Vienna's life is pretty ordinary until her sister persuades her to sign up for a charity event to raise money for a local, burned down animal shelter. The fundraiser consists of a random draw of two names of participants who get to kiss each other;...
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Alex pulls the car in the a parking lot. We're still in Chicago, but he refuses to tell me what we're doing. He wiggles his eyebrows and jumps out of the car, walking over to my side and tugging me out. I let myself fall against him and groan, "are we eating yet? I'm hungry. Please tell me food is involved in your plan."
He grins and I lean against the car. Alex mumbles, "yes, but not yet, we're doing something else first." I frown when Alex opens the back door to his car and tells me, "get in." I open my mouth to interject but he laughs and says, "I'm kidding," and grabs a pair of black gloves from his backseat. "I should have told you to bring a pair, but you can wear mine if you want."
I hold my hands out in front of me, "no, thanks, I have warm pockets."
Alex raises his brows. "You sure?"
I nod, "yes, but can you tell me what we're doing?"
"You'll see," Alex smirks, and holds out his hand. "We have to walk a little ways. Are you cool with that?"
I smile. "Yeah, okay," I mumble nervously and take his hand.
He grins wider and asks, "do you have your phone? We need to take pictures for the website to prove we actually went out."
"I got it," I say, walking a little closer to him—close enough for our shoulders to touch.
I'm glad I dressed as warm as I did. The slight breeze is chilling, and my hands are already freezing. I wish Alex would have told me what we were doing. I hate surprises, and I hate not being prepared. Alex however, is bundled up in a grey beanie and scarf, a black coat and black jeans and combat boots, and of course, his thick, warm gloves.
We hear music playing nearby and cross a busy street. I clutch onto Alex's hand tightly, afraid that I might slip on the ice. We keep walking in silence and soon enough, I see a skating rink up ahead. I pray that we pass the entrance, but Alex tugs me towards it and pulls his passes from his pocket.
I whimper and mumble, "skating, Alex? Can we do something else?"
He turns to me, confused. "You don't like skating?"
I shrug. "It's boring. And cold." I look away from Alex's disappointed eyes and wish that I could go home and curl up with a big mug of tea. I like being outdoors, I do, but I'm terrified of being here.
Alex starts to laugh. I glance up at him and he holds my cool face in his hands. "You don't know how to skate, do you, sweetheart?" He smiles, his eyes glistening under the street lights.
I sigh, "no, I don't." I shake my head and laugh, and Alex's arms folds around my shoulders. I stare into his eyes and explain, "I went skating with my family when I was six and I was so scared, but then I got really cocky and went flying off on my own." Alex chuckles and I add, "I slipped out and hit my head on the ice and had a horrible concussion."
