In his tight jeans, marching black supras and eternally boring grey T-shirt,Eva had to admit, he looked good.

Such a simple outfit, yet at the sight of him, butterflies began to violently move about in her stomach.

But then he smiled. And as cliché as it sounded, the butterflies immediately fluttered away.

Disarming,that's what it was. It felt like his smile could diffuse all tension.

She could swear that his smile should be catalogued as one of the deadliest weapons of the twenty first century. And when you combined his smile with his eyes, then nucleur weapons had nothing on him.

"What's going on in there?"he gently tapped his kunckles on her forehead.

"It feels hollow," he joked.

She barely registered his words because there and then she was too consumed with the lack of proper distance between them.

When had he gotten that close?

Hurriedly, she took a step back.

He didn't seem to notice and went on with what he was saying," Come on, I have a surprise for you."

Eva groaned," Why do you like doing this to me? Why can't you tell me straightforward where you're taking me?"

"It wouldn't be fun if I told you."

"Fun for you or fun for me?" she asked folding her arms under her chest.

"I won't even deny it. I love watching you get restless. It's cute," he said and pinched her cheek.

How had he gotten that close again?

She groaned in frustration.

"At least tell me if I'm dressed right for this place?"If only he knew the wardrobe stress that he caused her each time he took her out.

He stepped back to look at her.And she found herself feeling suddenly embarassed in her white top and blue washed dungaree that reached right before her knees.

She figured she looked kind of retro and bit her lip, suddenly regretting what she was wearing.

She felt bashful like a little girl with her hands clasped behind her back while drawing circles with her feet.

Why was she so self-aware when around him?

"It's good enough."He shrugged dismissively after his brief look-over.

It was like cold water had been poured over her.

She wanted to smack him.She, who had convinced herself that she needed no one's validation to feel pretty.

But then she realised he was trying hard to hide a smile. He had wanted that reaction out of her.

He chuckled then,dramatically opening the car door for her and ushering her in.

"I watched 'Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man'"he explained.

Eva burst out laughing,"Are you serious?"

"Yeah,it taught me things I didn't even know about myself. And most of all, it taught me the very serious importance of always opening the door for the lady."

He walked around the car to the driver's seat.

"I'm curious. What else did you learn?"she questioned.

"I learnt 'bout the 90 day rule," he winked at her.

Warmth rushed to her cheeks and she could have kissed her melanin there and then for not making it obvious that she was blushing.

"And 'bout short term goals and long term goals. At this point, you should be asking me where I see myself in five years according to the book."

"Wait....you said you watched the movie.Omg!You read the book."She laughed at his facial expression. He was caught.

"Okay,fine. The book is better. And honestly it was more interesting than watching the movie."

"Ok, so whay are your short term goals?"

"Making sure you have as much fun as possible today. I plan on sweeeping you off your feet,"he answered and she smiled.

"And where do you see yourself in five years?"

"Admitted to the Bar. Being an advocate."

"Such an accurate goal. Kick-ass lawyer.You'll come in handy."

"For what?"he asked.

"For when I need to sue a hairdresser."

"What?"

"It's possible. Insurances are even offering salons premiums that are really afforadable for these kind of instances," she turned to him, "you should know these things."

He shook his head in response.

"So am I allowed to ask you the same questions?"

"Sure. And the answer is I will be wherever life takes me in five years.To be honest I don't wanna do the big five."

"You mean: law,medicine, engineering, architecture and.... Forgot the last one."

"Yep.Yet everyone keeps pointing me in that direction."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Don't know yet," she sighed deeply, "that's the problem with being average at everything.You never find something that grips you. Something that makes you want to dedicate your whole life to it."

He seemed to notice how her mood was darkening.

"You'll find something," he immediately reassured her.

Then to distract her he turned up the volume on the radio.

Eva forgot all about her worries as she watched him sing and dance along to songs. At one point he even let go of the steering.

No kissing babe...
No touching babe...
And don't call me babe....

It was hilarious. Especially since he couldn't sing to save his life.

And wait was he rapping in another language? Damn. He was actually good.

This was such an interesting side to him.He was nothing like the Louis she met two months ago.

To piss him off, she made a comment about his singing skills which only made him sing louder.

He leaned towards her to pinch her chubby cheek again.

"No touching babe..." she sang to ward him off.

