Chapter Text
Anna Anderson had never paid much attention to Kristoff Bjorgman. She had seen him around school, but he’d graduated two years before her, so she never personally interacted with him. In fact, the list of things she knew about him was small. Very small. She knew he was Elsa’s age, his dad was a plumber (he’d come over that one time she had clogged the kitchen sink trying to make egg salad; she still didn’t know how she did that), and the list ended there.
All that is to say, she really didn’t think about him much, or ever. So, when her father told her that he’d hired him to clean their pool and do any necessary yardwork, Anna didn’t have any strong feelings about it one way or another.
But she had graduated a few weeks prior, and with all her friends gone for the summer, she found herself stuck in the house more than usual. And soon, her wondering mind and eyes found themselves drawn to the almost stranger who worked in her backyard every other day.
Had he always been so blond? And his shoulders – those were new. Or at least from the last few years.
Anna’s room had the perfect view of the backyard and she spent more time than she’d admit shamelessly watching him as he worked. He was so much bigger than she remembered. When she’d finally worked up the nerve to talk to him, the view from her window did not do him justice. He was at least a foot taller than her and his stature was impressive.
But he was quiet; at first, Anna wasn’t sure if it was because he was shy or because he just didn’t want to talk to her. After all, besides a gruff ‘hey’ the first day he stared working, he hadn’t said two words to her in all the years they kind of knew each other.
But if Anna had one skill, it was talking, so she talked, he listened, and eventually, she began to get more responses out of him. He had a beautiful voice; the first time she heard him laugh, she felt her knees get weak.
The night she kissed him in the pool shed, her entire body went limp.
“You’re staring again.”
“Hm?” Anna kept her gaze out the window as Elsa leaned against the doorframe.
“I’ve been waiting for ten minutes; you said you were ready.”
“Sorry!” Although she’d lose the sight of Kristoff bending over with the pool skimmer, Anna turned around at the slight annoyance in her sister’s voice. “I’m ready. Just got…distracted.”
“Uh huh.” Elsa entered the bedroom and stood next to her sister by the window. “We don’t have to go.” There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but she was smiling. “I can just get back to painting if you want to drool over the pool boy a little longer.”
Anna flushed. “I am not drooling!” She turned her head out the window to look at him again, though. “I’m just –” Just then, Kristoff looked up. Anna practically divebombed to the floor as she yelled, “Get down! Did he see me? Oh God, he saw me, didn’t he?”
Crouching down to meet her eye on the floor, Elsa raised a perfect brow. “Anna, get off the floor. Why does it matter if he sees you?”
Anna sat up on her knees to peek back out the window. He wasn’t looking. Sighing in relief, she stood up and leaned against the wall, out of view. She wrung her hands together as Elsa got up as well, trying to find the most delicate way to tell her sister her concern. “Because I kissed him the other night and I haven’t spoken to him since because I have no idea what to say to him!” she burst out. Not exactly delicate.
“Anna,” Elsa groaned. “Why would you kiss him? Are you trying to get him fired?”
“What? Obviously not! I just – we – he’s actually really sweet and he is so attractive, have you noticed that? I can’t believe I’ve never noticed that before.” She began to pace. “But it was only a one-time thing. Probably. I mean, was it absolutely amazing? Yeah, but I ran off like an idiot right after. So, like, he probably doesn’t even want to talk to me again.”
Elsa dropped into one of Anna’s large, fuzzy chairs. “If dad finds out, he’s going to lose his mind.”
Anna stopped making small circles around her room and scoffed. “Well, he’s not going to find out. Besides, I’m not in high school anymore; I can do whatever I want.” She crossed her arms as Elsa audibly laughed.
“Sure, okay. That’s going to go over about as well as your outfit.”
Anna looked down at her outfit. She wore a simple, white blouse and a short, plaid skirt; she looked cute. “What’s wrong with my outfit? We’re going to the mall, not church.”
“He is not going to let you out in that.”
“Oh yeah?” Going over to her bed, Anna grabbed her purse. “Watch me.”
“Anna, I’ve been gone for two years now and I still have to adjust my behavior when I’m here. Don’t start something now. Can’t you just wait a few more months? You go to school in the fall, and then you can do whatever you want.”
