This one happens sometime shortly after the Christmas installment—it's their first official date.

Rizzo was sitting at their usual table with Buzzy, OC, and Bah watching Krista serve drinks to another table with a small smile on his lips. She emptied her tray and took it over to the bar, where she handed it, along with her apron, to the bartender, then walked over to the boys' table.

"Hey boys," she called as she approached. She touched Rizzo's cheek and kissed him softly.

"Hi," he said shyly, sliding his arm around her waist and easing her onto his lap.

"Hey Krista," the other three said, suppressing smiles.

"How was practice today?" she asked.

All four groaned.

"That good, eh? About how my shift is going, too."

Rizzo rubbed her back lightly, and Bah, Buzzy, and OC exchanged looks.

"So what's on tap for tonight?" Buzzy asked.

"Probably just some TV," Krista replied, absently playing with Rizzo's hair.

"You two aren't going out?" Bah asked, surprised.

Rizzo shook his head.

"All right, I'm the obnoxious one, I'll ask," OC piped up. "You guys have been together for a couple of weeks now…why haven't you gone out on a date?"

Krista and Rizzo looked at each other.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess we just never really thought about it."

"Yeah," Rizzo added, "We see each other every day."

"Sure, here at the bar," Buzzy said. "Or at home…"

They chatted for a few more minutes before Krista's break was over. She rose from Rizzo's lap running her hand over his shoulders. He caught it and kissed it, smiling as she walked back to the bar. OC, Buzzy, and Bah looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"It's a good thing you can cook, Rizzo," OC told him, "or we'd leave you in a snow bank somewhere to cool off."



The next afternoon, Rizzo stopped by the bar after practice. Krista was taking chairs down from the tabletops.

"Hey there," she said as he walked over. "This is a nice surprise."

He leaned down and kissed her gently, resting his hands on her hips and smiling a little nervously. "I won't keep you long," he said, "I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay," she replied.

"Will you go out with me tonight?"

"Is this because of what OC said yesterday?"

Rizzo shook his head. "He only got me thinking. The only time we see each other is here, at my place, or at your place." He pulled her closer and looked into her eyes. "I want to take you out somewhere."

"Honey, neither one of us has the money…"

"You let me worry about that," he interrupted. "You work an early shift tonight, and I don't have a game for a couple of days." He brushed his hand against her cheek. "I thought tonight would be a good night for our first date."

She smiled. "I'm not going to say no to that."

"Good, I'll pick you up after work." He kissed her again and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute!" she called. "Where are we going? I won't have time to change!"

"It's a surprise…" he called back from the doorway. "And you don't need to change."

True to his word, Rizzo appeared at the bar just as Krista's shift ended holding a red rose. "For my beautiful girlfriend," he told her, blushing a little.

"That's the first time you've ever called me that," she smiled, feeling her heart flutter. She took the rose he offered and kissed him hello.

"Sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does."

He helped her put her coat on and led her out to the car, but refused to tell her where they were going. In just a few minutes time, they pulled up in front of the ice rink the team called home.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"You'll see."

Rizzo opened the car door for her and took her hand. He fished a key out of his pocket and unlocked a door along the side of the building.

"Close your eyes," he told her.

She looked at him suspiciously, but trusted him, so she closed her eyes.

He led her through the building to the little hallway that ran between the dressing room and the ice. "Okay, open 'em."

She opened her eyes, and couldn't believe what she saw. There were no lights on overhead, but the entire rink was lit. A step closer revealed candles set at intervals all the way around the ice on the ledge formed by the dasher boards outside the Plexiglas.

"Wow," Krista breathed, turning toward Rizzo.

He smiled at her expression. "You were right this afternoon. Neither one of us has much money, but I wanted us to have a good first date—something we'd remember. The rink manager let me borrow the key, but he couldn't give us lights…"

"…so you gave us lights," she finished. "Oh, sweetheart, it's beautiful!"

"There's a pair of skates for each of us over on the bench," he continued, grinning. "Mine for me, and Pav's for you. Hopefully they fit."

They did fit, and the two of them spent hours skating together and enjoying each other's company. At one point, Rizzo noticed that, for all the exercise they were getting, Krista was shivering.

"Cold?" he asked skating up behind her and wrapping his strong arms around her.

"A little," she replied. "We don't have any heat either, do we?"

"Well, we have heat, but not much." He let her go long enough to unbutton the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing over his t-shirt and draped it around her shoulders.

She smiled softly, and leaned back against him. The shirt smelled of his cologne, and she closed her eyes as she breathed it in. "This is the best first date I've ever been on," she told him.

"Me too," he agreed, turning her around and leaning down to kiss her.

She slipped out of his arms and threw him a playful look. "You'll have to catch me if you want to kiss me," she said, skating away.

He laughed and took off after her. He might have been the hockey player, but she was the better skater and eluded his grasp several times. Finally, though, he cornered her against the boards, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Gotcha," he smiled.

"Yeah," she smiled back, "I guess I have to give up."

His lips found the base of her neck, and slowly worked their way up to her ear. She was rather ticklish, and giggled a little at first, but feeling of his arms around her and the sensation of his warm lips on her skin quickly overpowered every other thought. She closed her eyes, and her hands moved of their own volition, one resting on his chest while the other ran through his hair. He caressed her cheek, tilting her face toward his and kissing her deeply.

"Mmmmm…" the sound was out of her before she knew it.

Rizzo paused for a moment, with a pleased expression on his face. "You've never made that noise before…"

"You've never kissed me like that before," she grinned, her lips almost touching his.

"So it was good?" he asked, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"It was great," she said, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. "We'll definitely have to try that again."

He laughed and kissed her again, a slow, intense kiss that made her heart pound and her toes curl.

"Wow," she whispered looking up into his eyes. "Does anyone else know how amazing you are?"

He whispered back, "I'm only amazing because I have you."