Dating on ice

To Max, Tinder was for sport. It was his hunting ground, or rather, an area for practice before he would move on to the real thing. A way for him to see whether he still had game. Not to mention that it was actually fun to go on dates every once in a while. He liked to pick some adventurous activities, because just grabbing a drink was just too boring for his taste. It was also a fantastic way to meet both wonderful and horrible people, and even if the date was absolutely terrible, at least he would probably get a good story out of it.

He was waiting in the small cabin next to the massive ice-skating rink that had been set up in Hyde Park for the Winter Wonderland Festival. It was here annually and he hadn’t put a single foot on the ice just yet, so he had decided to ask a girl out with whom he’d matched on Tinder. He had brought his own skates, so he stood there, hoping that she would actually show up. If not, he supposed he could always do a few rounds by himself, but that was nowhere near as fun, was it?

His last relationship hadn’t exactly been a success, which is obviously why Margot and he had broken up eventually. For exes, though, they were still on pretty good terms. They spoke to each other still, could make jokes with one another, attended the same parties, and shared a few friends. There wasn’t any bad blood between them, just a shared understanding that it would never really work out between them romantically. That didn’t mean he couldn’t try and get together with her for the occasional shag, though.

But… he was moving on! To brighter horizons, hopefully. While Margot had been good fun, she was also a bit of a skank sometimes. A quality that he appreciated in himself more so than in the women he dated. He supposed he was a little old-fashioned that way. Now, he was waiting at the ice-skating rink for his Tinder date to show up. He had no idea what would come of it, but he was hoping for a hook-up at least. Maybe a friend with benefits if all went well.

He was scrolling through his phone until someone finally came up to him, asking whether he was Max. He smiled and stood up from the little bench he’d been seated up, which showcased his considerable height. “I am,” he confirmed with a charming, boyish smile on his face. “I can tell, yeah. You look exactly like your photos.” Which was a good thing, because they had been great photos. This was already a win in his book. Then, she said she had a confession to make. Right away, all kinds of horror scenarios shot through his head. She had just gotten out of prison. She was actually a man. She had just been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. But all she said was that she wasn’t all that great at ice-skating as she had made herself out to be on Tinder. Max chuckled in relief. “I go here every year and I’m still terrible,” he assured her, “so at least we’ll be embarrassing ourselves together.” Which obviously made it way more fun, right?

There had been a few instances where Tinder had created quite a different image of a person for him than was the actual case. There had been a few instances where his Tinder date had been quite a bit heavier than he had expected, or where she’d had a different hair colour entirely. Some people also were able to make themselves look ten years younger than they actually were somehow. At least this girl looked like the one he had been chatting to online. She commended their joint idea to meet up here, which made him smile and nod in agreement. “Yeah, we best get onto the ice,” he said, staring at the ice-skate rental booth with a hint of disgust in his expression.

Max sat down again, this time to actually put on his ice skates. He should’ve probably gotten them sharpened beforehand, but well… Too late now. While taking off his shoes, he looked aside as she spoke again. “I’m doing history right now,” he answered, “but I’ve been at QCL for quite a few years now. Never really settled on a major I really liked, but I think I’m sticking to it this time.” He had switched courses twice already. At some point he was going to have to pick and settle, didn’t he? “And you?” he asked, trying to show some mutual interest. He was sure that she had her shit together a little more than he did. Most women seemed to do so.

Max wasn’t here to impress anyone. Not with his ice-skating skills, at least. Those weren’t exactly anything worth bragging about. He was already glad that he could skate a few rounds without cracking his skull onto the ice, so he took his small victories wherever he could find them. No, his intention was to charm her with his personality rather than with his competence. The latter had never really worked out for him anyway. He smiled when she said history had been one of her favourite subjects. She herself, however, was studying to become a criminal lawyer. “Very impressive. It’s always good to have some ambition,” he noted, especially because he had none himself. He raised a curious brow when she said she hailed from a small, Christian town. Still, that didn’t prevent her from wanting to enjoy a couple parties here and there. “Well, then you’ve come to the right person,” he assured her. “Just text me if you ever wanna go out.” He would probably already be somewhere in the city, drunk out of his mind.

He got up on his feet, having to get used to the somewhat constrictive feeling of the skates. His date was a little unstable on her feet, though, and he made an effort to help her stay upright. “Got you,” he said, chuckling at her comment that followed. “Oh, absolutely. I’m not afraid to die,” he said, waving it off as if it was nothing. “Come on,” he said, holding out his hand for her to take, so they could awkwardly hobble towards the ice together.

Max was well aware of the fact that many people found dating to be a stressful thing. There were tons of things to worry about, such as leaving a good impression, looking good, and keeping the conversation going. Max was hardly ever anxious when going on a date, though. He knew he was approachable and fairly easy to get along with, which made it all a lot less nerve-wracking. It helped that he was growing quite curious about her, being raised in this small Christian town and all. “What kind of parties did you have?” he asked, looking right at her. Did they sit around and read the Bible together?

Together, they headed for the edge of the skating rink. He knew that the first few steps would be the trickiest. He always needed some time to get used to the feeling of standing on slippery ice. Max made sure to hold onto the railing as he stepped on, unconsciously holding his breath while doing so. As soon as he felt like he had some kind of control, he let go again. He smiled as his date skated for a bit. “You’re a pro!” he commended her, but it seemed as if it was a little premature. She collided with the railing, making him gasp in concern at first. Her comment made him smile again, though. “Nah, who needs to brake anyway?” he casually said, after which he skated forward for a few meters. He went slowly, until he felt more comfortable. Then, he tried to brake and completely lost his balance, causing him to fall sideways onto the ice. Ouch.