“No, Elsa. It’s not fair!”
“Maybe not, but it’s how it is.”
Anna huffed, grabbed her shoes, and left her room as Elsa stood up and followed.
But they were stopped the second they reached the first floor.
“Where are you girls going?” their father asked as he walked out of the family room toward the foyer.
“Just the mall,” Anna said casually, inching toward the front door as Elsa grabbed the car keys from the key bowl.
“Anna.”
Sighing at his tone, Anna readied herself for whatever he was bound to say next. “…yes?”
“What are you wearing?”
“Um…clothes?”
“I’ll be in the car,” Elsa said and opened the door to escape the coming argument.
Watching her go, Agnarr turned back to his youngest daughter once the door closed. “Go upstairs and change.”
“Dad,” Anna groaned. “Come on!”
“It’s completely inappropriate and you know it.”
“I am eighteen years old –”
“That skirt is way too short –”
“I can wear whatever I want!”
“Young lady, go upstairs and change right now!”
“What is going on out here?” Anna’s mother came out of the kitchen, a kitchen towel in her hands.
“Mom, tell dad I can wear this out!”
“Oh, absolutely not.” She shook her head.
“Thank you, darling,” her father said.
“What?” Anna threw her arms out in disbelief. “Why not?”
“I won’t have my daughter going out looking like that.”
“Looking like what?” Anna challenged.
“Agnarr,” Iduna warned, ready to play peacemaker.
“Anna.” Agnarr’s voice and expression were stern. “Go change. That’s final.”
Knowing she wasn’t going to win, Anna stormed up the stairs with more noise than was necessary. Halfway up, she turned back to look at her parents. “You know you can’t control me when I’m in college, right?”
“Anna,” her mother said softly. “We’re not trying to control you. We just –”
“Are telling me what to do.”
“We’re trying to look out for you.”
“Well don’t! I’m not a child.”
“Then stop acting like one.” There was no room for debate in her father’s voice. “While you live in this house, you will follow our rules.” With that, he walked off, indicating the conversation was finished.
Fuming, Anna stormed the rest of the way upstairs and slammed the door to her room shut.
She picked a long, flowing skirt that didn’t look remotely as good with her blouse. Tossing the original skirt back into her dresser with a huff, Anna went back to the window.
Kristoff had moved on the scrubbing the deck chairs. Anna absentmindedly chewed on a nail as she watched him. He really was a good guy. A bit standoffish at first, but he’d been a good friend the past few weeks; listening to her blabber about whatever came into her mind as he worked.
And that kiss… Anna leaned her head against the window. What had she been thinking? She had offered to help clean out the pool shed with him and they talked about nothing important, but the sound of his voice filled up the small shed in a comforting, calming way. The sun was going down and Anna tripped on a loose board. When Kristoff caught her, she looked up to see his deep, brown eyes boring into hers.
She kissed him then – a simple, rather chaste kiss, but her stomach immediately erupted into butterflies.
The sound of her mother’s voice calling her in for dinner quickly broke them apart and Anna only took one look at the shock on his face before running out of the shed, horrified.
Her father had a severe ‘no dating’ policy, which Anna had never paid much mind to before (she’d kissed boys before, under the bleachers or in the occasional janitor’s closet), but Elsa was right: a simple kiss would certainly be enough to get Kristoff fired, and she didn’t want that.
Besides, he probably didn’t even like her; he was just being nice.
She should apologize, tell him she was an idiot who clearly didn’t know what she was doing. Or… she could confront him; ask him if he felt what she did.
She heard Elsa honk and shook herself from her thoughts. Heading back downstairs, her mother stopped her by the door.
“Don’t you look lovely.” She smiled, but Anna only felt her annoyance bubble back up.
“Thanks.”
“Your father wants to see you in his study.”
Anna’s hand paused on the knob. “Why?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I’m just relaying the message.”
Anna went down the hall to her father’s office and knocked on the door before entering.
“Anna,” her father said as he looked up. “I forgot earlier – on your way out, would you give Kristoff his check?” He held out the slip of paper to her and Anna felt her stomach lurch.
“Why can’t you or mom do it?” She knew she was whining, but she really didn’t want to talk to Kristoff; she wasn’t ready.
