February 13, 2015

OFF CAMERA: 02-13-2015

She was counting every pause in their momentum, trying to judge where the car was headed simply by the noise of the traffic around them. Nessa's eyes were hidden behind her thick pink scarf, the winter wear acting as a sort of blindfold since their destination was meant to be a secret. She could barely resist the urge to peek, but knowing how well Matt understood her, this was sure to be a wonderful surprise and waiting it out made it all the more exciting in her mind.

"Are we there yet?" Her tone came out teasing, a smile on her lips.

"For the tenth time…" he started, his tone matching her playfulness, "not yet. You'll know when we get there when the car comes to a complete and total stop, until then, please keep your arms and legs in place to avoid any injury." He knew she would appreciate the snarkiness in his response; after all, it was likely her rubbing off on him a little.

"Duly noted," she said with a little laugh, playing along. "The last thing I want is to lose a limb over this."

"If you're suggesting I would try and orchestrate a scheme to amputate you before our big triple threat match...well that's just brilliant!" He said, holding back a laugh at the thought of it. "We'll be there shortly; no need to get anxious, dear."

"Somehow I feel like amputation is more a Misty Whitmore strategy than yours, darling. She's not very creative, after all." Pausing for a beat, she shook her head, "and I'm not anxious about this. The match, perhaps... but not this excursion. I'm excited. I love surprises!"

"That might be true, but Misty doesn't have the raw charisma that I do to be able to talk herself into a situation like this. You should know that, you've heard her talk, right? Cure for insomnia if I ever heard one." He turned into the parking lot of his destination, looking for the spot right up front to make unloading the accessories easier on them.

The car stopped and Nessa perked up. "Are we there now?"

"Yes, but you need to stay seated for a bit, okay? I need to grab a bag from the trunk. When I open your door, you can come out, understand?"

She nodded, "at least leave the music on for me, then. You don't want me to go absolutely crazy waiting for the big reveal."

"I think you'll manage," he got out of the car and headed over to the trunk, opening it with the press of a button on the keychain and pulled out a large gym bag, slinging it over his shoulder before making his way around to the other side of the car, opening up the door for Nessa. He held out his free hand for her to grasp onto for support. "Okay, time to go."

She gave his hand a squeeze, letting him help her out of the car. Thankfully she was graceful enough not to trip on her way out. "The anticipation is killing me," she said with a laugh, still clutching his hand as he led her towards what she assumed was their destination.

With Ness still being blindfolded, he would be remiss if he didn't take a moment to check her out as he lead her towards the building they had arrived at, although the building was roughly the size of a one room apartment. Acting as nothing more than a changing area with just a hint of heating, they walked past it, for now, to stand in front of the main attraction to this destination, the outdoor ice rink. Normally crowded, Matt had reserved the entire area for just himself and his lucky date, as it were. Without torturing her much longer with the unknown, he gleefully removed her scarf to allow her to bask in their planned activity.

Nessa opened her eyes, letting out a soft gasp. "Oh!" Despite the fact that she hadn't been on skates since she was a child, she turned to him with a smile. "We're going skating? Oh, Matthew… that's so romantic."

"I'm glad you think so, I should warn you I'm not going to be quite as graceful as you, I'm sure. Worst case, I'll fall flat on my face like Misty will Sunday night." He said with a smirk, loving any chance to slam that not-so-talented Canadian.

"And best case? You're a more handsome Wayne Gretzky in his prime," she reached up and patted his cheek, "I'm sure you're not that awful. We're Canadian, after all. Skating skill is in our DNA."

"I never said awful," he said quickly, not wanting to seem weak in front of her in anything. "But after you went on about how athletic you are, I just don't want to upstage you is all. Yeah, that's it."

"Mmhmm," she quirked one brow at him, laughing softly. "And you're adorable when you backpedal— c'mon, let's get our skates on and," she glanced back at the ice, hoping it was exactly like riding a bike, "have some fun!"

Setting down the bag, he nodded to the lovely blonde and opened it up, having purchased a pair specifically designed for Nessa: pink coated with her name in gold engraved not only on the side of each skate, but in the metal blade itself. He handed her the skates, ignoring her backpedal comment.

Nessa put her hands to her mouth, muffling a soft squeal of delight. "They're absolutely gorgeous, Matthew!"

