A Season of Firsts

12/6/15

Jamie rang the doorbell and stepped back. Cara emerged shortly with a pair of figure skates slung over her shoulder.

"Hi," Jamie smiled brightly as he kissed her cheek and put an arm around her. "All set?"

"Yep! Are you sure you don't mind? I know you spend half your life on the ice, so if you're sick of it and want to do anything but put on a pair of skates, that's cool."

"Nope," he reassured her. "It'll be nice to skate just for fun. And outdoors but not freezing? It's gonna be great."

"I can't wait. I've never skated outdoors!"

Jamie smiled at her enthusiasm and opened the door for her before hopping into his truck and heading to Frisco.

When they pulled into the nearly empty parking lot next to the rink, Cara frowned. "Are you sure they're open? There's no one here."

Jamie grinned. "Absolutely sure. I called last week and reserved the rink for us."

"Wait. You reserved it? As in we have it to ourselves?"

"Yep. All ours."

"Jamie Benn!" she chastised. "You are too much."

"Well I wanted you to have room to skate with no one running into you. Except me," he grinned.

"You're spoiling me already," she blushed.

"I'm the one who's spoiled. I don't want to share. My ice or my girl."

"Your girl, huh?" she raised an eyebrow.

Now Jamie blushed. "I don't mean — I'm sorry — I just —"

"It's ok, Canada," she giggled. "I was just teasing. Besides, my niece is already calling you my man anyway. May as well go both ways."

"Oh is she now?" Jamie laughed.

"Oh yes. She's basically already planning our wedding. She's a huge fan. And not just of your hockey skills. And she's probably going to kill me for telling you that. And I'm rambling. I should shut up. Let's go skate!"

Before he could respond, she was out of the truck and headed toward the ice, covering her mouth with both hands. Chuckling, he grabbed his skates from the back seat and followed her, checking in with the attendant and then heading over to the benches by the rink.

When he sat down next to her, Cara was lacing up her skates, still blushing furiously. "Can we just forget my word vomit back there? I do that when I'm excited. Or nervous. Or embarrassed. Which makes it worse. And I'm still talking. Oh god." Again she clapped her hands over her mouth, staring at her feet.

"Hey," he said, reaching over to pull her hands away and turn her face toward him. "It's ok. You're really cute when you're embarrassed, y'know."

His hand lingered on her cheek, and she finally looked up at him, green eyes bright in the sun. Hesitantly, he leaned closer. He closed his eyes and softly connected their lips. He kissed her cautiously, questioning. When he pulled away, he kept his hand on her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open for a moment, then she reached up to pull Jamie back down to her lips, answering his question. Goosebumps raced down his back as she ran her fingers up the base of his skull, but the kiss remained tender and sweet, both of them just feeling each other out.

Finally, reluctantly, Jamie broke away to catch his breath. They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, both a little stunned. Then the corners of their lips curled into smiles, followed by ear-splitting grins, which dissolved into helpless giggles.

"Oh god, I feel like a teenager right now," Cara squeaked through the giggling.

"A bit, yeah," Jamie agreed, stifling a giggle. Embracing his inner 14-year-old, he grinned impossibly wider and grabbed her hand. Cara threw her head back and laughed, and when she looked back at him, he couldn't help but lean in for another quick kiss before asking, "Now that that's settled, should we skate?"

Cara nodded vigorously and let go of his hand to finish tying her skates. While Jamie was changing into his, she stepped out onto the ice. She started off slowly, skating in small circles. Jamie followed and glided around the boards, testing out the ice and just watching her. When she seemed a bit more confident, he skated up behind her, turning backwards as he passed her.

"Obviously you've skated before, but you're a little rusty?"

"I used to skate all the time, but it's been forever," she confirmed. "It's coming back though."

"So how did a Texas girl get into ice skating?" Jamie asked.

"Well, one of my best friends growing up skated competitively. So sometimes I'd hang out at the rink, or she'd hang out at the barn. Never enough for either of us to be competitive, but enough to learn a few things. Like this," she smiled and skated ahead a bit and did a small waltz jump.