“Because I asked you. You know, I really don’t appreciate your attitude today.”
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Anna walked over to his desk and took the slip of paper from him. Taking a deep breath as she left the study and went toward the back door, Anna steeled her courage and entered the back patio.
Kristoff looked up and nearly dropped the wash rag on the ground. “Anna!” He was clearly surprised and stood up, running a damp hand threw his hair, before realizing he still held the towel and dropped it into the soapy bucket.
Anna couldn’t help but blush. She was generally tired of her name, since it always seemed to be called so much, but it sounded completely different coming from his lips. Her blush deepened as she thought about his lips.
She had to arch her neck to look at him. His t-shirt stuck to his torso with sweat, perfectly clinging to his broad chest, arms, and shoulders. Those shoulders. His blond hair glinted in the afternoon sun and his dark eyes, complimented by his strong nose and jaw, stared into hers, tense.
Throat suddenly dry, Anna found herself with an unusual lack of words. Kristoff seemed to be waiting for her to say something first as he shifted awkwardly in his spot.
Before she could think of anything smart or sensitive, Anna shoved the check out to him. “I’m supposed to give you this!”
“Oh! Uh…” Kristoff took the check carefully, confusion written all over his face.
“Bye, Kristoff! See you Monday!” Then she turned and ran back inside, cursing herself all the way to the mall.
------
Kristoff checked his watch, relieved to see his shift was over in just a few minutes. It had only been a seven-hour shift, but he’d opened, so he was exhausted. Why Oaken decided to open at six everyday was beyond him. Who went to the hardware store at six in the morning anyway? Regardless, it was money, so he wasn’t going to complain.
A coworker came from the back to relieve him and Kristoff finished one last transaction before heading to the back and clocking out.
Leaving through the back door toward the employee parking lot, he began to unbutton his uniform shirt, revealing the white t-shirt underneath. He fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his truck, jumping unto the driver’s seat before slipping his uniform over his shoulders and throwing it into the back seat.
Then he began the drive to the Anderson place. Kristoff turned the radio on and drummed his fingers against the wheel, letting his mind wander.
He liked working for Agnarr Anderson; the work was simple and paid well, and he could really use the extra cash. His landlord upped the rent in the past month and Sven had already requested more hours at the grocery store, so Kristoff needed to make sure he was pulling his weight. And he didn’t mind cleaning pools and mowing lawns to do so.
And then there was Anna. Kristoff didn’t exactly know what to think about her. Or, rather, what he was supposed to think about her.
Because he liked her. A lot. But he didn’t quite understand her.
Before taking this job, he honestly never thought about her at all. He kind of knew Elsa since they were in the same grade back in school, so he’d seen Anna around, always sticking by her older sister, but he’d never actually talked to her. Why would he? Being the youngest daughter of an attorney, Kristoff assumed she was a spoiled brat.
But after getting to know her, he was actually embarrassed as how wrong he was. Anna was kind and thoughtful and funny. Her laughter was his new favorite sound.
He’d figured he was thinking about her way too much, but then she’d kissed him. God – that kiss. It was quick, but more than enough to leave him light-headed. He’d kissed a few girls before, but Anna’s kiss burned on his lips days later.
But then she ran out and hadn’t talked to him since. She was clearly avoiding him; what was with that? She kissed him. So that meant she liked him, right? But then why would she ignore him? Kristoff didn’t think of himself as stupid, but he was obviously clueless when it came to women.
By the time he pulled into her driveway, he decided he would just ignore it, do his work, and force himself not to look up at her window so he couldn’t catch a glimpse of her. And that all seemed to work until he heard her voice call out to him.
“Kristoff?”
Turning at the sound of his name, Kristoff stopped weeding and stood up when he saw Anna coming towards him on the lawn with a glass tray in her hands.
He quickly wiped his hands on his jeans, feeling his heartrate pick up. “Anna – hi! Uh – hey.”
