It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

17. Date night

A few days later, it is time for their date.
The past few days, Ben desperately tried to figure out where Joe was planning on taking them. But the ginger kept his mouth shut.
"You're ready?" Joe asks with a smile while throwing Ben's jacket at him.
The blond smiles and nods. "Uhm, yeah I guess so. You're making me curious." He says with a soft giggle. "But you're not gonna tell me where we're going, are you?"
Joe grins at the boy and shakes his head. "Nope. You'll see what I planned for us when we get there. Now let's go." He takes Ben's hand and pulls him with him.

****

"Okay, you can look now."
With still a big smile on his face, Ben opens his eyes. He looks around, slightly confused. "Where are we?"
Joe giggles softly. "We are at the skating rink. You like ice skating?" He asks, a bit scared that Ben won't like it.
Ben smiles. "Well, I've never done it before, but I've always wanted to try it. You're gonna have to teach me." He gives the ginger a reassuring smile when he notices how nervous the boy is.
Joe breathes a sigh of relief, and takes Ben's hand in his own.
At first, Ben smiles at him. But then the smile disappears and he frees his hand out of Joe's. He turns around so he is now with his back to Joe.
"Hey, what's going on? Are you alright?" Joe puts his hand on Ben's shoulder and turns the boy around so he can see his face. Deep down he fears that Ben is embarrassed to be seen with him.
The blond doesn't say anything and just looks past Joe, following something, or someone, with his eyes.
A few seconds later, Joe sees a relieved look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I just saw this guy and he... well, he hasn't been really nice to me before. I wanted to make sure he didn't see me." Ben explains. He takes Joe's hand again, and intertwines their fingers.
The ginger smiles relieved.
"So, are you ready to teach me how to ice skate?" Ben asks with a grin.
Joe nods with a smile. "More than ready. Let's get us some skates." He says, pulling Ben with him towards the small skates rental booth.
After they both rented a pair of ice skates, Joe is the first to carefully set foot on the ice. He immediately starts skating small circles on the ice. "See? It's not that hard." He says with a smirk to Ben, the latter looks at the ice hesitantly.
"Uhm, okay." The blond mumbles.
"Just take my hand and follow my movements okay? Trust me." Joe says with a reassuring smile.
Ben smiles and nods. "I trust you." He takes Joe's hands, and intertwines their fingers.
Slowly, Joe starts skating backwards while still supporting Ben. He can't help but melt when he looks at the boy while he's concentrated on not falling.
Ben has his tongue tightly trapped between his lips while looking at the movements Joe is making to see if he's doing it right.

"Okay I think I get it now." The blond says after almost an hour of holding Joe's hands.
Joe nods with a smile, and he carefully lets go of Ben's hand.
Ben happily looks at Joe when he manages to skate a few meters without tripping or falling.
Joe smiles, giving the boy a proud look.
But Ben's succes doesn't last long, unfortunately. The boy loses his balance and falls forward. He falls right into Joe's arms, which results in both boys falling down on the ice.
Both can't stop laughing, despite the fact that they're both getting soaked.
Ben pats off the snow from his pants. "So, do I suck more at ice skating or at dancing?" He asks with a big grin.
Joe giggles and shrugs.
Both try to get up without slipping on the ice again.
"I don't know. The only thing I know is that you look cute doing both." The ginger grins when he sees Ben blushing and looking away shyly. "How about we get off the ice and get some hot chocolate?" Joe suggests when he sees that Ben's hands are almost blue because of the cold.
The Brit nods with a big smile. "Sounds great." He says.
Joe snakes his arm around Ben's waist so the boy won't fall down again. After placing a quick kiss on Ben's now dark red cheeks, they slowly make their way off the ice.

"This was the best evening ever." Ben says with a big smile when Joe hands him a plastic cup of hot chocolate.
Joe smiles, and sits down next to Ben. "I'm glad to hear that." He says with a chuckle. He feels his heart jump in his chest when Ben puts his head on his shoulder. All that matters to him right now is Ben.
A silence falls, and the two just enjoy watching the people on the ice.
"Joe?" Ben whispers after a while of silence.
Joe hums questioningly.
"I- I think I like you. Very much." Ben admits.
Joe can feel his heart leap, and he gets a warm feeling inside. His lips curl into a big smile. Gently, he strokes some hairs out of Ben's face, and he takes his hand.
"I like you too blondie. Very, very much." He whispers, gently running his hand through Ben's hair. With his index finger, he lifts Ben's head from his shoulder, so he can look into the boy's green eyes. "Can I kiss you?" He asks softly.
The blond boy giggles softly. "You know you don't have to asks permission to do that, right?" He says with a smirk.
Joe smiles and shrugs. "Well, I just want you to feel comfortable, since we're in public." He says while gently caressing Ben's cheek.
A big smile appears on Ben's face. "You're sweet." He whispers. He intertwines their fingers before leaning in to peck Joe's lips.
When they break the kiss, Joe giggles softly. "You taste like hot chocolate." He says, licking his lips.
Ben smiles and places his head on Joe's shoulder again.
Joe gives him a quick kiss on the forehead before getting up. "C'mon, I wanna show you something." He says with a mysterious smile.

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Their first date is a fact people! What do you think of this book so far?

On one hand I really want to improve every little detail, but on the other hand I'm very happy with what I've written, idk😂

Anyways, stay safe everyone❤