Yosefin jogged across the front yard to get over to a car. Two motion-activated lights turned on, illuminating a gray-colored two-door car it didn't notice when I came to her home. The paint shined in the light. I could see that the tires were waxed, and the wheels were black.

"A coupe?" I said, amazed by its oval shape.

"Hell yes," she said then started the car. "It's mine."

"It's yours?" I shouted, cracking my voice. The car blew out a stream of white smoke as the AC kicked into high gear.

"I got it today. I wanted to surprise you when you came over, but I forgot all about it." After thirty seconds, she unlocked the car and sat in it. I immediately got inside to escape the cold. The warmth and the fresh smell of the interior hit me all at once.

"Comfy." My back fitted wonderfully in the seat. There was plenty of legroom to stretch out my legs. The infotainment had two screens. The top one had her phone connected wirelessly to a rock station while the other displayed temperature gages for the air and seats.

"Okay, now I'm beginning to roast." She turned the heat down to seventy-five at a mild wind speed. "I wanted to get a car like yours."

"What made you choose this one?" I asked, looking at her.

"Love at first sight," she said, glancing at me before looking at the backup camera. "It's turbo-charged duel clutch, quick, good on gas."

"Wow," I said in awe. "How much did this cost?"

"Thirty-two thousand," she giggled.

"Yosefin!" I gasped, laughing.

"Don't judge me!" She put the car in drive and gave it some gas to show the quickness of the car. "Feel that?"

"Don't get us killed."

"I'm a responsible driver," she said with her hand over her heart. "I'll show you. Sit back and relax."

She drove for a while without making any noticeable mistakes. I had nothing to worry about. The ride was smooth, and worry-free until she got to the highway. My anxiety went through the roof and made a gaping hole in it. I hated taking highway routes, especially the ones I barely drove on. When her car accelerated, the engine's power roared. We went from a coasting forty to a thundering seventy-five in a few seconds.

"Jesus," I whispered for the Gs I felt in my stomach. I pulled on my seatbelt to tighten the straps.

"Oh, shit," she said on her breath. "Josh..."

"Yeah?" I said, keeping my eyes locked on the road, watching every car she passes.

"I just noticed something I forgot to wear," she said nearly laughing between her words.

"What is it?"

"I forgot to put on my bra!" She snickered so hard, she had to press her hand against her mouth to suppress it.

"Huh?" It took me a moment to figure out how it happened. Then I remembered she never put her bra back on after she showed me her boobs. "Oh! It's still on the ground where you left them."

"Shit! Oh well. I'm wearing baggy clothing so it shouldn't be an issue."

"Why would it be?"

"What happens to your nipples when it gets cold?"

"Oh..."

"Yup," she giggled then glanced at her navigation. "We'll be there in a half an hour."

Half an hour later, Yosefin exited the highway to drive down the city. Our hometown was going all out this year. Every street light, sideway, and building sign had festive Christmas colors. People were out and about, walking, shopping, eating, and seemingly having a good time. Sound speakers mounted on lamp posts were blaring old-timey Christmas music. Yosefin shut her music off and cracked open her window to listen to it.

"Oh! This one is my favorite," Yosefin said.

"What's the name of this one?" I asked.

"The Chrstmans Waltz by Doris Day." After she answered my question, the band in the song started playing without the singer's voice. It was loud and echoed through the streets. She hummed the entire harmony, pitch for pitch, then sang along with the singer when she came back. I felt like I was sitting in the front row of a concert. She sounded amazing. The short performance left me with goosebumps and wanting more.

"I didn't know you could sing like that," I said. "I got goosebumps."

"Wow!" She giggled. "You liked my voice that much?" Another old fashion song came up that I recognized.

"Do you know It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas?"

"Yes," she blushed. "Want me to sing it for you?" I nodded my head fast like an excited child. "Okay." She sang it with so much joy and enthusiasm, I had to join in. When the song went into an instrumental, we whistled the part. It broke us into laughter for a moment. We continued to finish the rest of the song without missing a beat. "Oh my goodness! You sounded amazing!"

"Thank you," I said twice, bowing my head with my hand over my stomach.

"It's so nice to see you in a happy mood."

"Why's that?" I chuckled. "Have I been too much of a downer lately?" She looked like she was taken aback by that comment. Her eyes were flushed open with both eyebrows raised into her forehead.