Jamie applauded, impressed, and caught up with her, grabbing her hand again, earning a giggle and a blush.

The two of them skated around the little rink for most of an hour, chatting and showing off, horsing around a bit, enjoying the beautiful 60° sunshine and each other's company. When their time was up, they raced each other to the exit, Cara just edging Jamie out.

"You so let me win," she laughed.

"Nahhh," he lied, grinning guiltily.

They changed out of their skates and simultaneously reached for each other's hand, smiling happily as they walked to the truck. Jamie planted another soft kiss on Cara's lips before opening her door.

...

Two hours later, they were sitting side by side on a blanket, sharing a sushi sampler.

"Oh my god, you have to try this one," Cara said, handing Jamie a particularly delicious piece.

He reached out, but in a fit of playfulness, he grabbed her hand instead and ate the sushi right from her fingers. Her mouth formed a silent "oh" as his lips grazed her fingertips.

"Mmm, that is good," he confirmed when he was done. Smirking a little, he cradled her face in both hands and leaned in to press his lips to hers. Still slightly stunned, she moved only her lips at first, but as the kiss intensified, she lifted one hand to his chest, the other to the back of his neck, sending goosebumps racing over his skin again.

Lost in the moment, he brushed a hand down to the small of her back and pulled her body closer to him. She wrapped an arm around him, digging her fingertips into his shoulder blade.

A loud thud in the distance, followed by a whinny, made both of them jump, breaking the kiss.

"Ohmygod I forgot where we were for a minute," Cara sputtered, embarrassed.

"Shit," Jamie laughed. "We are teenagers."

Cara giggled and blushed but didn't move away. Instead, she tucked herself into Jamie's side and leaned her head back on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple, then fed her a piece of sushi. "Your turn," he said.

She fought the urge to lick the sauce off his fingers. They were, after all, in public, and she didn't want to start something she wasn't prepared to finish. But feeding each other, snuggled up together, she couldn't help imagining where it might lead.

When they were finished eating, Cara laced her fingers with Jamie's and closed her eyes, relaxing against his chest. “So how much horse experience do you have?” she asked.

“A little. A trail ride here and there. Nothing serious. I know the basics. How long have you been riding?”

“Oh goodness, since before I could walk. My mom did endurance riding from the time she was a teenager. She slowed down a bit when my brother came along, more after my sister — still competing, but shorter rides. By the time I was in middle school, we were competing together.”

“Wow, so you were really born into it, eh?”

“Yeah. Sean and Molly were never really interested though. We joke that Mom kept trying until she had a kid who loved horses as much as she does,” she laughed. “That's why there's six years between each of us.”

“Oh man, that's a big spread. There's only a couple years between me and Jordie and Jenny.”

“Yeah I was still in elementary school when I became an aunt the first time. That's part of why Liv and I are so close, I guess. Well, that and her mom not being around. You should come out for one of her Equest sessions sometime," Cara invited. "See what some of your MS Society donations go to."

"I'd like that," Jamie agreed.

"On that note," Cara snickered. "Ready for the nickel tour?"

"Lead the way," Jamie smiled.

After stowing the blanket in the truck and putting their trash in a nearby bin, they strolled toward the barn, hands clasped together.

"So this is where you spend most of your time?" he asked.

"Yep," she answered. "About 60 hours a week, anyway. It's my second home."

She led him through the barn, explaining the setup. Near the end of one row, Cara stopped and looked up at Jamie.

"When we get to the next aisle, check out the clown in the last stall on the right," she snickered, rolling her eyes. Curious, Jamie nodded. He was surprised when she stopped at another stall before they rounded the corner.

"This is Zeke," she said, rubbing the nose of an enormous black horse. "You'll be riding him," she said, oddly loudly. "He's super gentle and laid back."

"Why are you yelling?" Jamie asked.

Cara laughed, "For the clown's benefit. Watch." She motioned him over to the other side of the aisle and pointed her thumb toward the end of the row. Resuming her elevated volume, she winked and started walking away. "Let's see ... who should I ride today?"