“I – we were making sandwiches,” she said, glancing at him before looking down at the tray, “and I thought you might want one.” She held out the trey topped with a sandwich on a small, china plate, a cloth napkin, and a glass filled with what looked to be iced tea. “It’s chicken salad; I’m not sure if you like that, but I wanted to ask. I also brought some iced tea, which – y’know – I also don’t know if you like, but I figured, ‘hey, who doesn’t like iced tea on a hot day?’ But thinking on it, that person might be you. You know what, I should have just asked. Sorry, I’ll just –”
“No, that…that sounds great,” Kristoff said, stopping her before she booked it back inside.
“Oh.” Anna smiled up at him, her awkwardness replaced with relief. “Good.”
Suddenly, a jolt when down Kristoff’s spine. He felt his breath catch and he was inexplicably hyperaware of the girl in front of him.
He’d seen Anna many times before, so he knew he was pretty, but, Jesus, pretty wasn’t the right word. She was utterly beautiful.
Her wide, blue eyes were deep and looked into his rather nervously. She squinted against the sun’s glare, causing her small, freckled nose to crinkle. Kristoff never noticed all her freckles – she was suddenly covered in them. Her blouse was sleeveless, so her visible shoulders exposed a myriad of those tiny, little dots, marking her in a patchy and perfect way. Her sun-kissed cheeks had their share of speckled skin, too.
Kristoff didn’t realize how long he stayed silent for, but he must have been speechless for a bit too long because Anna gave a forced laugh as she held the tray out a little closer to him.
Great, he’d freaked her out.
“Here,” Anna said, her voice softer than usual.
As Kristoff took the tray from her hands, her fingers brushed against his. He felt another shiver run down his back.
Anna pulled her hands back to herself, turning away, then looked back, tucking a long piece of hair behind her ear.
Kristoff remembered how she always used to wear her red hair in a pair or twin braids, but it had gotten longer. The pin-strait strands fell freely down to her lower back. A green headband kept her hair out of her eyes and framed her round face.
“Kristoff?” Anna’s hands wrung together in front of her.
He held his breath. “Yeah?”
“Um…feel free to leave the tray on the table by the pool when you’re done. Or wherever. Um. Okay.” Then she nearly ran into the house as she muttered to herself.
“Oh, thanks,” he called out after her. Yeah, he was in trouble.
He spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about it.
It was only later that night when Kristoff finally swallowed his pride and admitted to himself that he needed advice.
Turning to his roommate as old Gilligan’s Island reruns played on the T.V., Kristoff rolled his beer can in his hands uncertainly. “Hey, Sven?”
Seconds away from lighting a joint, Sven paused and flicked his lighter shut, sensing the hesitation in Kristoff’s tone. “What’s up?” he asked, laying the joint down on the coffee table.
Kristoff wasn’t open with many people. In fact, the only people he’d ever confide in were his family and Sven, but this was not a topic he would ever bring up to his parents or younger siblings. Sven was his best friend; he’d known him for so long, he was like a brother.
Sven was twenty-five, a Vietnam vet, and nearly the exact opposite of Kristoff in every way. He was out-going and approachable. He took pride in his appearance – his afro was always perfectly shaped, his clothes were fitted and pressed, and that man had a thing about his shoes. He was confident and kind, but he kept it real. That’s why Kristoff trusted him so much; he didn’t bullshit him.
“You’re – I mean, you know about – you’d say you’re…experienced, right?” Kristoff already felt heat creeping up the back of his neck.
Sven leaned back into his armchair and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. “I’d say I’m experienced in a lot of things.” A knowing smile spread its way across his face. “What are we talking about here?”
His friend’s grin immediately made Kristoff regret bringing it up. He didn’t even know why he asked – he knew Sven was good with women; their rooms were right next to each other and that their place did not have thick walls. And how did he already know what this was about?
“You don’t want me to start guessing, do you?”
Kristoff did not. “A girl,” he mumbled under his breath as he took a sip of beer.
“I knew it!” Sven laughed, his hands moving to rest behind his head. “So, the student has come to the master to learn the ways of women.”
“Sven.”
“I knew this day would come,” he said, bringing his hands back to his front in order to wipe away an imaginary tear. “Kristoff coming to me to ask about how to please a woman.”
“Sven! Oh my God, no! That is not –”
“I know what’s wrong: your body is going through a lot of changes and you suddenly have these urges –”
“Fuck off.”
