"Alice… what the heck am I wearing?! I look like the abominable snowman! You do realize it's summer right?"
Alice had put so many layers of clothing on me that I lost count. I had three pairs of socks on under a pair of furry salmon color Uggs. I was wearing long johns under a pair of dark wash jeans making my legs sufficiently warm. I was on a tank top and a long sleeve shirt under my 'I'm just kitten' sweatshirt, which was totally adorable. Along with a thick beige scarf with pops of color in the yarn and a brown beanie hat.
"Well I can't really tell you… but I will tell you that Emmett is totally responsible for that sweatshirt! I asked him to bring a cute warm SWEATER and instead he brings this… I mean really!"
"Alice. Breathe. Its fine. For once I'm actually comfortable in something you put on me. Well actually it is a little warm in here…" I noticed as I started to sweat.
"Don't sweat you make up off! Go! Hurry! Go stand in the freezer or something!" Alice nearly screamed at me.
Laughing at her ridiculousness, I made my way down the stairs and after contemplating a way to stay cool, the freezer didn't seem like such a bad idea. So I went to the kitchen and opened the freezer and just stood there for a while. Eventually Edward came down the stairs, dressed similarly to me. He was wearing khaki pants with a white t-shirt underneath a thick, forest green wool jacket. His outfit was topped off with a white and gray striped beanie hat, much like my own.
"You look adorable." He said with a smile making his way over to me. He pulled me into a hug.
"Well thank you, although I'm not sure why I am wearing a sweatshirt in the summer time…" I dragged off curiously.
"Well that is for me to know and for you to find out!" He had a mischievous smile on his face. "My lady if you will join me in the car?"
"But of course my fine sir!" I dramatically exclaimed taking Edward's hand in my own.
"What is this place?" I asked as we walked into what looked like a huge warehouse from the outside. The drive had taken almost an hour and I had no clue where we were.
"We, my sweet Bella, are at the only indoor ice rink in Washington that is open all year round! (I made this up, totally fictional place)"
It was as huge on the inside as it looked on the outside. A large ice rink filled the center of the continuous room. Lockers, benches, and table filled the front area, along with a line for skates. There was also a place to buy food and drinks. The impressive part of it though, was how you really felt like you were outside on a cold winter's night. It was frigid in the place, and all the layers were really coming in handy. The lights were dimmed and it was fairly dark, except for a few big lights and the millions of small light bulbs strung from the ceiling creating an illusion of stars. After the initial feeling of awe settled, my nerves picked up.
"What?! Have you seen me walk lately? Not exactly Ms. America over here. I can't even walk across a flat surface on my own two feet, let alone an icy rink of death on skate!"
"Bella, relax! I won't let you fall, I promise." He looks at me with those amazing eyes of his and I forget my reason for worrying in the first place…
"Okay, but only if you won't let me fall…"
"Never." He leans over to kiss my cheek, earning him a very embarrassing blush.
We got our skates and Edward helped put them on. Once we both had our skates on, we made our way over to the rink. Edward managed to make it there so gracefully that you'd think he had walked on skates his whole life. I on the other hand stumbled many times, but thankfully Edward was always there to catch me.
Before entering the rink Edward gave me a few tips: stay on the outside for the first few times around, not that I would dare not to, try to glide more than you do walk, don't spread your feet out too much, etc. All ended up being very helpful once we entered the rink, but eventually I found that it wasn't that bad, and having Edward beside me constantly ready to catch me if I fell, made it that much better.
"Are you having fun?" Edward asked.
"Of course I am! I'm here with you…" I said quietly looking at the ground which turned out to be a bad thing because I immediately started to fall.
"Woooaahhhhh!" I started flailing my arms like an idiot in an attempt to stay up right.
"It's alright, I've got you." He was suddenly behind me, holding my waist, steadying me. "Do you want to take a break? I think the y are about to bring the Zamboni out."
"Sure." I was happy that Alice had put me in so many layers of socks, because my feet were starting to get pretty sore.
"Hey, stay here for a sec, I'll be right back." Edward said after we had both sat down. He came back with two cups of hot chocolate and handed me a cup with extra marshmallows in it. Just like how I drank it when we were kids.
"You remembered?" I asked, curious how he remembered something so random.
"I make an effort to remember everything about you, Bella. You mean a lot to me." He took my hand in his, staring into my eyes.
"You… you mean a lot to me too, Edward.: I replied, flustered at his confession.
"Ya know, Bella? I can't imagine being here with anybody else." He told me with a bit of nervousness in his voice, something unusual for Edward.
"Yeah, me neither. I'm really glad you asked me." I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He removed his hand from mine to wrap his arm around my shoulder and I cuddled into his side as we settled back into the chair. We sat and watched the Zamboni clean the ice rink and we laughed at the little kids watching in awe. As we sipped the last of our hot chocolate, we decided to go out for a few more times around the rink.
On the way home we kept the cold air conditioning on in Edward's car. We talked about silly things, we talked about the future, and the past, and it turned out to be an amazing night. It was the best first date a girl could ask for. And I wanted a million more dates just like it with Edward.
Edward offered to drop me off at my house on the way, but it was pointless because either way Alice was going to need details and it'd be easier to just get out-of-the-way. So we headed back to the Cullen's. When we got there, Edward opened my door for me like a true gentleman. And he held my hand all the way to the front door.
"Thank you for inviting me, Edward." I said when we reached the door.
"No, thank you! This has been one of the best nights of my life." And with that he started to slowly lean in and I started to slowly lean in. When our lips touched it was magic. It was the perfect way to end the perfect night, with the perfect guy and I felt beyond lucky.