristoff caught his attention with a bunch of carrots that the reindeer soon began to chew, forgetting about the jumps and about me. I sat down carefully on a large pile of straw, and Kristoff flopped down next to me.

"Where should I start?" he said clearly embarrassed.

"From the beginning should be fine."

"As you want..."

He sighed, took a deep breath, and began to read strange Latin names. He lacked fluency, tripped over his tongue from time to time, and yawned a lot. Surely, he wasn't used to reading aloud. However, as if it were a spell, his voice penetrated my body making me relax quickly. I rested my head on his shoulder hoping that I wasn't taking too much familiarity, and focused on listening to each of his words, each exhalation, each breaking... I heard him swallow and turn pages; I felt his heat go through my skin; I felt his head lean back slightly over mine; and I felt, for the first time in years, genuinely happy.

'So cold...'

The next morning, an unexpected cold woke me from my sleep a little earlier than normal. I snuggled into the covers and tried to get some more sleep, but a straw that was resting under my face slipped slightly through my nostril, making me stand up.

"What is this straw doing in my bed?!" I asked the wind in frustration. "It's not like I've slept in a... barn..."

'I fell asleep! I fell asleep in the stable while he was reading to me! On top of him! Oh no... Sure I've drooled on him...'

I sat on the bed and played with the blade while I lost myself in my memories. The day before had been absolutely incredible. The environment, the bath, the company... I had yelled like a madwoman under a waterfall whose waters hit hard where they touched; I had jumped into the water without having a clue of how to swim just to know what it felt like to fall into a mass of water so big and fresh knowing that he would come after me and take me out of there; I had been partially undressed by that man, had touched his muscular naked torso, had been held by his robust arms, had felt his strong grip, his trembling hands, his care and concern. I had gotten into his huge clothes and imagined what part of his body would have touched at some point each part of the fabric that then touched me. I had settled me on his body and I had been carried by his voice to the world of dreams. And it looks like I had let him take me to bed as well.

If he was another man, I would have worried what he might have done in my sleep, but not with him. There wasn't a human fiber in him that I didn't believe with my whole being.

The shuddering yet warm knot that traveled through my guts made me put my hands on my chest and take a deep breath.

'If I hadn't just met him, I would say that I have fallen in love with him...'

I shook my head trying to push away those premature but insistent thoughts and finally got up. The silence was abysmal. Kristoff and Sven must have left for work early, but it wasn't just their sound that was missing from the atmosphere. I could hear the wind, no doubt, but couldn't hear the birds singing, nor the cicadas, and, that cold... It seemed totally like a winter morning.

Suddenly, a new sound caught my attention. Heavy footsteps were approaching the door, but they didn't sound like the day before, it was more like someone walking with effort on the... snow?

The door slammed open, and Kristoff's voice, agitated as it sounded, restored my calm.

"Anna! Are you okay?!"