Saturday night rolled around, and Oscar found himself standing at the front door of a house. The sun was setting, the sky turning pink in color. Oscar was early, and anxiety raced through him, hoping he wasn’t so early that it made him look desperate.

He gave a heavy sigh, lifting a shaky finger and ringing the doorbell. The ring sounded inside the house, and Oscar listened carefully for any footsteps approaching the door. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

He could hear footsteps, and they sounded heavier than Oscar expected, as if the person was trudging toward the door. Oscar froze– was Leona dreading going to dinner with him? He felt himself start to shake, but he tried his best to suppress it, not wanting to come off as a wimp.

The door swung open, and instead of seeing Leona, he saw his teammate, Andreas. Leona’s younger brother’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Oscar?” He asked, tilting his head to the side like a dog. “What are you doing here?”

“Andreas!” Leona’s voice came from down the hallway, and she appeared from around a corner. She wore a pullover, leggings and boots, and her hair was tied in a loose ponytail. She stopped beside her younger brother, grinning. “Oscar invited me out to dinner!”

Andreas’ eyes flickered from Oscar to Leona, and a scowl crossed his face. “Oh…” his voice trailed off, and Leona put her hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

“Well, I’ll be back. See you later, Andreas! Tell mom and dad I said bye!” Leona grinned, taking a step out of the doorway. She waved at Andreas, who sighed heavily and closed the door.

The porch light was the only thing illuminating Oscar and Leona, as the moon was covered by clouds. Oscar looked down at her— he was much taller, her head just barely reaching his shoulders. He gave a smile, hoping he didn’t look too awkward.

“So,” Leona started, “where are we eating?”

Oscar paused. He didn’t think he would make it this far, and he was embarrassed to admit to himself that he didn’t have a place in mind.

He didn’t want a place too expensive; he had the money, but he didn’t want to come off as a tryhard. On the other hand, fast food seemed too improper and lazy. He desperately ran through different restaurants in his head, but there were too many things that could go wrong. What if she didn’t like what he chose? Did she have any dietary restrictions he should keep in mind?

Finally, he blurted out an answer. “How about Snail Pizza?”

Oscar cringed at his decision. Snail Pizza was a deep dish pizza restaurant— each pizza took at least thirty minutes to bake. While it was delicious, would Leona want to be with him for that long? Would she get bored? What if she was already hungry? Would she want to wait?

To his surprise, Leona nodded her head. “Pizza sounds great!” 

Oscar suppressed a sigh of relief. “Alright, cool!” He replied. There was a pause. Their gazes rested on each other for a moment, and Oscar found himself looking into her dark green eyes. They were captivating, perfectly accenting her orange and yellow hair.

The silence was broken by Leona clearing her throat, and Oscar snapped back to reality. “O-oh, uh,” Oscar felt his palms grow clammy again, and he awkwardly gestured Leona toward his car. She gave a smile and walked over, and Oscar quickly— probably too eagerly— opened the car door.

Oscar swallowed hard. “A-are you fine riding in my car?”

He hoped his question didn’t sound creepy or make him look suspicious. He definitely didn’t have malicious intent, but he knew a woman getting in a car with some man she didn’t know could be dangerous. His thoughts started to race again, and his body slightly trembled. He prayed it wasn’t noticeable.

However, Leona responded with a nod. “Sounds good to me! I can give you some money for the gas.”

Oscar threw his hands up in front of him and shook his head vigorously. “Oh, no, Leona, you don’t need to worry about that!” He shakily gestured to Leona to get in the passenger seat. Leona grinned and stepped into the car, relaxing into the seat. Oscar made sure everything of hers was inside the car, and he shut the door. He then quickly went around and got into the driver’s side, turning the key in the engine.

Hot air blasted from the vents. Or maybe it felt very hot to him because of how nervous he was. Either way, he wanted to make sure Leona was comfortable.

“Uh, how’s the air? Are you too hot? Too cold?” 

Leona tapped her chin, reclining her chair slightly. “It is a little hot,” she answered, “especially in this heavy jacket!” She chuckled, resting her hands behind her head, looking confident. “But hey, if you’re still cold, I can take off this jacket so I can cool down!”

Oscar’s heart skipped a beat. Even if he had seen her without a jacket before, the idea of her taking it off in the car felt… a bit salacious. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he must’ve waited too long to respond, because Leona let out a snort. 

Oscar gently tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Her laugh was adorable.

“You keep the heat on, I’m gonna take off this jacket anyway.” She said, grabbing her pullover from the bottom and pulling it off over her head. Oscar tried to pry his eyes off her, but found it extremely hard. 

She chuckled again, and Oscar felt his cheeks grow hot, immediately shifting the car into drive. He drove out of Leona’s neighborhood, heading toward the highway to get to the pizza restaurant. Oscar had never been a careless driver, and especially now he was trying his best to stay alert. He couldn’t think of anything worse than getting in an accident.

Well, maybe this date going poorly and Leona never wanting to see him again was pretty close.

Leona turned toward him in her seat. “So, Oscar,” she started, smiling, “have you been on the hockey team throughout college?”

“Yeah, I have,” he answered. “I was there when Andreas first joined.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s cool! Well, I’m glad he has a teammate like you.” She ran her fingers through her bangs. “How did you get introduced to hockey?”

“Way back in elementary school, my father took me to see a hockey game.” Oscar replied. “Because of that, I wanted to play it, and my father signed me up for a team not long after.” He thought back to the fond memories he had first playing hockey… and then the not so fond ones of learning how to skate.
So many falls… 

He shook his head, trying to not focus on the painful memories. 

“Well, what do you do, Leona? What do you like to do for fun?” He tried his best to keep his voice from shaking. 

Leona clapped her hands together, her eyes widening with joy. “I love to snowboard!” She beamed. “I absolutely love cruising down the mountain on those black runs. My dad buys me a lift pass for Keystone each year. The night snowboarding is the best!”

Night snowboarding? Oscar shuddered. That sounded terrifying. He kept his mouth shut, though. 

She gazed at him, excitement flashing in her eyes. “Have you ever been snowboarding?”

Oscar shook his head no. “No, I haven’t. I’ve only gone skiing a few times.” He had to admit to himself, he wasn’t the biggest fan of it. His cold sport was definitely hockey.

“Well, maybe I can teach you sometime. After all, snowboarding is a hell of a lot different than skiing!” She told him.

“That sounds like fun!” Oscar responded.