At seven, I slid on my heavy winter parka, not quite sure if I would need it, but better safe than sorry. "Lace! Are you ready?"
Answering me from behind the closed bathroom door, she called back, "Well, I would be ready a lot faster if you told me where we are actually going!"
I chuckled, rapping my knuckles lightly against the door, "Just come out and I'll tell you if you're ready to skate."
"Skate??" She threw the door open, slamming it against the wall and I cringed.
"Damn. I hadn't meant to give it away.." I blushed sheepishly, but nodded in return. "Yeah, I'm taking you skating. The rink said it wouldn't be too packed today because it's Christmas and usually families are together today. So, I thought a nice skating date would be appropriate."
"Awww! You're such a sap!" She giggled and then spun around on her heel, letting me get a look at her outfit.
"Good. Great, actually," I grinned and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before nodding and pulling back, "Are you ready to go, babe?"
Lacey grinned and nodded, "Let's go."
The ride to the skating rink, accurately named Blades of Glory after the movie, was simple and didn't take much longer than fifteen minutes. All the while, Lacey quizzed me on when I had set this all up; especially since not too long before Christmas we hadn't even been speaking.
"Well, when did you even get this all finalized? Since you obviously talked about the amount of people that would be there, it couldn't have been too long ago."
Keeping my eyes trained on the slick-with-slush roads, I shrugged, "A couple days ago. Maybe a week or two."
"You had no clue if I could even skate or not. Why would you chose to go skating with me? I might not even be able to do it," Lacey countered my admission, seeming to grow testy at how relaxed with it all I was.
"Doesn't really matter if you can't skate, babe," I glanced over at her when I reached a red light only about a mile from the rink we were going to, "All that means is that I get to teach you how to do it. Which, in my opinion at least, will be completely adorable."
Lacey laughed and shook her head, "Oh my gosh, you think I'm going to fall around on the ice like Bambi when she first tries to walk, don't you?"
Blushing a bit, I shrugged, "Maybe. Still, even if you aren't, you get to hold on to me and that's pretty amazing to me."
A small smirk lit up her features, "What if I drag you down with me?"
Yet again, I shrugged, "Still wouldn't bother me in the least. We would be going down together, and anywhere with you is where I wanna be."
Fake gagging, Lacey leaned forward in the seat and giggled, "You are literally so lovey dovey that I may puke just from hearing it."
I laughed heartily as I pulled into a parking spot near the front of the building, the whole lot completely devoid of any cars, "Looks like it really is just us tonight, huh, Lace?"
She grinned as she got out, adjusting the woolen scarf that she wore around her neck, "Seems like it?"
Winding an arm around her waist, I led her inside and paid for our hand stamps and shoes. Finding our sizes was especially easy since no one else was in the rink, and I helped lace up Lacey's and tie my own before we staggered towards the ice.
"This will be fun..." I uttered, having begun to wonder if this was the smartest of ideas.
Somehow, Lacey had heard me and she grinned, "Oh come on, sourpuss. It'll be fun, I promise."
"If you say so, baby."
"I do," She confirmed and then took ahold of my hand and we both slowly slid out and on to the slick ice.
Our hands didn't part, both of us shaking pretty badly for a while. Finally, I let one of Lacey's hands go, moving my foot slowly so that I skated a little more than I had before.
Gasping, Lacey dropped my other hand, "Go, Jake! Let's see how far you can get!"
As worried as I was that I would crash and look like an idiot, I gave Lacey a tiny simper before I pushed a little further. I made it another few yards before my left foot flew from under me and I was airborne for about half a second before landing on my butt, hard.
Lacey laughed and skated over to me gracefully. Gaping at her, I pointedly ignored the hand she held out to help me up, "How in the hell did you manage that?!"
Grinning at me, she giggled and shrugged, "Oh, I didn't tell you? I took lessons when I was a kid. About... Seven years worth of ice skating lessons."
"Oh... You dirty, little sneak! You're so in for it now!" I struggled to regain my footing, wanting to chase her down and tickle her until she apologized.
Skating backwards flawlessly, Lacey smiled at me, "Having fun there, Bambi?"
"You are so done for when I get off of my butt!" I screamed, nails digging into the wall some as I forced my legs to bend widely so I wouldn't slam back into the floor.
"Whatever you say, Jake," She spun around in a circle, so fast and coordinated I got dizzy from just watching her. When she stopped, she turned to me again, "By the way, you were right. This was a great idea. I'm having tons of fun. We should totally come more often."
Ignoring her gloating tone, I finally caught my balance and slowly skittered my way towards her, trying not to slump back to the ground in a heap as my legs shook, "I am coming after you, ballerina. So, you better watch out!"
Lacey giggled and easily skated her way across the rink, spinning and jumping every few yards, "Come and get me, babe. I'm waiting!"
I continued to make my way towards her slowly, trying to stay steady, but she kept moving continuously so I was always behind by a few feet. Huffing out a breath that clouded in the icy air, I groaned, "Baby, can you please stop and or slow down so that your poor fiancé won't die?"
She laughed softly, the sound echoed across the rink and floated towards my ears, "Yes, sir!"
Gliding back to me, Lacey placed a hand on my shoulder to help steady me, "Thank you, meanie."
She giggled and nodded, "Anytime, Sir Falls-A-Lot."
Pouting, I stood up straight and held my ground properly for the first time since I had fallen, "I am so getting you back for this. You have completely turned this date around on me."
Lacey laughed, "Actually, I have. Now you have to hold on to me so that you can skate. It's totally sexy to have to hold on as we skate."
Rolling my eyes, I scoffed at her, "I can totally do this on my own."
"Do you really want to try that again? Give up on being all macho and manly, babe."
"I don't want to!" I groaned out, wanting to just collapse on to the ice.
"Babeeeeeee!" She whines and I sighed, nodding my head in agreement.
"Fine. Come on. Help me out here," I asked and held my arm out for her to grab.
Gripping it, Lacey steadied me and then slowly helped me skate across the rink. Our strides were unsteady and Lacey constantly had to pull the weight so that I wouldn't fall face flat.
"So," I began, hoping that if I didn't concentrate too hard on the process of skating that I would be able to do it better, "when do you think we should have the wedding?"
"Hmm..." Lacey pondered, still holding us both upright as we made our fourth full circuit around the rink, "I don't know, Jacob. What did you have in mind?"
I shrugged a little bit, throwing me off kilter, which nearly sent us into a fishtail, "Maybe sometime soon? I mean, it doesn't have to be any time in the near future, but I wouldn't mind us getting married in winter. Imagine getting married out in the snow as the sun sets..."
She grinned at the blush that colored my already rosy cheeks, "You are literally a twelve year old girl in an adult male's body."
"Oh, shut up. Just, please, tell me how you feel about it? Or at least give me your opinion on when you want the wedding to be?"
Lacey kissed my freezing cheek, "I actually like it in the winter. It sounds really different and that makes it extra special."
"Are you saying yes to a winter wonderland wedding?" I grinned at her, eyes sparkling with warmth.
"I am, Mr. Anderson."