They burst out laughing in unison. Wow. When was the last time she had had this much fun? When she thought about it, the last time was with him

And yet, it was only the beginning. Eva didn't even notice that the car had stopped until Louis leaned over her to unbuckle her seat belt.

Her breath hitched and her chest felt even tighter than when her seat belt was on.

He has to stop doing that.

She hurried out of the car to have a look around, "What is this place?"

The curved planes, ramps and concrete floor still didn't give her a clue.

"What is this place?'ahe asked again.

"A skating park."

"Oh my word. The places you take a girl out to. Louis, you're gonna be the death of me."She sighed dramatically.Placing a finger on her head as if a headache was coming on.

"You're one to speak. You took me to a snake park. A freaking museum."

"You'll never let go of that, will you?"

"No never." He laughed.

"You know something?"she asked while she began stretching.

"What?" he asked, his curiousity piqued.

She stopped stretching and came closer to him. This time, she was the one eating up his personal space.

"I do look like a pretty hot skater girl."

She walked away,leaving a stupefied Louis behind.

************************************

Louis was sure that Eva was the worst possible student a guy could have.

He had tried to teach her the most basic things like where to place your feet on the skateboard.

Or how to push yourself forward while on the board. And it was all unsuccessful.With the way she was placing her feet, it was a wonder that she had been able to move a at least 11 inches while on that thing.

All in all, he had been successful on at least two counts.

One of them was impressing her with his skateboarding skills. He had gone a few rounds on the quarter pipe and had ollied a bit and she couldn't stop staring.

And the other one, wonder of wonders: she was actually having fun.

She was laughing merrily with the kids half her age who were turning out to be better teachers than he was. They would hold her hands and help her move a few feet on the skateboard.

Then they'd correct her feet position and she would listen with stark interest.

"OMG!This is so easy. Louis look at me!"

"Hottest skater girl eveeeer!" she shouted while passing by him. He hoped the kids had taught her how to brake.

Fortunately, she lost momentum and she was able to simply put her foot down to stop any further movement.

He stared at her for a moment. She really was a hot skater girl,especially with one of the caps she 'borrowed' from a nice kid called Alvin. Who steals from children?

He shook his head.

Only problem was she couldn't skate much for a skater girl.

"Hello, is there anything in there?" she interrupted his thoughts, rapping her knuckles on his forehead.

It was cute that she had to tip-toe to get to him.

"I want to go down the ramp and you are gonna help me."

"What do I get in return?"

"Hmmm....let me think 'bout it,"she tapped her chin, " I'm starving. Lunch. Lunch is on me after this."

"Lunch isn't good enough. Allow me to ask for whatever I want in return."

"Only if I don't fall," she added.

Damn,he was definitely going to lose this one.

She chose the gentlest sloped ramp and placed her skateboard on the edge. Gingerly, she stepped on the board, holding on to Louis' hands.

The ramp was barely a metre long, but it looked so intimidating.

Louis gave her a cautious look.

"Eva are you sure about this? You know you're only a beginner."

She narrowed her eyes.

"And a damn good skater for a beginner,"he immediately corrected.

"Okay, Louis please don't let go."And with that he began gently pushing her down the ramp.

She was leaning all her weight on him.Seriously?

Gravity soon took control, and soon the board was moving faster than the skater.Eva was about to fall to the floor but Louis gripped her,keeping her upright.

She shuddered in his arms probably from the relief of not hitting the hard ground. It was all Louis could do not to pull her towards him and hold her properly.

But after a mere two seconds too short,she extricated herself from him as if she was in the clasp of a spider's web.

"Let's do it again."

Louis tried to correct her footing but it was a lost cause. She leaned her weight on him alot and the board moved faster than the skater yet again.

She stumbled almost bringing Louis down with her.

The third time didn't go so well and Louis ended up actually carrying her.

He couldn't help it.He laughed. A deep laugh that began from his gut and tore through his throat.

"What's so funny?" Eva asked, still holding on to his strong forearms.

"I literally swept you off your feet," he replied.

She joined him in laughter,remembering what he had said in the morning.

Their laughter died down eventually. Realising that they were still holding on to each other.

Louis could feel heat emanating from the place where Eva had put her hands on him. Her lips were slightly parted her pink lipgloss glistening in the sun. He wondered what they would taste like.