“Everything is so confusing, but you’re not alone. Puberty is hard for everyone.”
“Forget it.” Kristoff stood up, embarrassed and annoyed, before Sven sat up straight and gestured to the couch.
“Hey, I’m just teasing. I’m sorry – I’ll be serious. For real, what’s going on?”
He hesitated, but Kristoff sat back down and sighed. “It…how can you tall if a girl likes you? I thought I knew, but I guess I have no idea.”
“Who is she?” At the glare from his friend, Sven threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Alright, a question for another time. Anyway, they send out these signals, you dig? There’s a vibe you can pick up on.”
“Well, she kissed me.”
“That is a very strong signal.”
“But she hasn’t spoken about it since. She’s barely spoken to me at all, actually.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. So what does that mean?”
Taking his feet off the table, Sven leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “Alright, here’s the skinny. I think there are two options here.”
Leaning forward as well, Kristoff listened intently.
“Option one: she has feelings for you too, but is too afraid to act on them again. Maybe she’s scared you don’t feel the same way. In that case, you need to make the next move.”
“And the second option?”
“She kissed you on a whim, instantly regretted it, and never wants to see you again. She’s just too nice to tell you to your face. If that’s the case, leave her alone.”
“Gee, Sven, thanks,” Kristoff deadpanned, falling back against the couch.
“Hey, you asked.”
“So how am I supposed to know which one it is?”
“You could ask her.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I don’t know, man.” Sven shrugged. “I’ve never had this problem before.” He glanced up in thought before looking back inquisitively.” “…are you a bad kisser?”
“What? No! Well, I don’t – no, I’m fine at it.” Sure, Kristoff could count the number of girls he’d kissed on one hand, and yeah, it never went past necking in the back of his truck before they moved on to another guy, but he’d never had any complaints before.
“Don’t need to get defensive. I’m just saying, maybe you’re a bad kisser; nothing personal.”
“How is that not personal?”
The phone rang, disrupting their conversation.
“I’ll get it.” Sven hopped up and went to the kitchen. “While I’m gone, practice kissing a pillow or something.”
Kristoff threw said pillow at him instead, and Sven laughed as he dodged it. It landed soundlessly on the shag carpet as he answered the phone.
“’Yellow?”
Kristoff let himself sulk on the couch as he watched Sven turn away from him and lean against the kitchen wall.
“Oh – yeah. Yeah, sure.” He pulled the phone away from his face and turned back to the open living room, another smile on his face. “Kristoff, there’s a girl on the phone for you.”
------
Anna shoved her fork in her mouth, savoring a large helping of fish.
“Anna,” her mother said from across the table. “Smaller bites, please.”
Anna glanced sideways at Elsa and made a face, causing her sister to bite back a laugh.
They reverted back to silence; the sound of utensils clinking on China the only sound in the furnished dining room.
After another minute, Iduna spoke up again. “Oh! You’ll never guess who I ran into at the store.”
“Who, dear?” Agnarr asked, bringing his napkin up to wipe at his mouth.
“Mrs. Williams; I haven’t talked to her in so long.” She paused for a moment, picking at her salad with her fork. “Her son, Thomas, is back home for the summer.” She turned to her eldest daughter. “Do you remember him, Elsa? I believe he was in the grade above yours.”
Anna froze, her fork nearly dropping onto her plate. She looked at her sister, both knowing exactly where this conversation was going.
“Oh, yes.” Their father responded for Elsa. “Bright boy.”
“He’s studying finance at Columbia; isn’t that interesting?”
Clearly uncomfortable, Elsa kept her gaze locked on her plate. “Very interesting,” she mumbled.
“Maybe you’ll run into him when you go back.”
“Probably not; New York City is really big, mom.”
“Oh, yes, well that’s a pity.”
“How long is he here for?” Agnarr asked.
Anna felt her temper rise. Their parents have been bringing up this kind of topic to Elsa for weeks. Now that she was a rising junior, they seemed to be in agreement that she was old enough to start at least thinking about marriage.
However, Anna, who Elsa had dubbed ‘boy crazy’ since she was fourteen, hadn’t even been allowed to date yet.
