The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of dancing in front of the mirror, taking showers, and singing to any and every rock band out there. We even listened to our fair share of Swedish pop, which, according to Mia, would "culture me" for my date with Mikkel. As we screamed to the lyrics of Iridescent by Linkin Park, I heard Sara yell,
"It's 6:45, girls! We gotta get Elle to the cafe!" Mia squealed and did the finishing touches to my hair. I didn't put on any makeup, I rarely wore it, if at all. Sara had braided my hair back into a braid crown, so I would "embrace my inner princess". I laughed at her efforts, I was about as much of a princess as Mulan was an obedient wife. I had thrown on my favorite jacket and sweater. It was a gray turtleneck, and it complimented my brown hair and dark green eyes.
"You look every inch a princess," Sara said proudly, admiring her braid crown. I hugged her, then hugged Mia, thanking them for helping me to get ready.
"We love you, Elle. And I'm sure you'll have fun. He's too hot not to have fun with," Sara said, which made me giggle.
"I'll text you guys. I love you!" I said as I bounded out of the cabin. They shouted goodbye. I heard the door close and I started to make my way towards the cabin.
The ski complex was huge, with the cabins located closest to the woods and the slopes and trails closer to the cafe. It was about a ten-minute walk from the cabin to the cafe, but I didn't mind it. The fresh air and the light falling of snow were calming and peaceful. Each step I took produced a little 'crunch' when my boot sunk into the powdery snow. I smiled and remembered what it was like to play around in the snow when Mia, Sara, and I were much younger. We used to have snowball fights with the neighborhood boys, and they would always let us win. I had grown up with the girls, and one of the neighborhood boys was Darren. He never hit me too hard with the snowball, and he always let me pelt him with them. Thinking back to the good old days when we didn't have a care in the world made me tear up a little bit. I sniffed them back and picked up the pace, eager to forget Darren and have a good night with Mikkel.
***
He was waiting for me in the cafe, two hot chocolates.
"Good evening, Princess Elle," he said while handing me a hot chocolate. I laughed and said,
"We're gonna have to come up with a new nickname for myself. Princess is one that only Mia and Sara call me." Mikkel smiled.
"Mia and Sara are your friends' names, the ones with you earlier?" I nodded, sipping from my hot chocolate.
"They seemed very, well, excited for you," He acknowledged, looking with an exaggerated pained look on his face.
"Oh, relax," I said, giving him a playful shove. He chuckled and took a sip from his hot chocolate. I grew more serious, considering telling him about Darren. There wasn't any reason for me to, so I decided not to.
"So, what are you planning for this 'mysterious date'?" I said, putting air quotes around the last two words. He smiled and said,
"The highlight of it is waiting right in the back." Confused, I followed him out to the back of the cafe. There, waiting for us, were two horses, one white and one black. They were both beautiful and strong-looking, their coats being covered with the light snow that was falling from the gray sky. They were tethered to a post that was there for, I could only assume, horses.
"Take your pick, love," Mikkel said. I walked toward the black one, mounting him with ease. I believe he was a male (for obvious reasons).
"I refuse to be addressed by love, Mikkel. try something different," I said over my shoulder.
"Hmmm," he thought aloud to himself, "How about sweet thing?" I considered turning down this name, but then remembered that a character in a book I read (and loved) was called sweet thing by her, er, boyfriend.
"I like it," I said, holding up my chin. Mikkel smirked and mounted the white horse. He looked like Thor riding a white horse into battle, with his snow boots and blonde hair and blue eyes. he caught me admiring him and said,
"Shall we commence our ride, sweet thing?" I blushed at the mention of my new nickname and nodded.
"Yes, we shall, my knight," I said. He chuckled and spurred his horse on.
"I like that nickname, Elle," He called back behind him. I spurred mine on and followed after him.
"I do, too!" I yelled after him.
YOU ARE READING
One Winter's Day
Romance"Excuse me, but who is this lovely woman sitting in front of me?" A deep, husky voice said, which I assumed belonged to the boy who smelled like the woods. "That's Princess Elle," Mia said, then giggled. I shot daggers at her and turned around to fa...