Jamie saw a white nose appear from the far stall. As Cara's voice retreated, the rest of the horse's head emerged. When Cara still stayed out of sight, the horse whinnied loudly. Cara stood where Jamie could see her, laughing silently behind her hand. The horse squealed, tossing its head and snorting. Finally, Cara gave in and sauntered around the corner, planting her hands on her hips in mock disapproval.

"What's with all the racket, ya big baby?" she scolded. She strolled down to the stall, where the horse was still tossing its head. "You are a 900 lb toddler," she chided, but an affectionate smile lit up her face.

"Jamie, this brat is Glorfindel — Finn for short," she giggled. "He's spoiled and stubborn and willful. He's also mine," she beamed, "and the most beautiful, loving creature in the whole world." She punctuated the statement with a kiss on Finn's nose. She turned and leaned her back against the stall door, and Finn dropped his bright copper head over her shoulder so she could rub his face with one hand and feed him a carrot with the other.

Jamie approached quietly, smiling. "He's gorgeous. But if you're a trainer, why is your horse a brat?" he laughed.

"Preacher's kid is a hellion, right?" she giggled. "He's too smart for his own good. And I probably do let him get away with too much. He's still young though."

"Well, hello, Finn," Jamie greeted, letting the horse smell his knuckles. "I hope you don't mind sharing her with me."

"Oh, don't worry. He gets tired of me making him work. He's more than happy to see me go at the end of the day." As if nodding in agreement, Finn snorted and tossed his head. "Brat!" Cara retorted and shoved the horse back into the stall, sticking her tongue out at him. Sliding the door open, she slipped a halter on Finn and threw the leadrope over his back, then grabbed Jamie’s hand and started walking away.

“Uhh, aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Nope. He’ll follow.” And he did, nose to Cara’s back, all the way to the saddling area, where she hooked him up to the cross-ties before taking Jamie to fetch Zeke.

After saddling the horses, they headed out onto the trails. Cara led until the trail widened, then they rode side by side, Zeke and Jamie comically towering over Cara and Finn. Fortunately, Zeke was content to plod along while Finn almost jogged to keep up. They chatted as they rode, about family and where they grew up and favorite memories, and Cara pointed out highlights of the trail — wildlife, beautiful old trees, a small stream that fed into the Trinity River. She kept the ride fairly short, knowing he wasn't used to hours in the saddle, and they returned to the barn a little over an hour after they left.

Together, they unsaddled and brushed the horses, then returned them to their stalls — first Zeke, then Finn. Jamie followed Cara into Finn’s stall and watched quietly as she had him lower his head so she could take his halter off, then pushed him back and made him square his feet. Everything was a combination of command and affection. Cara was undeniably the boss, despite being outweighed by several hundred pounds. As she fed the horse a treat and hugged him, she caught Jamie staring and blushed. “What?”

Jamie smiled softly. “Nothing, just watching.” He stepped closer and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “And I really want to kiss you right now.”

Without a word, she let go of Finn and pulled Jamie down to her lips. He kissed her softly for a moment before sucking her bottom lip between his teeth. After tugging at it gently, he pulled back to look in her eyes — such beautiful eyes — and the want he saw there made his head spin a little. He kissed her more deeply then, tongue exploring her mouth, tasting. Her fingers drifted up into his hair, dislodging his baseball cap, dropping it to the floor as she kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her closer.

Hands were starting to roam southward when Finn got tired of being ignored and shoved Cara's back with his nose, knocking her into Jamie and making them stumble. Jamie fell on his butt in the shavings with Cara straddling his lap.

“Are you ok?” they said in unison. They giggled and both nodded. They locked eyes for a long moment and were just leaning into another kiss when Finn snorted, startling them into another fit of giggles.

“I think he's trying to kick us out,” Jamie laughed.

“Yeah probably. We'd better listen before he gets rowdy.” She kissed him softly before standing up and walking over to kiss Finn on the nose. “Sorry, baby boy, didn't know you were the jealous type. Ok that's a lie, I totally did. Brat.” Shoving him affectionately, she opened the door and took Jamie's hand as they stepped out of the stall. Finn wasted no time, lying down as soon as he had room and rolling happily. Cara and Jamie laughed at him as she closed the door.