"I thought you would like them; someone like you should always have the finest things in life. Well, aside from me, of course— you're stuck with me." he gave the over the top wink as he said that, pulling his own skates out.

"Did I hear you right? Did the almighty Matt Stone just put himself down?" She laughed at the thought, shaking her head.

"Merely for your amusement, I assure you." He replied with a sly grin, taking off his boots to slip his skates on, cautiously making his way over to the rink slowly, and stumbling slightly.

Nessa took more time with hers, fussing over the laces, making sure they were perfectly tied before she rose gingerly to her feet. Taking a few shaky steps, she smirked, nodding to herself as she made her way over to the rink. "I can't believe you managed to get them to agree to just us— they must make a killing here on days like this."

Before answering, he made sure that he had his balance on the ice, having hopped over the barrier rather than going through the door like a sane person. "Yeah, well it's pretty hard to say no to me when I put on the charm, but you wouldn't know anything about that, right?" He punctuated the question with a coy smirk, watching her make her way over.

She laughed at that, wobbling as she made her way through the door, only to come out on the other side onto a slick surface she was grossly unprepared for. Her arms wind-milled but she caught herself before going down. "Oh… my…" she murmured, reaching out to grab hold of the barrier.

Matt rose an eyebrow at her momentary lack of balance, but just presumed that it was the adjustment to the new skates she was doing and nothing more. "You alright there?" He asked, just to ensure her safety.

"These skates are so sharp," she met his concerned gaze with a smile, "I've just got to get used to something so high quality."

"Right, of course." He pushed off towards the center of the rink, gliding backwards without too much trouble, his momentum slowly running out. "Come join me, won't you? The water's fine...well frozen, but still fine."

"The cold never bothered me anyway," she mock-sang as she pushed off from the wall, gliding towards him. She almost misjudged her speed, nearly crashing into him before she remembered that her skates had toe picks— all the better to slow down and she managed it with some semblance of grace before bumping gently into him. She covered up the miscalculation by wrapping her arms around him.

The lyrics of that God awful song pierced his ears like a knife as she slid over to him, but he had little time to seethe as Nessa quickly approached him. Chips of ice flew up as she stopped, wrapping her arms around him, forcing him to do the same. "Can't keep your arms off of me, eh?"

"Of course not," she replied with a grin, "I'd have to be blind… or Misty Whitmore level of pathetic to do that!"

"Are you sure you want to bring her up? Wouldn't want me to start thinking of her now, would you?" He asked, teasingly, knowing Ness got jealous easy.

Nessa's eyes narrowed as she looked up at him, aiming for playful even though her jealousy shone through. "Oh please, she's a carpenter's dream— flat as a board and never been nailed!"

He thought about that for a second before laughing. "Well played, Ness, I'm pretty vocal about liking someone with a bit more curves, but I'm sure you already knew that," he added, looking her over as he spoke.

"And a little junk in the trunk," she tried to wiggle her behind for emphasis, almost losing her balance in the process.

Luckily for Nessa, anytime her hips moved, it immediately drew Matt's eyes and he missed her almost losing her balance, simply mesmerized for the moment. She clutched at him, but it came off more romantic than desperate as she looked up.

"Matt," she paused, not really even sure what she wanted to tell him. His gesture had been grand, but they were in the middle of the rink and she was slowly realizing that she had never really been a good skater.

"Yes?" He inquired, having not known Nessa to be trepidatious about anything before. "Are you going to ask if I'll be embarrassed if you start skating circles around me?"

"Not quite," she let go of him slowly, lifting one hand up to touch his cheek. "This is wonderful… and I think you're probably better than me. Besides, you didn't book this so that I could skate circles around you."

He reached up and took her hand, grasping it lightly. "Shall we skate circles around the rink, then? Might be slightly more fitting—"

"Circles around the rink… and our competition." She echoed, giving his hand a squeeze.

He started to lead her to the side of the rink so they could take the longest path, though he stopped moving to allow for Nessa to take control of their trajectory. She did, still wobbly even though it was a little better with him to cling to. Maybe she wasn't so bad at this after all. Grinning, she looked up at him.

"This was a great idea, honey. I'm just worried my gift isn't as thoughtful or nice."

