i may just take your breath away - jemily college au

Skating

JJ sat on the bleachers, starting to get cold as she looked around, waiting for her raven-haired girlfriend to come into her vision. As she took deep breaths, filling her lungs with the crisp almost-winter air, she attempted to calm herself. Breathe in — one, two, three, four — and breathe out — one, two, three, four. The breathing exercise taught to her by her high school therapist settled her nerves only slightly. She was wound tighter than an elastic band and she feared the second she saw Emily she would snap.

It was her first official date with her new girlfriend. JJ checked her watch. Only a minute had passed. She took another deep breath.

They had been together—as a couple—for a few weeks at this point. Their friendship had spanned over three months, yet she had butterflies in her stomach as if it was the first time she'd ever seen Emily. Getting together right before finals season was probably not the best plan, as their 'dates' had mostly been of the studying type so far.

Now, with all of their exams behind them, JJ and Emily had one real night together before they parted ways for winter break. It was JJ's idea to call it their first date, a decision she was regretting, as it put so much more pressure on them.

They were together , but their relationship hadn't really been tested. So far, it had just been friends with kissing, sex, and feelings. What if the date was awkward? What if they ran out of things to talk about? What if JJ revealed how weird she could be, and Emily finally realized that she was too cool for her and walked away?

JJ tried to centre herself with another deep breath. Her anxiety wasn't going to send her into a tailspin today, it wasn't the time. At least, that's what she told herself, but her heart was definitely beating harder than it needed to be.

She looked around to distract herself. It was a nice day despite the freezing weather, with the ground having received a hefty dusting of snow throughout the week. It was around three in the afternoon and the sun was already starting to set, bathing the whole city in a golden light and warming JJ's face ever so slightly.

In front of her was the community ice rink, built in a nearby park and outfitted in a festive winter market. To her left was the community booth, renting skates and monitoring the rink to make sure no one was roughhousing. On one side of the ice rink were stalls that sold hot chocolate and snacks, and beyond that were local vendors selling assorted handmade goods. String lights were strung overhead, connected to trees and making the whole scene ethereal.

Ice skating was something that always made her heart ache, with Ros' love for it still fresh in her mind, but when Emily asked her to meet here, JJ couldn't say no.

With the holidays fast approaching, it was busy with people shopping, skating, or just walking through to take photos in the festive setting. The park was downtown, only a few minutes off campus, but close enough for JJ to come straight here after picking up her present for Emily.

It took her most of the afternoon to find something perfect. Christmas was way more challenging than Emily's birthday back in November, because this time, it wasn't a group present. It was from JJ. Not just from JJ (Emily's friend) it was from JJ (Emily's girlfriend), which felt like a bigger deal. She had it tucked away in her bag with a note on the parcel that read: "Save for Christmas Day."

She wondered what Emily would get her. Would it be something perfect? Something too expensive that would make JJ's gift look lame? Something thoughtful and caring? An inside joke? A French-English dictionary? Who knew.

They had promised to wait until Christmas to open their gifts for each other, so she would have to wait and see.

JJ looked around, craning her neck to try and spot her girlfriend. She checked her watch; she was still three minutes early for when they said they'd meet up.