Eva stared up at Louis her breath hitching for all reasons other than exhaustion or heat. It was his eyes. She could clearly see the flecks in his brown eyes. Why was the air suddenly so thin?

His arms tightened around her waist. And if it was even possible, she felt the air get even thinner.

Then she remembered where they were. In a skating park. It couldn't get any more public and open than this. And there were kids!

She got her hands away from him so fast as if he had zapped her with electricity.

"You know what, I'm going to go down this ramp.One way or the other."

She placed her skateboard back on the deck. Louis held out his hands expectantly.

"No, wise teacher,"she shook her head, "the grasshopper has ceased being the grasshopper."

An amused look is all she got before he stepped back to let her do her thing.

Then,she did the unexpected. She stepped back from the board and began to run towards it.

Eva could see the worry in Louis' eyes and that made her smirk. At the last second, she bent down and sat down on the board before going down the ramp.

"I did it! Without needing help,"she got up and did a victory twerk dance.

"I told you I could do it."

************************************

It was after another hour at the skating park that Eva finally felt ready to leave.

She had fallen a few times and surprisingly,her thighs were beginning to ache. Gosh, she felt unfit for getting tired after only a few hours. On the other hand,Louis looked completely composed.

Is he running on batteries?

They were leaning on the bonnet of his car. Parked at the foot of Lisa's hill as they had named it. Both were feeling too lazy to go up the hill. Either by car or on foot.

So they bought food and decided to eat from there.

Eva cursed.

"What's wrong?"

"I spilled yoghurt on myself and it just dripped into my bra."

Oops! That was too much information.

"Want me to lick it off?" he asked, a look of mischief on his face.

"No,thanks,"Eva countered back, "I can do it myself."

Casually, she licked it off making sure to lap it off a bit.

She looked up at Louis and the air around them suddenly sizzled and fizzled.

It made her uncomfortable and she stuffed food in her mouth to ward off the awkwardness she was feeling.

She smiled suddenly as she remembered the fun they had just had.

"You know you should borrow a forest from me when it comes to skating,"she said as she playfully punched him.

"Is that right?"

"Duh,"she screwed her eyebrows together, "did you see me out there? I had some killer stunts."

Louis chuckled. If falling on your butt was a stunt then she had some real talent when she was up on a skateboard.

"In fact, I could give you some tips."She smirked.

"And what would that be skater girl?"

"It's very simple.Don't think, just do."

Wow.That explained why she wasn't able to at least position her feet the right way the whole day.

"Wise words, very wise words,"he sarcastically replied.

"You see the problem with you is that you overthink everything you do.In fact, you're too introspective for your own good, "she countered back.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you think too much. You even think about what you think about and you my friend, do that alot."

She stepped closer to him.

"Let me prove that it can be rewarding.Just try it for once. What do you want? What have you wanted for so long but that head of yours keeps thinking up reasons not to do it?"

A contemplative look appeared on his face and she stepped closer.

"Whatever you want,don't think about it just do.In fact, I'll do it with you."

"Come on. Take a cha-"

Her words were cut off as Louis pressed his lips to hers.

What was he doing? Exactly what she had told him to do.He was taking her advice and just going for it.And she had no idea, how badly he had wanted to do this the whole day.So he savoured the moment.

Her lips were wet with yoghurt and he could taste the strawberry on them.

He kissed her tentatively, slowly and gently.

Whatever thoughts that came in his mind that were reason enough to not do this, were stifled down.Why had waited this long to kiss her?

But she wasn't responding. She wasn't responding at all.

It was like kissing an ice sculpture.She had frozen in time. None of her muscles,moving a nanometre.

And when she finally did move, it was to push him away.Hard.

She took off, sprinting up the hill. Not looking back even once,leaving everything behind her.

And leaving Louis feeling like an utter fool.

The song up there is
No kissing babe by Patoranking featuring Sarkodie.It's the song that these guys were listening to. Hope you enjoy it.

My skateboard lingo is limited. I'm a beginner just as much as Eva haha. So correct me where you feel I might be wrong.

And now can I react?

OMG! OMG! They kissed! Can't believe it. With these two I thought it would happen after six months. Talk bout friendzoning. Haha.

Dedicate this chapter to Yvettecheroew.Thank you.

And hey if you have time, check out Crimson Purifiers, my other book. It's complete and a very quick read.

Love you readers. Forgive me!