"Your gift?" He asked, as they began to skate around the outer rim. "You didn't have to get me anything, Nessa; this is meant to be your day, if commercials and Hallmark have taught me anything."

"I wanted to get you something, Matt… just something that spells out my appreciation better than some godawful sappy card or a box of candy." She leaned a little too far back, still looking up at him and very nearly lost her balance although she recovered, glaring down at the ice as though it was conspiring against her. "There was a divot back there," she said by way of explanation, "we should tell them about it before we go. Someone could get hurt."

"Naturally." He agreed, accepting her explanation without a second thought, though that may be because this talk of a gift had piqued his interest more than he thought it would. Something better than a sappy card or a box of candy? Aside from telling him not to give her those things that he had been saving in the trunk of the car, it painted a picture of something far the more intimate. "As you were saying?" he offered as a means of getting their discussion back on track.

"It's a surprise, silly." She said with a little laugh, concentrating far too much on keeping her legs moving in the correct manner. She was definitely going to be in agony tomorrow. "You'll find out when we get back to my place."

"So I'm not the only one that can plan surprises, eh? I like it." He glanced down at her legs, not really needing an excuse to check them out, but he had one in trying to learn her technique. "Can't wait." He added with a smile.

With his lapse in concentration on their destination, they started to veer towards the railing. She tried to straighten out and instead caught her toe pick against the ice, ending up stumbling before going down hard and pulling him with her.

It didn't take much for him to lose his balance on the ice, and with a tumbling Nessa as his catalyst, Matt went straight down and slid into the railing, more embarrassed than injured, believing it to be his fault on why they fell. "Sorry," he muttered, not liking to admit fault even on this small scale.

She was torn between laughing and bursting into tears, the latter because her butt was killing her. "It wasn't your fault," she replied, trying like hell to keep a brave face on.

Matt started getting up, using the very railing that had taken him down initially. "Need a hand?" He asked once he had his feet under him and saw that Nessa was still down on the ice.

"Give me a second," her voice came out small as she looked up at him before breaking eye contact. "I just need to make sure I'm not…" trailing off, she shook her head.

He held out his hand for hers like Aladdin from the carpet asking for Jasmine to trust him, only with less sappy music playing in the background. That wasn't to say there was no music, that is, as the rink had a set of speakers that was currently playing a selection of famous Canadian bands, something he knew Nessa would much appreciate.

She took his hand, letting him pull her upright. "That was my fault," she said immediately.

"Oh please," he started, waving her off. "I was too captivated by your talented legs, entirely my fault."

"No, it really was my fault," she clutched his arm, "I'm not a very good skater. I never was— I wanted to be a figure skater when I was a little girl and we did this pageant the first year I was in it. I was Funshine Bear and I fell so many times that everyone laughed at me and then Mrs. Johnson had to come out and help me off the ice. It was mortifying!"

Matt just stood there, as best he could, looking into her eyes as she retold this childhood trauma and the only thing he could say was, "Funshine Bear is the greatest thing anyone has ever said, ever."

She laughed, swatting at his chest. "I'm serious, Matthew! I'm pouring out my childhood pain here."

"Well if you're not that great of a skater, should we be doing something slightly less dangerous, then? Or do you prefer an activity where falling down is very much a possibility?"

She shrugged, looking out over the rink, "seems like a waste if we don't use it. Maybe I'll be okay if I hold on to you."

"Any excuse to hold onto me, eh?" He asked with a smile, wrapping his arm around her waist as he began to guide her, slower than last time, around the perimeter of the rink.

"Am I that transparent?" She leaned her head against his chest, letting out a contented sigh.

"Just a bit," he said, not minding at all. With her eyes down on his chest, he reached out for the rail to assist his skating, not being the best skater himself. "I hope this hasn't been too terrible for you, then."

"Not at all," she let out a soft little giggle, "and when you see my gift, you'll understand the irony."

"Irony? Did you fill a room full of people to praise me? That'd be a great gift." He said, half-jokingly.

"You'll have that at Criminal Intent— all in good time." It was actually easier to move when he was guiding her and she found herself relaxing despite the cold and the ache in her tailbone.

