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Jenny Calendar was not usually one to admit to nerves about a date. She was way too cool for that, if she did say so herself. She knew exactly what she had to offer and knew that if anyone wasn’t ready to pick up what she was laying down, it was entirely their loss. She would be just fine, thank you very much. And so, it caught her a little by surprise when she felt a vaguely unpleasant fluttering in her stomach as the hour for her date with Anya approached. She tried to ignore it, dismiss it as unimportant, but there was no denying it was there. It could only mean that Jenny cared an awful lot more than she thought she did that this date be a success. It made her uncomfortable, but she squashed it down as best as she could and walked up to Anya with as much false confidence as she could project.
“Hey,” she said breezily. “You been waiting long?”
“Just got here,” Anya said, throwing a brief smile at her before looking away again. “This is going to be great.”
Jenny nodded happily and walked over to hire them both skates. She briefly wondered if she should take Anya’s hand or if that was too forward, then she rolled her eyes at herself and kept walking. It was ridiculous. They were both far too old to indulge in this kind of nonsense. But here they were.
Anya caught up to her and grasped her firmly by the elbow as she fell into step beside her. Jenny smiled at her in relief.
“Do you like skating?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t you have asked that before suggesting this place?” Anya asked seriously. “Although, I would’ve just said no if I didn’t want to come here.”
“I would expect nothing less,” Jenny said solemnly. “You don’t strike me as the type of person who wastes time on things you don’t like.”
“I try not to, but sometimes it’s out of my control.” She pouted adorably and Jenny had to fight the sudden urge to suck on that pouty lip. “I hate when that happens.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t be happening at any point today,” Jenny said, slightly breathlessly as they joined the queue. “I certainly don’t want to make you do something you don’t like.”
“As if you could.”
Jenny burst out laughing, feeling suddenly lighter and happier than she had in days.
A few hours later, Jenny watched the large group of people making their way around the ice rink with varying degrees of skill and success and sighed. What had possessed her to suggest this, of all things, for their first date? She’d had vague ideas of flushed cheeks and shared smiles, casual contact and festive spirit. She had not counted on her apparent inability to skate more than a few feet before falling on her ass. She glared balefully at a young woman gliding effortlessly past, resenting her easy grace. Anya had been a natural and Jenny felt bad when she finally conceded defeat and stumbled away from the rink, seeking a safe place to sit while Anya went in search of refreshment for them both.
“Hot chocolate,” Anya said cheerfully from beside her, handing her a disposable cup. “Drink it down fast so we can get back out there.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Jenny muttered, blowing on the hot liquid and not meeting her eyes. “But you can go if you want, don’t let me stop you if you want to keep skating.”
Anya looked at her blankly for a moment and Jenny felt her stomach clench with some unnamed, decidedly unwelcome panic. But then the moment passed, and Anya laughed.
“I came here with you,” she said, smiling brightly. “I don’t care about skating, I could do that any old time. A date with you? Now that’s something to savour.”
“Thanks,” Jenny said softly, almost shy.
Anya sat down next to Jenny and took a cautious sip of her own drink. Jenny felt a goofy smile spreading across her face and quickly brought the cup to her lips to hide it as best she could.
“You’re really bad at skating,” Anya said conversationally a moment later and Jenny nearly choked on her mouthful of hot chocolate. “I don’t know why you suggested it.”
“I didn’t know I was so bad,” Jenny mumbled, refusing to look at her. “I thought it would just be fun, you know? Low stress, festive fun. Perfect for a first date, you know?”
“Festive fun?” Anya repeated dubiously. “If that’s what you wanted, we should’ve just gone to the mall for this date.”
“The mall?” Jenny echoed weakly. “For a first date?”
“Think about it,” Anya said eagerly, turning her body so that she was facing Jenny more fully. “Christmas carols, endless decorations—”
“Huge crowds fighting over bargains,” Jenny interrupted, fighting a smile.
“That’s all part of the wonders of the season,” Anya said happily. “All the beauty of capitalism mixed with the true meaning of Christmas.”
“Oh? And what would the true meaning of Christmas be?”
“Peace on earth, goodwill to your fellow humans, crap like that.” Anya shrugged and took another sip of her drink. “I don’t see the appeal, myself, but there are some traditions that seem worth preserving.”
Jenny grinned and turned so she could see her more clearly. Anya seemed suddenly nervous and Jenny was intrigues by this development.
“What traditions?”
Anya smiled and reached nonchalantly into her pocket, withdrawing a small sprig of mistletoe. Jenny raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh as Anya raised her arm until the mistletoe was directly about her head.
“Are you sure you’re interested in keeping traditions going?” Jenny murmured teasingly. “Or are you just looking to embrace the cliché?”
“Can’t we do both?”
Jenny pretended to consider this for a moment, watching Anya grow increasingly impatient with some amusement.
“I like the way you think,” she said eventually, leaning forward to press her lips against Anya’s.