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Leeson picked me up on time, but looked a bit rumpled when he met me outside of my residence hall. He bit his plush bottom lip when he saw me. “Hey.”
I shuffled in front of him. “Hey. Um, hi. How are you?”
“Doing a lot better now that you’re standing in front of me,” he said. “Ready?”
I don’t know why I expected him to question me about why it took so long for me to agree to come on a date or even talk to him on the phone, but he didn't. I took a deep breath and nodded. Expecting to turn towards the parking lot, Leeson merely shook his head and directed me to walk down the path further into campus.
Both of us were silent for a moment as he continued to peek down at me.
“I liked the flowers. The ones you sent me?”
“Yeah?” he nodded. “Good. I’m glad you liked them. I figured you’d like something bright and colorful.”
“They were in my window for a long time. Some of them are still there, but…”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you finally took me up on my offer, even if it was encouraged by Jacob who had practically been stalking you around campus.”
“He wasn’t stalking me,” I said, though paused. “Was he?”
Leeson laughed. “No. Though he was taking extra time moving from one building to another all week to see if you would be walking by.”
I chuckled.
As we passed by the mentioned academic buildings, I started to look around, though Leeson didn’t look confused in the least as we crossed the road towards the athletics centers that formed a sort of U on the corner of campus.
“Are you taking me to a game?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Though I’d be honored if you wanted to come to my game sometime, Vera. Our game, more.”
Where were we going then?
Leeson pushed through the doors of one of the buildings I had never been before. I attempted the gym a few times only to get a few nasty stares when I didn’t cover my scent enough after running on the treadmill. Both instances only told me that I shouldn’t run on the treadmill ever again. I even went to a basketball game once when Shelby was in her sports faze last year to get everything out of the college experience. But I’d never been inside the VU ice arena.
The first thing that hit me was that I expected it to be colder. The place was cold, don’t get me wrong. A chill sneaked up my arms, but it wasn’t freezing like skating on a pond in winter. I looked around almost in awe to catch the details of the place. I could hear voices and people moving around through the gym on the other side and down the hallways, but Leeson led me towards the left doors, out into the main rink.
Sitting on one of the benches were two pairs of skates.
“I figured that it could be fun to skate as we talk. Sounds all right?”
“I…” For some reason, I was nodding. “I’ve never skated before.”
Leeson’s eyes bulged. “You’re kidding.”
I shook my head.
“This is even better then. I get to teach my girl how to skate—or not my girl exactly but. You know what I mean.”
I sat down on the bench, reaching towards the much smaller pair of scuffed, white skates.
“Why do I get figure skates?”
“Would you prefer the hockey ones?”
Both of us glanced down at his beat-up boots which looked like they had been through battles rather than just a few games and daily practice so far this year.
I shook my head, cocking it to the side as I attempted to lace my shoes up. “No. Mine look much prettier.”
Leeson snorted a laugh. “Let me help you.”
