I guess you could say things were going well between Artemi and I.
We hung out a lot, going to dinner and stuff like that. Today we were going to Millennium Park to go ice skating. I've been skating before but that doesn't mean I was very good at it.
Art picked me up at two since they only had practice today. "Hey," I smiled as I got in his car.
"Hi Claire," he replied before driving off. "Excited for today?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I am. Except I'm not good at ice skating so you're going to have to help me."
He chuckled, making my stomach fill with butterflies. "Don't worry I will help."
We arrived at Millennium Park. Artemi had brought two pairs of skates for us so we didn't have to rent them. We found a bench and put our skates on. I was having some trouble tying up the laces. While I was still lacing my left skate up, Artemi had finished both of his. He helped me and laced up my right skate for me.
"Thank you," I smiled at him as he stood back up.
He adjusted his hat. "You are welcome. Let's go."
We hit the ice and began skating. I was a little shaky at first but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. While we skated, we talked about random things.
Artemi held my hand as we skated. I felt heat rising to my cheeks. I glanced over and noticed his cheeks a little rosy as well. I wasn't sure if it was from us holding hands or just the cold.
"Claire, want to race?" He asked suddenly.
"Why, so you can win?" I joked.
He shook his head. "No, so I can let you win."
I giggled. "Fine. But don't go easy on me. One lap around the ice."
"If I win, you have to go on another date with me," he stated. I glanced over and saw that he had a mischievous grin on his face.
I smirked. "Fine. But if I win, you have to buy dinner after this."
"Deal." We stood next to each other near the entrance to the rink. "Ready-"
"Go!" I cut him off, trying to get a head start. I wasn't a very good skater and I knew Artemi would beat me anyways.
He was shocked at first but caught up to me very quickly. He flew past me and down the ice. He stopped right before where we started. I watched as a little boy went up to him and started talking. The boy's dad took a picture of the two.
As I approached, Artemi and the boy were still talking. I stopped next to Artemi as he continued talking to the boy. He was asking him about his hockey team.
After a few more minutes, the boy's father said that it was time for them to leave. The boy hugged Artemi, who was stunned at first but quickly returned the gesture. He waved as the family skated away.
Artemi turned to me. "I win," he grinned smugly.
I smirked. "No you don't."
He scoffed. "What? Of course I did. I finish 10 minutes before you."
"But you didn't cross the line," I giggled. His face fell and I leaned up and pecked his cheek. "Don't worry, I'll still go on a date with you."
Artemi chuckled and shook his head. "Come. Let's get coffee, it's getting cold out."
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aww look at that cute lil russian with his fur hat what a cutie
THE PENS ARE IN THE FINAL!! ok i want the pens to win but like if the Sharks win I'll be happy for them bc they're the underdogs and they've never even made it to the finals before this and that's so cool so idek who I'm rooting for