"Not sure I would call an arena a big room, but I suppose they'll have no choice but to admire me." Matt suddenly stopped so Nessa drifted ahead of him, allowing for him to admire something himself, noticing a particular spot on her pants was covered in snow. "Uhh Ness, you have something on your...uhh…" he trailed off, still staring.

"On my what?!" She looked over her shoulder at him.

"On your backside, dear." He said, trying to sound as polite as he could while talking about that particular body part.

She craned her neck, trying to see and almost losing her balance in the process. Her arms wind-milled again and then she grabbed for the rail. "Well, get it off for me? I can't see it!"

He wasn't expecting that, though it was a reasonable request on her part. He skated over to her on the rail, the slightest hint of a smirk spread across his face as he brushed off the snow and ice pellets from the denim, giving her a bit of a squeeze at the end. "There we go, good as new," he added with a corny wink.

"Oh good," she gave him back that wink, adding a cheesy smirk to the mix as well. "I'd hate to damage your favourite part of me."

"You mean your brain, right?" He asked, trying not to come off like the completely shallow person he actually was.

"It's okay, honey," she grabbed his arm, pulling him in closer, "I don't care that you like my 'backside' the best— gives me motivation to stay in shape."

"You don't seem to have any issues with that, at all. It's quite admirable, really, and I would spend more time being impressed if I wasn't being mesmerized as often," Matt retorted as he was pulled in closer to her. "Shall we try a triple lutz...or whatever it is?"

"I think that would be very dangerous," her voice lowered to a near-whisper as that smirk widened, "although you and I being this close is too. Might just end up melting the ice if we're not careful."

Rather than question why Nessa whispered in this secluded area, he just nodded and held her closer. "What a shame that would be, eh?"

"I know it's terribly thoughtless of me since you set all this up, but…" she gave him a squeeze, "you wanna get out of here, handsome?"

"Oh yes, quite thoughtless," he started, looking into her eyes for a moment. "Well, I'm over it, let's get out of here before we get injured for Sunday night." He added, realizing he wasn't that evil to try and do something like that.

She nodded, "let's go back to my place— I'll light the fireplace and we can warm up."

"I'm not sure I need a fire to warm up with you around, but we can see if that helps," he remarked slyly as he stopped at the rink barrier, opening the door for Nessa to exit first.

"My numb butt does," she laughed, finally relieved to be off the slick ice.

"Looks fine to me," he added, following her off the ice, walking cautiously over to the bench, sitting down gingerly and starting to undo his skates. "So aside from falling flat on the ice a few times, hope you had fun." He chuckled, thinking this would go over better than it actually did.

"As far as romantic outings go, it's probably in the top ten," she quipped, joining him on the bench before bending down to start untying her laces.

"This is in the top ten?" He started, taking off his skates, noticing her position. "You must have gone out with some losers if falling on the ice cracks the top ten."

Her laugh was bittersweet as she looked up at him, brushing the hair away from her mouth. "Well, you've seen a couple of them, haven't you? That's fairly accurate."

"Well neither of them I would classify as on my level, but so few people are these days."

She nodded, "absolutely. You're so far beyond the usual men I end up with… I'm sure someday you're going to realize that you're far too good for me and run off with a life-sized cardboard cutout of Freya's butt." She came off almost sincere until the word cardboard came out, and then the twinkle in her eye and the sarcastic tone gave her away.

"They have those?" He asked, trying to make his eyes light up to really sell the excitement he was faking. "I'm sure I could do better, but who has the time to look?" He followed up with another sarcastic line, making sure it was obvious he was joking.

"Matthew!" She gasped in mock outrage, "are you trying to say I monopolize your time?"

"Well, I'm here with you now, so logic dictates…" he started, then stopped as if he was realizing something. "Wait...how does Mika feel about you not spending Valentine's Day with her? She must be crushed!"

She shrugged, "am I a terrible friend if I admitted she hadn't even crossed my mind today?"

"No, you're an honest woman. Shame she can't be one, eh?" He removed the second skate and tossed it in the gym bag. "Am a little ashamed she creeped into my mind, to be honest."

"I know a way to fix that," she said with that devilish smirk, dropping her skates into the bag as well. Before he could ask what it was, she showed him, planting a very passionate and lurid kiss on his lips— one that promised so much more once they were behind closed doors.