"Not at all. Where did that come from?"

"I haven't been in the mood to hang out as much since I cut ties with Kat," She rolled up her window and kicked on the heater before speaking to me.

"That doesn't make you a downer," she said then poked my arm. "Look at the fun we're having, dude!"

The reminder of our time spent was happy to hear. From the moment I told Kat off to the time I came over to Yosefin's house, I hadn't talked much with Yosefin. I damned near forgot to bring personal hygiene items like deodorant and a toothbrush when she asked me if I wanted to spend the whole Christmas day with her. I thought that was the chance to reconnect and erase the distance between us.

"Yeah!" I smiled nearly laughing at myself for thinking I was a downer. "I would've been bored alone at home if you didn't ask me to come."

"Bored?" She chuckled slowly, nodding her head. "I could cure you from any moment you feel bored," she said then pointed at herself. "Just let your girl know. I will fix that right away."

"With that attitude, I might as well live with you." She let out a quick gasp but it was immediately followed by her curling her lips. The corners of her lips were angled up like she was trying not to smile.

Once we got to the parking lot of the skating rink, it became apparent that everyone had the same idea. There was a plethora of cars parked. It took Yosefin five minutes. She was making vulgar jokes about how dare people delay our fun from happening. The second she saw the white backup lights of a white crossover her hands tensed up around the steering wheel. She slouched her neck forward and was locked in on that car. The bumper of her car was nearly riding that car's ass when she took the spot.

"Finally," Yosefin growled when she aggressively shifted her car into park. "Hurry before we're told there are too many people in the room." She hurried out of the car. I wasn't that much in a rush so I got out calmly.

The whole building was booming with more modern holiday music. It was dark, but the ambient Christmas lights were bright enough to see where I was going. The atmosphere, the people conversing, and skating inside the rink gave me the impression I was entering a party. No one I saw was not smiling or standing by themselves.

Yosefin handled all the payment processes. Since we didn't bring skates of our own, we had to rent two pairs. The shoes were worn. There were some scuff marks on the white, shiny leather coating, but they weren't too bad. Once she put on her shoes, she wasted no time showing off on the ice. She twirled, skated backward, and looped around the rink once before returning to me.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"It's just like riding a bike," Yosefin giggled. "So! Ready?" I looked behind her to watch the others skate around. No one I could see seemed to be falling on their asses or having a tough time balancing.

"Would this be the right time to tell you that I don't know how to ice skate?"

"I'll show you the ropes," she said, offering me her hand. I held it tight while I walked with her out onto the ice. The second my skates touched the ice, I could feel a lack of friction. I held on to her for dear life to prevent myself from falling on my ass. "Don't bring me down with you!" She moved me to the wall but kept holding my hand while I tried to figure out how to balance.

"Okay, now what?"

"Baby steps." With each step I took, I gained the confidence to not use the wall. But, I wasn't confident to let go of Yosefin's hand. "There you go!"

"Don't you let me go."

"I'm not going anywhere, dude. I promise." She let go of my hand to hold my arm. For a second I thought she was about to break her promise and let me embarrass myself in front of people. "Bend your knees if you feel like you're going to fall." She bent her knees alongside me. Next, she showed me how to gain speed by swaying from side to side off every step. There was not enough space for us to move together, so she suggested letting me try on my own. Five seconds into free skating, I fell on my ass when I lost my balance.

"Shit!" I said through my teeth. Yosefin stood over me with her three fingers covering her mouth. I thought she was going to laugh at me, but it never came. Not one slip managed to break through even though was was smiling hard.

"Are you okay?" She said, offering me her hands. Before I could grab her hand, a familiar voice yelled my name. Whoever it was, they caught her attention. She looked to her right. When I looked, I saw Colin staggering his way over here while holding a woman's hand. She was short and curvy in a fat kind of way. Her body had the shape of an oval where the widest part of her peaked around her waist. She wasn't that attractive, but she wasn't ugly either.

"Yo! Surprise seeing you two here," Colin said. He nearly fell into me. He wobbled widely as if he were a cartoon character about to fall off a cliff. Luckily, the woman he was holding prevented him from doing it. "Thanks, babe. So, the skater chick can ice skate, eh?"

"So," Yosefin paused to help me up. "The dude that slept a lot in class isn't single."

