“Hey Kris.” she says without looking up from her phone.
“Yeah?”
“Mind if we meet up with Christian and Robbie in a bit?”
That's when I remember her telling me last night that Christian asked her out. That being the reason she was late coming outside when I needed her. Not that what happened was her fault in the slightest. It was just bad timing. Even so, I feel excited for her. She's been flirting with him for ages, it's about time they got together.
“Yeah sure! Where we meeting them?”
She texts him at lighting speed and in a few moments, she gets a message back. “He says about going to the park and making the most of all the snow outside.”
We both rush to the exit doors and look outside to see at least a foot of snow covering everything. It must have really come down whilst we were shopping.
“We never get this much snow!” Cassey squeals. She's back on her phone as we make our way to the car. “We're meeting them at 2 near the cafe in the park.”
“Cool, so we got an hour to nip home and wrap up 'coz I'm gonna need more layers.” I grin.
Chapter 4
After I've dropped my new dress off at home and put thermals on under my jeans and jumper along with my warmest coat, scarf and gloves, I meet Cassey outside and we start our walk to the park.
Even when she's wrapped up in multiple layers, Cassey still looks glamorous. She's got on a pale pink coat with a fur lined hood and she's styled her hair so it comes out in perfect waves from one side. White gloves and scarf and knee-high boots finish her winter wonderland look.
It's only a 10 minute walk and before long we see Christian and Robbie waiting for us near the entrance to the cafe. They meet us halfway and Christian leans straight in and gives Cassey a long kiss. Leaving me and Robbie standing awkwardly next to them.
I take a step away from the lip locked love birds and turn to Robbie. I recognise him from a couple of my classes but have never really spoken to him.
“Hiya, I'm Krista.” I say with a slight wave.
Robbie is only slightly taller than me with dark skin and deep brown eyes. His fashionable coat has a silver buckled belt around the waist that's pulled quite tight showing his slim figure. He has dark hair with blond highlights and I'm pretty sure his eyes have a touch of eye-liner around them.
“Oh, I know!” he says in a slightly high pitched voice as he greats me with a kiss on the cheek. “I'm Robbie. You're in my photography class, right?”
“Yeah you did the images of people with animal characteristics, didn't you? They were so cleverly put together.”
“I'm glad you liked! They were a nightmare to Photoshop.” He laughs as he flicks his fringe out of his eyes.
Christian and Cassey finally pull themselves away from each other and turn to me and Robbie. Cassey's cheeks are flushed and she's grinning at me. I smile at her and shake my head.
“He had me be a model for that coursework.” says Christian. He has his arm around Cassey's shoulder. “You made me half tiger or something, didn't you?”
“Yeah, you suit the stripey look.” Robbie grins at Christian. His gaze lingering on his arm around Cassey's shoulders. His grin fades a bit and he turns away with a shiver. “Fancy a walk to warm up? I wanna get some pics of the trees covered in snow.” He says more to me.
“Yeah sure, sounds good.”
Robbie hadn't once acknowledged Cassey but I don't think she or Christian noticed as they were back to flirting whilst they walk behind us. They made an adorable couple and they are clearly smitten with each other, but I had the distinct impression Robbie doesn't share my opinion.
As we walk through the park we go through a much woodier area. Some places get very dense and it's like walking through a woodland instead of a park. We go single file through these areas occasionally stopping whilst Robbie takes photos on his camera that's hanging around his neck. He shows me quite a few of his pictures and there's no denying that he's a talented photographer. He has an eye for seeing shapes in things that others don't see.
For the first time, I see the park in a different way and I don't think it's Robbie opening my eyes to seeing things his way. I feel much more attuned to the nature around me. Squirrels and birds moving through the trees. The breeze ruffling the leaves. It's all pulsing with an energy that's becoming more and more familiar to me. Whatever the changes I'm experiencing are, they feel incredible. I feel a connection to everything. I find myself no longer feeling the cold. Instead I feel fresh. It's a comforting feeling and I know I'm going to spend a lot more time here. I'm a part of it and it's a part of me. I'm joined to it all. The energy is flowing through me and warming me. I take a deep breath in revelling in the feeling. As I breathe out I don't have the frosty breath you get when it's cold.
I look around at the others to see they all have the mist when they breathe. Not only that but I'm taller than all of them. I haven't grown. Their feet are a good 6 inches into the snow but I'm not sinking at all. In fact, I've barely left footprints. None of them have noticed yet. Robbie is doing some macro shots of leaves laying in the snow and Christian and Cassey are wrapped up in each other. They've hardly put each other down this whole time.
It won't be long till the others realise the weird stuff going on with me so I try and make myself sink into the snow. I push my feet down one at a time. The snow does exactly what I want it to and I sigh with relief. I try not to think too hard about why I need to concentrate on making something happen when it just should.
My boot fills with snow and the uncomfortable cold invades my feet. I take another step and brace myself for more cold wetness but nothing. The snow neatly holds itself around the edge of my boot. I think about it falling in and then it does. I take a few more steps thinking about my foot sinking in thesnow but without the snow falling in and it does exactly what I'm thinking.
I laugh and jump. I sink in the snow and it goes everywhere except in my shoes. The snow doesn't even dampen my jeans. My clothes are completely snow free and toasty warm. It's crazy but it feels normal. I laugh more, then realise the others are staring at me. Robbie with his camera snapping photos of me. My cheeks immediately redden with embarrassment. I look at them and shrug. “I enjoy the snow.”
