My heart stopped in my chest. I couldn't breathe. My body felt frozen in place. Only one thing came to my mind at that moment. Teddy had been right about the "wow" factor.

It was just a small ice house, probably no bigger than the average bedroom, but he managed to do a lot with it. Small candles dotted the windowsills and edges of the room. They only seemed to accentuate the warmth that came from an old, wood-burning stove in the corner. Any trace of snow had been completely cleared from the floor and the ground beneath had been dried. Although, this was barely noticeable beneath a large bearskin rug that covered most of the room. As I looked up I saw a sky of flowers above me. Dozens of small bouquets hung from the ceiling. Their scent perfumed the whole room. I felt myself being swept away by its sweetness.

I didn't even remember the beautiful scenery that had left me speechless moments ago. My body no longer felt the cold outside. It was like I had been transported to a different world. Only the feeling of Teddy's hand on my waist brought me back to reality again. I blinked a couple times as if the magical room inside the ice house would suddenly vanish. When I was finally convinced it wouldn't, I turned to look at him. His smile was even warmer than the fire that burned inside.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"Teddy..." I could barely speak. I turned to look at the room again. "How did you do all of this?"

"Told you I needed a few days to prep," he chuckled. "It wasn't easy, but it was all worth it to see your face light up like this."

"I- I just- I- I can't even put it into words," I said, shaking my head. "This is unbelievable."

"It's not over yet!" He beamed at me and gestured grandly again. "Step inside, warm up a little, make yourself comfortable. The real date is about to start."

I did as he said, but I could hardly believe what he was saying. I didn't know what to expect on this date with Teddy, but this already exceeded any expectations I could have ever had. What else could he possibly do at this point?

He closed the door behind us and motioned to the bear rug on the floor. I sat on it, still stunned by my surroundings. He sat next to me and started to take his bag off. To my surprise, the first thing he pulled out of it was a glass jar full of a pale, yellowish liquid.

"Before you get the wrong idea, this is wine," he said quickly.

"Wine?"

"Mead, specifically," he explained. "Like I said before, I'm mostly a scavenger. What little money I do have goes towards necessary supplies. So I have to take care of the luxuries myself. There might not be too many wild fruits out here, but I can usually find plenty of honey. So, you know, mead. It's not half bad actually. Try some."

He pulled out a couple of small, metal mugs and filled each one about halfway with the wine. He handed me one of the cups. I took it from him and breathed in the scent. I took a small sip. It was even sweeter than it smelled and it filled my body with a subtle warmth that only alcohol can seem to in weather like this.

"It's... good," I said, surprised.

He laughed. "Hey, I'm no Napa Valley winemaker, but even I can manage mead. People have been making it for thousands of years after all. The perfect alcohol for a man with only the basics."

"About that," I said, looking around. "Seriously, how the hell did you do all of this? I mean, wasn't it expensive?"

"Not at all! Maybe I'll lose some brownie points by saying this, but I actually didn't buy anything for this date."

"What?"

"Yup. Scavenged everything." He seemed a little proud of this fact. "Candles are beeswax, flowers are wildflowers, and I already had a lot of the big things like the stove and ice house." He paused a moment and scratched his head nervously. "Honestly, part of me was worried if you'd really like this or not. I mean, it is a cheap date after all. I'm sure a guy who was better off could probably take you to a nice restaurant or something."

"This is ten times better than any restaurant could ever be," I reassured him. I looked around again. "How long did it take you to do all this?"

"Umm, the whole time I was away, actually," he admitted sheepishly. "The hardest part was figuring out what I should do for the date. Once I figured it out, the rest was easy. The only thing I was nervous about was getting this place warm and dry in time. It took a while. Just finished drying yesterday."

"I can't believe this. I really can't."

"Do you like it?"

"I don't think anyone's ever done this much for me before," I said, shaking my head.

"Like I said, I really wanted to impress you."

He shrugged casually enough, but I could see a faint redness along his cheeks. Somehow, I didn't think it was from the cold.

Honestly, the cold had all but vanished in this place. Maybe it was the combination of the hot stove and the small space, but I was actually starting to sweat a little in all my layers. I decided it was safe enough to take off my jacket. I unzipped it and laid it next to me on the rug. I noticed Teddy looking at me as I turned back. My heart started racing again. I looked around for something, anything to help break through the nervousness I was feeling. As I took off my gloves, my hand brushed against the soft fur of the bear.

"Oh, is this the bear you got the other day?" I asked, relieved to have something to say.

He glanced down as if suddenly remembering it was there. "Huh? Oh. No, this is one from a few months back actually. The other one's still drying out."

"Cool. Cool."

The silence quickly filled the room again. I clutched my cup of wine close to my body and sipped at it slowly. At least then I had an excuse for not talking. Teddy saw through that trick pretty quickly though.

"You okay, Linny? I don't think you've ever been this quiet before."