How did their parents expect them to go from not even being allowed to talk to boys to looking for a husband in just a few years? It was insane. Their hypocrisy was astounding.
As they continued at talk over the girls, Anna took another look at Elsa.
Her hands were clasped on the table, her knuckles white. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that the conversation was making her upset. Anyone besides their parents, anyway.
“Hey,” Anna interrupted. “I found dog poop on the front lawn this morning. I think the Bernstein’s dog got out again.”
“Not at the table,” her mother sighed.
“Again?” her father asked angrily. “That damn dog –”
“Watch your language at the table.”
Elsa mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ as their parents bickered across the table.
Anna would never tell a soul, but Elsa had made it perfectly clear to her that she wasn’t interested in marriage. Or men.
The fact that their parents didn’t even bother to ask them what they wanted or how they felt made Anna furious. What Elsa wanted – or didn’t want – should be respected. And when Anna wanted mattered, too.
She dug back into her plate. She wasn’t a little kid anymore; she knew what she wanted – rules be damned (she was never good at following them anyway). And she wanted Kristoff.
She waited for dinner and their manded ‘family time’ to end before she acted.
Once it was ten and the rest of her family was upstairs, Anna crept into the living room to use the phone. She’d found Kristoff’s number in her father’s office, but as she rang him, she grew anxious and was just about to hand up with the other line was picked up.
“’Yellow?”
The voice on the other end was most definitely not Kristoff. Anna nearly apologized and hung up, but she was pretty sure she dialed the number correctly and she remembered him mentioning that he had a roommate, so she pushed on. “Hi. Um, I’m trying to reach Kristoff – is he there?”
“Oh – yeah. Yeah, sure.” Then the voice became slightly muffled. “Kristoff, there’s a girl on the phone for you.”
Anna heard the phone transfer hands and Kristoff’s voice picked up on the receiver. “Hello?”
“Kristoff!” She immediately lowered her voice, careful to make sure no one overheard her. “Hi.”
“Hey, Anna.” He paused. “What – what’s up?”
Anna bit her lip as she twirled the phone cord between her fingers. She really should have practiced what she was going to say. Hey, Kristoff, remember when I kissed you and then didn’t talk about it? Well, now I want to talk about it. Like that would fly.
“Anna?” Kristoff asked when she didn’t respond.
She knew she needed to talk to him in person; this wasn’t something she wanted to do over the phone. She had to think of a way to get him over. “A raccoon!” she nearly yelled when the idea came to her.
“…what?”
“There’s…a raccoon. In the pool shed.” Anna winced as she lied through her teeth, but she really needed to see him. This would be resolved tonight. “I was wondering if you would be able to come over and…get it out?” There was a light, breathy laugh on the other end of the line and she smiled.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Awesome.” She breathed out a sigh of relief.
“I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
“No!” Anna bit her lip, once again watching her volume. “I mean…can you come over later? Like one?” Her parents were still awake, and if Kristoff came over at ten at night without an actual raccoon debacle, it would get ugly real fast.
“One?”
“If that’s not too late? It’s just – if my dad finds out, he’s gonna want to kill it, so I want to wait until he’s asleep. If that’s okay.”
“Yeah, that’s okay.”
“Thank you so much, Kristoff. Oh! And you should park down the street. Y’know, so no one wakes up. Don’t want any dead raccoons on our hands.” When she hung up, Anna nearly screamed at herself. Stupid.
------
Following Anna’s instructions, Kristoff parked on the street a few houses down and walked down the quiet sidewalk, observing the large houses tinted orange in the streetlights.
He had to work in the morning, but he didn’t want to disappoint Anna; she sounded really desperate on the phone.
Anna snuck out the back door and waited on her front lawn, chewing on her lip as she watched his figured come up the street. “Thanks for coming,” she said, looking into his dark eyes.
“No problem.” Kristoff shrugged stiffly, trying to ignore Sven’s words that suddenly ran through his head. She kissed you on a whim and instantly regretted it.
“Back here,” Anna said, gesturing to the side of her house. “But, well, you know where it is.” She ducked her head and walked past the dark side of her house to the back patio.
Kristoff shoved his hands in his pockets as he followed her. The pool lights were still on, giving the backyard a blue-green glow.
