December, 18th

It took me another week to gather the courage to ask Adrian if we could go back to the ice-skating rink, this time to actually skate. For once, I didn’t ask him because I wanted to give a lecture about how much money you lose on an activity you could just do in another location, for far less money. Not that this wasn’t the case; I did point that out to Adrian while we stood in line to borrow our ice-skates, which just made him laugh a little. But in truth, I’d asked him because I really wanted to go ice-skating, and I really wanted to do it in this ridiculously and far too over-the-top decorated location. It reminded me of my childhood when we’d come here together as a family, and we’d eat our weight in candy canes after – a memory I’d always cherished, but had forgotten to appreciate in the last few years.

And if I was being completely honest, it was also a way of proving to myself that I could move on from the things which had hurt me in the past, that I could let the pain be part of my life without letting it control me. Adrian’s words had played on repeat in my head the past week, especially after I’d promised him I’d give this – him – a real shot at changing my mind about the Crazy Christmas Craze.

I’d revealed this “phenomenon” to him just the other day, as we had driven to a farm a little further away to go into a Christmas-themed escape room with an added touch of Frankenstein. Which had been the most fun I’d ever had doing any Christmas activity, by the way. But when Adrian had told me where we were headed in the car, I’d laughed at the idea of combining Halloween and Christmas vibes into one game, saying that the Crazy Christmas Craze had just gotten to a whole other level. And weirdly, without blinking once at the ridiculous name, Adrian had agreed with me, that playful-yet-mischievous grin on his face, which had told me what he’d thought at that exact moment: If the Christmas activity wasn’t at least a little crazy and-or cheesy, it wasn’t worth doing it, anyway. And for the first time since we’d met, I’d actually agreed with him.

He hadn’t quite made my love for this time of year return, but with Adrian, I had at least made peace with it. And then there was this tingling cotton feeling I got whenever he looked at me with those sparkling blue eyes of his, which made me realize that perhaps the wager wasn’t the only thing we shared between us. If I interpreted the warmth of his hand correctly, which was wrapped around mine right now while we were waiting for our skates, squeezing every now and then to tell me I could change my mind about this… then he reciprocated the feeling.

“If you want me to get you one of those penguin ice-skating aids, just tell me. I believe they even have some which look like a seal. It’s really cute,” Adrian said, grin deepening, as we tried on the borrowed ice-skates.

I shot him a look. “Those are meant to be for kids, given the size of them. And why do you assume I need them, anyway?”

“Well, I don’t think the size is going to be a problem,” he said with a wink, to which I gave an outraged scoff, raising my eyebrows.

“We’ll see who’ll need a penguin aid on the rink.”