"Yeah," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Merry Christmas by the way."

"Merry Christmas," Yosefin and I said together.

"I just wanted to say hi. I'll let you two love birds go," he said wabbling off.

"Did he just call us—"

"Love birds?" I said. When we looked at each other, she averted her gaze several times before looking me in the eyes.

"What?" She stuttered. "Stop staring at me like that."

"Sorry." I looked at the ice between her feet and saw her right hand holding her thumb. Her right thumb was rubbing the meaty part between her index finger.

"Josh!" She whined quietly. Her hands pressed into her crotch when she quickly turned away to her right.

"What?"

"Let's go skate," she said in a soft voice.

She skated away at a slow pace. I was afraid to move, fearing I would fall on my ass again. The moment she checked over her shoulder and realized I hadn't moved, she came back to hold my hand. We skated holding hands without talking until I questioned why we were being silent. She let go of my head, but I held on for a short moment.

"Sorry," she said.

"What for?"

"Am I acting weird?" I nearly rammed into her when she hit the brakes. My crotch was inches from bumping her ass. I had to grab her hips to stop. "Josh," she gasped. I completely froze. She had to touch my hands for me to snap out of it.

"Sorry!"

"We need to stop apologizing," she giggled. "Let's... go find somewhere to sit."

We sat on a comfy bench that viewed the rink. I watched people go in circles. Sometimes I saw Colin and his girlfriend pass by. I'm a bit shocked to see him with a girl. He never gave me the impression that he was with one or liked them. He didn't talk to any of the hot ones in our class during the fall semester, so it was weird to see him with her.

"When did Colin get a girlfriend?" I said to Yosefin. After five seconds of no response, I looked at her to find she was blankly staring at a couple a few feet to our right. They were talking close with their faces about a foot apart. When the woman kissed him, Yosefin's lips puckered up. She smiled when she touched them with the tip of her fingertips. "What are you doing?" I said.

"Oh!" Yosefin gasped and covered her mouth. "I wasn't looking at them. I swear."

"Why are you lying?" I chuckled.

"Because... they were... I just..." She waved her hands and pointed them at the couple sporadically as if she were trying to tell me something. Her exaggerated movement made me laugh. "Stop laughing! I was curious!"

"Why?"

"I'll tell you after you stop laughing. I'm a bit embarrassed by it."

"I'm good," I said after taking a deep breath to restrain myself. "You can ask me now."

"I was picturing being kissed... by him."

"Do you find him cute?" I asked, keeping my voice down.

"Not at all," she said nearly laughing. "But the way she leaped into his lips must've been... nice." She tapped her lips while watching the two slowly make out. "I can't believe Colin said we were that," she said, looking at me with her thumb pointing at the couple. "Do we seem that close?"

"Well," I paused to carefully say my next words. "To be honest, we are."

"Close enough to do... that?"

"No," I said after choking on my words. "I don't think I can kiss you," I slipped out, mumbling my thoughts.

"Why not?" She giggled. "Am I too ugly?"

"No," I said many times. "You're..."

"Yes?" She scooted close with her hip touching mine without breaking eye contact. "Were you going to say something on the line like... Oh, I don't know... beautiful?"

"I've already told you how I see you," I said even though I nodded to confirm her question.

"Doesn't that gross you out knowing what I am?"

"Not entirely."

"Why though?" I shrugged my shoulders not knowing how to answer. It was a simple question and should have been answered without a complex answer. My answer would be too complicated to say out loud. "You're weird, Josh," she said blushing and smiling.

"Sorry. I would have to think about it."

"That's fine," she said when she stood up. "Do you wanna skate some more?" She asked, holding out her hand for me to take. Instead of taking it right away, I took it after I stood up. "I'm surprised how many times we've held hands," she said as we skated. "Aren't you bothered by that?"

"I'm holding your hand to keep my balance."

"Sure you are. I think you like holding my hand."

"No," I said like I was unsure, or not confident in what I felt. My voice was pitched when I tried to avoid smiling. "I do not."

"Is that the truth?"

The truth was I didn't know when I should let go. Something about it felt like we were beginning to bond closer to a part of our friendship unknown to me. I weirdly found holding her hand nice and comforting. It was soft and cold from the temperature inside the building. The only few times we weren't holding, was when we playfully chased each other around the rink like energetic kids or held arms.