Pulling her close, he kissed her softly. “So I guess we're done here. How do you feel about Christmas lights?"

Eyes wide, Cara practically squealed, "I love them!"

"Great, me too," Jamie said.

"Is that my surprise?"

"Part of it, yes."

"Yay! So what's the other part?"

"Still a surprise," he grinned.

"UGH! You're going to kill me with the suspense.” She mock-pounded her fist on his chest. “Do you know how crazy I've been all week wondering?"

"Well, a couple more hours shouldn't be too bad," he laughed. "C'mon, we've got time to clean up before dark."

…

[three hours later]

“So where are we going?”

“You are worse than a little kid. It's a surprise!”

“You. Are. Killing. Me.”

Jamie just laughed as he parked the truck. When they got out, he took her hand and led her around the corner, where they were greeted by a shopping center lit up for the holidays. Jamie checked his watch and nodded, then led Cara to a bench and sat down, putting his arm around her.

“Are we waiting for something? I mean this is pretty, but it's a shopping center. And you're looking at your watch.”

He laughed. “Yes, about five minutes. That ok?”

“Yeah I guess I can wait five minutes,” she giggled. She snuggled into his side and looked around at the decorations, then up at him. He was staring up at the lights, eyes bright, a small smile on his face. It was so cute, she couldn't resist planting a kiss on his cheek. He looked down at her then, smiled wider, and kissed her softly.

They stared at each other, smiling, trading a few small kisses, until they were pulled from their trance by the sound of Christmas music. Jamie smiled broadly and watched Cara's eyes light up as she looked around and saw the light show, set to the music, begin around them. He tried to watch the lights as well, but it was hard to take his eyes off her. He ended up only seeing about half the show. It was worth it to see her face, he thought.

When it was over, she looked up at him with a huge smile on her face and said, “Do it again!”

He laughed loudly and told her, “Sure. In an hour.” Then he winked and kissed her again. “Ready to go eat?”

Cara nodded. When they stood, she hugged Jamie tightly and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him before taking his hand and walking with him down the street to the restaurant.

They were seated at a table by a window, and Cara shook her head, blushing. “You've thought of everything, haven't you?”

Jamie blushed too. “I just wanted today to be perfect.”

“It has been,” she smiled. “I feel spoiled. And happy. And a little bowled over.”

“Too much?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yes. But not in a bad way,” she smiled. She reached across the table and laced their fingers together. “Today has been crazy and fun, and I've loved every minute of it. I just don't want you to think you have to throw money around to impress me.”

“I'm not just trying to impress you.” He looked down at their hands. “Well ok, maybe a little, yeah,” he smiled. Running his thumb over hers, he looked back up at her. “Mostly I just want to spend time with you, do fun things with you, make you smile.” Cara smiled. “I have money, sure, but I don't want you to feel weird about it.”

“It's just not necessary. I'd be just as happy eating cheap pizza and watching a movie with you as I was having private ice time and this nice dinner.”

“We can do anything you want.” He looked at her seriously. “Look, I make a lot of money, yes. But I have a weird schedule and a lot of responsibilities and not as much privacy as I'd like. Being able to do nice things for you kind of makes up for all the hassle.”

“Ok. As long as you know I don't need that to stay interested. I like you , Jamie, not the money.”

“I like you too — a lot. And I totally understand if my crazy life is too much. It's too much for me sometimes. But I'd really like you to be a part of it, if you're up for it. It's not a bad life — don't get me wrong. I love that I get to play hockey for a living. I have a pretty cool life because of hockey. But it's not a normal life.”

She smiled back at him. “I've seen your crazy schedule already. Fortunately, mine is pretty flexible. Yeah it's gonna be a little weird dating a celebrity. But in the two months, three dates and seven hundred text messages since I met you, I've only gotten more interested. I'm in. My only rule is honesty. You'll know what I'm thinking. I want to know what you're thinking. Deal?”

