Summary: Jade can't ice skate, but if it means she'll get to be close to Perrie, she's down.
"I'm going to fall," Jade whines, biting her bottom lip as she eyes the other ice skaters, who whisked across the surface with grace.
Shaking her head, Perrie responds, "No you won't, trust me, you're going to be a natural. You just can't overthink it," Perrie claims, offering her hand out to Jade, "Now come on, let's get out there before everyone else starts skating."
Jade obliges, letting Perrie's dainty hand envelop her own as they make their way to the skating rink. Jade feels insecure with the way she's clumsily clomping around, but when Perrie is touching her, she almost forgets her embarrassment. Almost.
For a second time, Jade mutters, "I'm going to fall, Perrie."
"Then I'll catch you," Perrie answers, shooting a icy white smile toward her girlfriend, "Grab onto my arm so you don't lose your balance at first. If you fall right off the bat, you're going to psych yourself out and never want to skate again. That's why most people never do it more than once," Perrie guided Jade out onto the ice, "Follow my lead."
When Jade's skates glazed across the top of the ice skating rink, she dug her fingernails so deep into Perrie's arm she was almost certain they would go through the fabric of her jacket. Perrie didn't seem to mind though, she just continued to drag Jade along with her.
"Here, hold my hands for now," Perrie presented her woolen gloves fingers, letting go of Jade's arm for only a split second, but it seemed like a century as she flailed around like Bambi when he first began to walk. Perrie gasped, gripping her fingers around Jade's mittens, "Steady now, I don't want you getting hurt," Perrie said, "If you got hurt, I'd have to kiss you to make it better."
Jade's stomach fluttered and chills covered her entire body even though it was absolutely freezing at the ice skating rink. Jade allowed herself to grin, suddenly becoming aware of how close she and Perrie were, and how lovely she looked under the light of the surrounding street lamps. Perrie's frosty blue eyes glistened like the snow that covered the ground, and her pale skin blended in with the verglas that lay across the branches of evergreens. Jade exhaled the air she was holding in her sternum, and realized that she was in love with Perrie.
"Perrie, I'm scared," Jade states, not being able to stop her knees from shaking from the frigid cold, fear of falling, and being so close to Perrie.
"Don't overthink it, Jade, you're going to be fine, love," Perrie assures, moving back gracefully on her skates, while simultaneously pulling Jade along with her, "See, it's not that bad!"
The razor sharp skates slid across the ice just like you'd expect them to: smoothly. Relief washed over Jade as she came to the realization that she was safe, not only because she hadn't fallen down yet, but also because she had Perrie there to support her if she even lost her balance. Jade thought it was some sort of metaphor for their relationship, Perrie being the ropes that held them both together like a tightly wrapped Christmas present.
Excitement tingled up Jade's spine as she exclaimed, "Perrie, I'm doing it!"
Giggling, Perrie responded, "I told you that you'd be a natural. It's just like dancing, Jade, try and spin for me!" Perrie demanded eagerly, lifting one of her arms high above Jade's head and let go with her other hand.
Jade obliged, closing her eyes and tipping her head back as she turned around the ice skating rink. Jade felt no different than she did at home with Perrie, when they'd dance and sing along to whatever was playing on their tiny portable radio.
"See," Perrie said, grabbing Jade's hand once she came full circle again, "It's easy, now let's do some actual skating," Perrie replied, but not without giving Jade a small peck on the cheek first.
Hand in hand, they skated around the perimeter of the rink, joining the other joyous people. Jade smiled, letting the cold wind hit her teeth and she held Perrie's hand, floating across the ice like she had been born to do it. Perrie kept squeezing her girlfriend's hand tighter, grinning over at her with sparkly eyes when they were in the clear.
When Jade noticed Perrie's chattering teeth and reddening cheeks, she asked, "Let's give skating a break for a while, I heard they have really great hot chocolate here."
The girls removed their skates and changed back into their hefty winter boots, intertwining their hands as they walked toward the snack kiosk. Snow covered the ground in a sparkling blanket, crunching under every synchronized footstep the pair took together.
"Two hot chocolates please," Perrie said to the man at the counter, and she smiled over at her girlfriend.
As they waited for their drinks, Jade rested her head on Perrie's shoulder, yearning to obtain some of the warmth that Perrie seemed to always give off. It may be below freezing outside, but Perrie still had some sort of ability to make Jade feel like it were a cool summer day.
Perrie handed Jade her drink when they were ready, and they headed toward a picnic table that sat adjacent from the arena esque skating rink.
Taking a sip of her drink, Perrie locked eyes with Jade, who had been taking in Perrie's soft features as they sat in silence. Jade looked away, a bit embarrassed of being caught staring, but she knew that Perrie didn't mind. They were in love, and at this point, they wanted everyone to know.
Jade giggled, her eyes drawing to Perrie's nose, which had a dollop of whipped cream resting on the tip of it.
"What's so funny?" Perrie asked, furrowing her perfectly manicured eyebrows together.
"Here," Jade replied, leaning forward and planting a firm kiss on the top of Perrie's nose, licking up the small dot of whipped cream that lay upon it. Jade ran her tongue across her lips, making sure the whipped cream hadn't stained her as well, and she said, "You had whipped cream on your nose, silly."
Perrie smirked, her deep red lip stick somehow still intact, "I think you were just trying to find a reason to kiss me."
Jade felt her cheeks flush a bright red, and she responded with a grin, "I like finding any reason I can to kiss you, I just can't help it."
"I love you," Perrie blurted out, clasping her hand over Jade's, "You didn't have to come out with me tonight, you really didn't. Jade, you couldn't even put on your ice skates correctly, yet you wanted to do this to be with me, and that means the world to me. You mean the world to me, Jade," Perrie commented, hiding her beam behind her mug of hot chocolate.
Shrugging, Jade rubbed her thumb over the palm of Perrie's glove, "I would do anything just to be close to you."
"So does that mean you want to go back out and skate some more?" Perrie asked, her eyes lighting up an electric blue.
Jade laughed, "Okay," She obliged, chugging down the rest of her hot chocolate before tossing it into the garbage can. Then Jade took Perrie's gloved hand once again, and they walked toward the ice skating rink for the second time that winter night.