I sighed and gave up any pretenses of playing things cool. "I'm just a little nervous, I guess. Silly, huh? After all, we hang out all the time."

"No, I get what you mean. It feels... different. Right?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "Acting romantic and flirty feels weird because I'm not used to being that way with you. At the same time, not acting romantic and flirty feels weird because I know this is a date and it should be different than when we're just hanging out. In the end, I don't know what to do. So, I just end up sitting here silently like an awkward clam."

"I'm not really sure what I'm doing either. It's been a while since I've gone on a date too. When it comes to choosing locations or setting things up, I have no problems, but conversation? Let's just say you're not the only awkward clam when it comes to that."

"Any idea what we should do about it?" I asked.

He perked up suddenly as I said this. "Actually, yes!"

I watched as he walked to the back of the room. Maybe it was the romantic atmosphere of everything else in the ice house, but I hadn't noticed the tarp-covered object sitting in the corner. As he uncovered it, I saw what it was. A couple of makeshift bows. He smiled and handed one to me.

"Told you I'd teach you how to shoot next time we got together," he said. "It'll be better to start you on the basics like this. No unbreakable alloys, no sights or scopes to attach, just good old-fashioned wood and string. If you can shoot well with this, you can shoot with anything."

I held it awkwardly. He might as well have handed me a piece of alien technology. I wasn't sure about how well I'd do, but it definitely beat sitting here in an awkward silence.

"I hope you're a patient teacher," I muttered, putting my jacket back on.

"For you I am," he teased. "Come on, we'll start out simple. I'll just focus on your aiming and release today."

"I barely know what that means," I said, hopping up.

Teddy laughed and slung a different bag across his back. He grabbed my hand again and led me outside. My heart started to race again as I felt the heat from his hand. At least doing this meant I didn't have to talk much. Just listen and follow directions. I wasn't sure if I was capable of much else at this point. We'd only gone a few steps away from the ice house when Teddy let go of my hand.

"Wait here," he instructed.

I watched as he wandered around for several minutes, gathering snow. When he'd gotten a decent-sized snowball he placed it on the ground and started rolling it around. I watched in awe as the ball became bigger and bigger. It nearly reached his hips.

When the ball started getting too big to push Teddy shoved it near the hill we came down. He rested a minute before walking back over to me. His face was flushed and he was still breathing heavily.

"Alright, we have a target," he panted, gesturing towards it.

"Am I hunting Frosty the Snowman?"

"Today you are," he teased. "Like I said, basic supplies. If we shoot at anything too solid, your arrows will break. I want you to practice as much as possible, so we need something we can shoot a few times without damaging our equipment. Snow is soft enough not to break them right away but solid enough to catch the arrows. We'll do as many as we can."

"Alright, sounds reasonable. Where should I start?"

He handed me an arrow from his bag. "Just shoot. I need to see what I'm working with."

I gave a dry laugh as I took the arrow. "Oh, that's easy. Nothing. I have the archery skills of a sickly noodle."

I said it as a joke, but it was only half a joke at best. My skills were terrible. It took me a couple minutes of fumbling just to figure out how to get the arrow onto the string. I could already see the end of the arrow starting to dip a little as I pulled back. Not that I had anything to worry about. I couldn't even call what I did "shooting." The arrow slumped off the bow lazily as I released it. It more fell than anything else.

I turned and looked at Teddy sheepishly. His hand was covering his mouth and he was shaking his head. I was starting to worry if teaching me might be too much for him. Until I noticed his shoulders were shaking too. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on.

"Teddy, are you laughing at me?" I huffed.

He shook his head more vigorously, but I could see him cracking. I glared at him. A couple small snickers escaped from his mouth. Finally, he gave up pretending and burst into laughter. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey, I told you."

"You sure did," he chuckled, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Honestly, I think 'sickly noodle' might have been too generous. Wow."

"Hey, Mr. Confidence Builder, are you going to teach me anything?" I grumbled.

He cleared his throat, trying to clear the rest of the laughter from it. He nodded and walked up behind me. To my surprise, he put his hands on my hip. I felt myself blushing. Until he started shoving my legs around with his feet.

"Well, to start, your stance is terrible," he mumbled, adjusting me. "We're hunting, not waiting in line at Starbucks. Also, keep your arms straight and firm. If they're limp, then your arrow will be too." He grabbed my arms and positioned them. "There. Now, try again."

I set up the bow again, trying to remember the way he told me to stand. My second arrow was only slightly better than the first. He continued like this for a while. Having me shoot and "fixing" what was wrong with me after.

Despite the forceful instruction, I couldn't help noticing how my heart raced every time he touched me. Even though he was moving me firmly, his grip was always gentle. In the moments he wasn't fixing something about my position, his hand rested gently on the small of my back. Despite my poor skills, he never got frustrated with me. His voice was always kind and patient. Slowly, my body stopped resisting the instructions he gave and allowed him to move me in whatever way he wanted.