Once we had our fill of fun, we were about to head out when the DJ turned on slow Christmas music. People began slow dancing with whoever they were with. Yosefin saw Colin slowly dance with his girlfriend. He held her close with one hand on her lower back while the other was a few inches above it.

"Is there something on your mind?" I asked when I stood closer to Yosefin. She looked at me and then looked up at the speakers above us.

"I feel," she paused to hold herself. Before she spoke again, she looked at the people around her. "I feel sad."

"How come?"

"Look around us. It looks like we are the only ones not dancing." There was a hand full of people that weren't dancing but I understood her point. The majority was.

"Do you want to dance?"

"Dude!" She yelled in a soft voice, hiding her mouth with her fingers. "I'm fine." I was shocked to hear her say no. Her blushed frown and lack of direct eye contact left me with no choice but to act upon the moment.

"Let's do it," I sighed. "You and me."

"Bro, I'm good."

"No, you're not," I said quickly, waving my hand to make her come closer to me. It took her a moment to stand in front of me. When she finally got to me, she ducked her head down to hide her face and used her hands to cover her mouth again. It was cute seeing her so timid.

"Oh, mein Gott. Er meint es ernst!" (Oh, my god. He's serious!)

"English, Yosefin," I chuckled. "What did you say?"

"Why do you want to dance with me?"

"I don't want us to be left out," I said almost shying from ever saying it. "Are you going to hold me or just stand there with your head tucked?" She kept her head tucked while she put her arms around my back. "They go around my neck." I had to guide her arms to place around my neck. I got the feeling she never danced before when I was the only one moving. "You're supposed to be moving."

"Right," she said in a shaky voice. "Can you move so I can see what I'm supposed to do?"

"We don't have to move that much. Picture like we're at prom."

"But... I was homeschooled. Remember?"

I forgot that she was homeschooled. I pulled her into my body so she could see how I saw it done at my high school prom. The students didn't do anything fancy. Some held hands, and others were hugging or dancing at arm's reach. I chose to have her close, seeing she was shy and vulnerable. She wouldn't look me in the eyes as we danced. Since it was Christmas, I felt like I had an obligation to create a moment she might remember for a long time, even though I never got the chance to dance in my prom.

"It's fine to look at me once in a while," I chuckled. "I don't want to keep looking at the top of your head." She turned her face sideways on my chest, tilted her head up slightly, then opened her eyes.

"There," she said and looked away. "I looked."

"A longer look."

"I can't... I'm too shy to look at you while we dance."

"It'll be worth it," I playfully said, pitching my voice higher. Her eyes slowly locked on me before she turned her head. She stopped dancing as she stared at me. I couldn't help but smile at how awkward the whole situation was. "You've... stopped."

"I did?" She said, keeping her attention on me. "It's hard to focus on dancing when... when..." The more she struggled to speak what was on her mind, the redder her cheeks got.

"Stop or you'll blow up," I said almost laughing.

"I'm so sorry, Josh! Th- this is a dream come true! I've never had this before!"

"Then you better make this moment last, right?"

"I will!"

I made sure to perform my best to show Yosefin some things a slow dance can offer. We held hands and held each other in different ways. Her favorite dance was what I called a standing-up snuggle wobble. She had the side of her face lying on my chest with her arms locked behind my back. We swayed like an old couple without taking a step off the ground. I got so comfortable with us being so close that I found myself stroking the back of her head or rubbing her back gently. She never told me to stop, so I kept going until I got tired of doing it.

Yosefin called it quits when she saw that people began to leave. She drove us back to her home with a smile that never faded away. Once she put the car in park, she slowly began chuckling then stopped when she turned the car off.

"What was funny?" I said.

"I want to kiss you for being an awesome friend and making this night so special to me," she said leaning on the center armrest. "Unfortunately, kissing isn't... suitable. So, you must give me an alternative." Getting a kiss oddly didn't sound gross to me. My mind was so high from having fun, that I felt like I should welcome the chance of letting her kiss me. A kiss between friends didn't sound wrong to me. No one would know but us and the moment seemed to be right. But alas, I chose it was in my best interest to go for an alternative.

"Let me think about it."

"Y'know what. I'll make it easy for you. You'll get three options."

"And they are?" Her slow-approaching smile gave me a mixed bag of excitement and worry.