Your Frozen Date

It had been freezing for the past few weeks, but there was no snow. This made your boyfriend happy it always has, but he never told anyone why. This year you finally get to find out.

It was Friday night, and you had nothing planned, so you were eating dinner alone in your apartment when you got a text from your boyfriend. “Do you want to go on a date with me tomorrow afternoon?”

“Of course!” you responded.

“Do you have anything planned?” you double texted, knowing that he did.

“Yes,” you waited for him to tell you more, but he didn’t text anything. The other person is texting dots weren’t there either, he's being mysterious again, you happily sigh at his antics as you ask for more information.

“Wanna tell me what it is? lol”

“It's a surprise. I think you’ll like it. I’ll pick you up at 148 be ready and dress warm,” you don’t spend much thought at the seemingly random time. You know he has his reasons and will be at your door at exactly that time. You also know that you're not getting any information about the date. You smile at your phone regardless.

It was 1:45 and you were buddled up and going crazy waiting and wondering what he had planned. Three minutes, he’ll be there in three minutes. And like clockwork, there was a knock on your door the second the clock turned 1:48. He was also bundled up and wearing a big backpack.

After a quick kiss, he took you to the train station. Of course, a train would explain the weird time. And of course, as he planned, a train arrived within minutes after we got there.

The train was relatively empty, and you spent the time talking and enjoying the other's company and his long, warm arms.

you had no idea where we were! We were on the train for over an hour and a half, and you've never been this far north! He then got an uber to take us to the edge of the town, to a forest. You knew that your boyfriend liked nature, and the people free solitude that came with it. Taking your hand he led you deep into the woods. He wasn't on a path, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going. Eventually, we stopped at a clearing, and in the center was a frozen lake. The sight was breathtaking. The leafless trees reflected on the lake, like a giant mirror. Grabbing his hand, you looked over to see his smiling face; he met your gaze, and you could see how at peace he was, you rarely see him this calm. His normal anxiety seemed to have melted away. He was just as an amazing sight to behold as the lake. He let go of your hand and he took off his bag and pulled out two sets of ice skates, one in his size and one in yours. He looked at you, eyes full of hope, “Do you want to skate?”

”I don’t know how…” your voice was rather sheepishly.

“I can teach you,” he smiled. He had that confidence that you rarely see. You knew being around people gave him anxiety but being just with me in a forest is just night and day. You nodded as he grabbed your hand, and we walked down to the lake. There was a log that was practically on the lake. There was no way it fell there; he must have pushed it over. He mentioned having a secret place before and now, you're sure that this is it. We sat down and changed into our skates.

He got up onto the ice with practiced ease. You tried and ended up falling back down onto the log. We both laughed, as you're usually the more coordinated of the two. He helped you get up and steadied you on the ice. His arms were wrapped around your back, we skated all over the lake. Talking about everything and nothing. At some point, the sun started to set.

“It’s time for the best part,” his voice was laced with excitement as we skated back to the log. We changed back into our winter boots, and he brought me back to where he left his bag. He pulled out a waterproof tarp out of the bag and spread it on the ground. You sat down and he pulled out a large blanket to wrap around both of us and a large thermos. Once comfortable, he gave you the thermos. You took a sip, it was hot chocolate, and somehow it was still hot!! You drank some more, letting the heat warm you up from the inside out, before handing it back to him. He took a long sip before putting it down. Pulling you into a cuddle, he pointed at a sky, that was starting to color. You leaned into him and watched the sun slowly fall and the sky and the clouds fill up with color.

“Look at the lake,” he whispered. You did and saw everything perfectly reflected on the frozen lake, plus some extra shimmering. You looked at him, then back at the lake, two of the most beautiful things in the world.

As the sun reached the horizon, you pulled him into a deep kiss. “This has been a perfect date. I love you so much, I’m so lucky to have you,” you tell him. he responds by giving you a quick kiss on the forehead.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”