Which is probably why one of the arrows finally shot off. There was a resounding thunk from the string as I let go this time. The arrow soared and landed just a few inches away from the snowball he'd made. I couldn't contain my excitement. I squealed and jumped up and down excitedly.

"It flew! It flew!" I cried. "Did you see?"

I turned towards Teddy. A soft smile filled his face. I suddenly realized how I probably looked, jumping around like an idiot. I hadn't even hit the target. How embarrassing. I blushed a little and turned back towards the snowball.

I heard him walk up behind me. I expected him to adjust my posture again. Instead, his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me towards him. I was too stunned to resist. I felt his warmth press against my back as he held me close.

"You did great. You really are a fast learner."

"Umm, thanks," I mumbled awkwardly.

"You've been working hard out here. Want to head back inside to warm up a bit? We can have an early dinner," he suggested.

"What are we eating exactly?" I asked skeptically.

He laughed. "Don't worry. It's stew. After last time's taco fiasco, I decided to go back to basics. At least for our date. I'm still hoping to get a second one, after all."

Hearing Teddy laughing and cracking jokes helped to relax me. Suddenly, his arms around me didn't feel so intimidating. They actually felt pretty comfortable.

"That was probably a smart choice," I teased, leaning against him. "Besides, a hot bowl of stew sounds good right about now."

"Then right this way," he said, leading me back towards the ice house.

From there, everything started to feel normal again. Dinner with Teddy. That was something I knew how to handle. Sitting down and watching as he reheated a big pot of stew. Familiar and comfortable.

The sun was going down now, but the candles and the fire from the stove helped to dimly light the room. It had a romantic quality to it, but I tried not to think about that part too much. I was starting to think that was the real issue. Me overthinking romance.

When I treated Teddy like Teddy, everything felt right. Cracking jokes about his failed bear experiments, jumping around like a goof when I was excited about something, watching him while he was cooking. It felt natural. It felt right.

It was when I tried to treat him like a boyfriend that things got weird. Distancing myself to avoid physical contact, trying to force conversation into awkward silences, searching desperately for something that screamed: "this is a relationship." It made everything ten times more awkward. For both of us, honestly.

We needed to stop focusing so much on the "romance." What we needed to do was start focusing on each other. After all, aren't the happiest couples the ones who never stopped being friends? The ones who never changed that dynamic of their relationship? Who said we had to be all mushy and sappy? Why did having a relationship mean that we had to act differently around each other? What was wrong with us staying the way we were and just building off of that, instead of trying to change things completely? Why did anything have to change? 

"Hey, Linny. Come taste this," Teddy called from the stove.

"Coming," I said, standing.

A warm scent bubbled up from the stew. I watched as Teddy stirred it a few more times before pulling out a small spoonful. I expected him to just hand me the spoon, but he didn't. Instead, he blew on the hot stew a few times before holding it out for me to try.

I was surprised. Not so much by him doing it, but by how it made me feel. Such a simple gesture, but somehow it exuded tenderness. It felt comfortable. I couldn't help smiling as he did so. Alright, maybe a little romance wouldn't hurt us. I leaned in and took a bite.

"It's good," I said, nodding. "Better than tacos for sure."

He laughed. "And somehow twice as messy. You got it on your face."

"Where?" I asked, wiping my face.

Somehow, I couldn't find it. I wiped my face a couple more times before Teddy rolled his eyes and reached over to wipe it himself. I looked towards the ground as I felt his hand against my cheek. I could feel myself blushing. Again, a simple gesture, something he'd probably do whether we were on a date or not, but I still couldn't help feeling something.

This is what was different about a relationship. The physical part. As much as I'd been ignoring this aspect, it wasn't something I could put off forever. I'm sure Teddy had physical needs. I did too. Eventually, it was going to become a factor in any relationship we had. It wasn't that I didn't want that kind of relationship with Teddy, it was more like I was scared about how it would change things between us.

If we crossed that line, then there was no going back. What if something went wrong? What if things didn't work out? I liked Teddy. If nothing else, I knew I at least liked him as a friend. I'd been through enough bad breakups to know "let's stay friends" didn't usually work out in the end. What if I ended up losing him? I couldn't stand it.

"Linny."

Teddy's voice broke through my panicked thoughts. I glanced up. He was looking at me intently. Something in his eyes made my blush deepen. His thumb stroked my cheek gently.

"Did you miss a spot?" I barely mumbled.

A faint smile was on his lips. "Actually, yeah. I did."

He completely abandoned the food he was cooking. His other hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me towards him. My mind went blank and my body went numb. Just like it had during archery, my body bent to his will without question. Anxiety filled me, but so did anticipation. Even in my state of shock, I was pretty sure I knew what he was going to do. And I was going to let him do it.

My worries started to melt away in his arms. The future was the future, and what would happen, would happen. Right now, there was only now. Only Teddy. I closed my eyes as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.