At the door of the shed, Anna stepped aside so he could open the door.
“You should probably step back,” he warned as he grabbed the handle. Stepping inside the pitch-black shed, Kristoff flipped on the switch, the dim bulb flickering on overhead. When he heard the door close behind him, he turned around to see Anna standing by the door, her hands clasped behind her back. “…Anna?”
“There’s no raccoon,” she confessed, trying to smile through her nerves. “I just – I’m sorry. I just wanted to talk to you.”
Kristoff felt his pulse pick up. “You wanted to talk to me in your pool shed? At one in the morning?”
Nodding, Anna took a shaky breath and took a step closer to him. “I didn’t know how else to get you alone.”
“M-makes sense,” he stuttered.
“About the other day…I kissed you.”
Seeing her hesitation, Kristoff said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not…expecting anything.” He didn’t want her to feel bad; if she wasn’t interested, it wasn’t fair to make her feel guilty about it.
Anna shook her head quickly. “No, Kristoff, it’s not that. Really. I…” She flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I really liked it.”
That was the exact opposite of what Kristoff expected. A smile spread across his face. “…yeah?”
God, his soft smile was enough for another round of butterflies to flutter in her stomach. “Yeah.” Anna took another step until she stood right in front of him.
Once again, Sven’s voice played in his mind. You need to make the next move. Before he could talk himself out of it, Kristoff gently grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. “Is this okay?” he asked softly.
Anna gasped, his sudden boldness unexpected, but very, very welcome. She nodded, placing her hands on his solid chest.
Kristoff couldn’t help but glance at her lips, his heart hammering in his chest. Make the next move. He leaned down slowly, giving her the option to pull away.
Although she wanted nothing more than to meet his lips with hers, Anna turned her head, refusing the kiss.
Immediately, Kristoff let her go and took a step back. How could he be reading the situation so badly? “God, I’m sorry; I thought –”
“No, no, you’re fine! I mean, you thought right,” Anna assured him, seeing the hurt on his face.
He furrowed his brows and blinked. None of this was making any sense. “Anna, I’m confused. What’s going on?”
She gave a small, frustrated groan and rubbed her hands over her eyes. Okay, she had to tell him the truth. She looked at him directly. “Kristoff, listen. I really like you.”
He smiled again, her confession all he needed.
“But my parents are really strict, especially my dad. Which is ridiculous, I mean, I’m eighteen, I don’t know why they can’t just trust me – anyway, this,” she gestured to him, “would only get us both in trouble.”
“Oh.” Kristoff nodded, disappointment filling his gut. “Okay.”
Anna couldn’t hold it back anymore. “Do you like me?” she blurted out. The attempted kiss was nearly enough, but she wanted to hear him say it.
“Yes. Anna, I like you. A lot.” Kristoff was more than sure in his answer, but if she wasn’t comfortable going against her parent’s wishes, of course he would respect that. “But if –”
Anna threw herself at him without a second thought. Her lips crashed into his for a split second before Kristoff pulled away.
“I thought –” he began, making sure he understood.
“I just wanted to let you know what you’re getting into,” she said, hands back against his chest. “You’re probably going to get fired.”
“Good to know. So…can I kiss you now?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Kristoff grinned and leaned down, and Anna immediately melted into his embrace as his warm, large hands wound back around her waist. She fit perfectly in his arms.
If their first kiss made her knees week, this kiss shook Anna to her core.
Kristoff held her closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss as Anna parted her lips to move with his.
She whined in the back of her throat and that noise gave Kristoff the confidence to gently lick her bottom lip, silently asking for entrance. Anna accepted his tongue willingly, her hands sliding up he chest to link behind his head, fingers teasing the hair on the nape of his neck.
Kristoff gripped her tighter, savoring her taste. His hands stayed around her waist like a gentleman, but Anna was thrilled at just how ungentlemanly his tongue was as it slid over hers.
They pulled away, breathless and dizzy, lips only inches apart. They leaned their foreheads together and smiled as they took the moment to breathe.
“Can I take you out sometime?” Kristoff asked, disbelief and joy in his voice.
Anna looked up at him through her lashes. “Only if you kiss me again.”
He did.