“Deal,” he smiled. Then he blushed a bit. “Um, in the interest of honesty, hockey players have a … reputation. I'm not gonna pretend I've never been guilty of it, but if I'm dating you, I am not taking random girls back to my hotel room. No matter what you may read on the internet.” He grimaced.

“Well just so you know, I won't be messing around with someone else when you're away, either. I'm a one-guy-at-a-time kind of girl.”

“I just don't want you to get hurt because you're with me. People can be … vicious.”

The genuine concern on his face was charming — and maybe a little worrying. “People are horrible. I know that. I won't let it get to me. Do you want to keep this quiet for a while? Is that even possible?”

“I don't want to sneak around like we're doing something wrong. I want people to see this beautiful woman I can't get enough of,” he grinned, “but I also kinda want to keep you all to myself. I'll leave it up to you. We can be as public or private as you want.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Benn,” she blushed. “How about we hold off on the billboard, but we don't hide out in our houses either?”

“Perfect.” He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss to her palm. “I wasn't planning to get into all that tonight, but I'm glad we did. I like knowing where I stand.”

“Me too. Now we can just have fun.”

The rest of their dinner was filled with stories and laughing, punctuated by pauses where they just smiled quietly at each other.

After dessert had been shared and the check paid, they walked hand-in-hand to the car, where Jamie opened the door for her before climbing in and starting the truck. “You up for one more surprise?” he asked, smiling.

“Another one? Are you serious?”

Jamie's face fell. “We don't have to. If you're ready to go home, that's fine too.”

“No, no, that's not — I'm not ready to go home. I'm just …” She smiled softly at him and reached over to touch his cheek. “I'm just blown away by you, that's all. So blown away.”

“Good,” he laughed, “because this last bit is my favorite part of the whole plan.” He leaned across the console and kissed her deeply. When they broke apart, they continued to trade small, breathless kisses, until Jamie softly said “We should go or we're going to miss it.”

Smiling into another ghost of a kiss, Cara giggled, “Oh you mean kissing you in the truck isn't the surprise? Damn.”

“No, but it can be,” he offered. And kissed her.

“Ooooh tempting,” kiss“but I want to know”kiss “what the actual surprise is.”kiss

Jamie groaned jokingly. “Oh ok fine.” kiss“Let's go.” He kissed her one more time, then buckled his seatbelt and headed north.

…

They could see the Christmas lights from the highway. Cara's eyes widened as they got closer. “Holy cow,” was all she could say.

“This is supposed to be amazing,” he smiled.

Two miles of drive-through Christmas lights, dozens of oohs and ahhs, a few excited squeals, and a handful of stolen kisses later, they stood at the front of the line to see Santa Claus.

“So do you like this surprise?” Jamie asked. They stood facing each other, her hands in his, and it was all he could do not to ignore the people around them and kiss her breathless.

“This is the best one of all. I can't believe we're about to see Santa. This is the most fun date I've ever been on. Seriously. Ever.”

He couldn't help it. He leaned down and placed a tiny, chaste kiss on her lips. Then he held her hands up to his lips and held them there for a moment longer. “Me too.”

After their photo with Santa (the two of them sitting on the floor on either side of Santa’s legs, grinning like little kids, Santa laughing merrily), they bought some hot cocoa and snuggled on a bench together to drink it.

Cara stifled a yawn, but not fast enough that Jamie didn't see it.

“Tired?”

“No!” Another yawn escaped. “Ok maybe.”

Kissing her forehead, he chuckled. “Come on, let's get you home. It's getting late.”

“But I don't want this to end!”

“Baby, we can do this again. As many times as you want. Or we can do something else. We don't have to stay all night. They'll be closing soon anyway.”

Cara giggled and buried her face in his shoulder.

“What's so funny?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on, tell me. What are you giggling about?”

“It's nothing, really.” She blushed and shook her head. “I just … you called me ‘Baby’ and I got butterflies in my stomach.”

“Is that ok? Good butterflies?”

“Yes, I like it. I just wasn't expecting it. It's … cute. Sweet. Like you,” she smiled up at him.

“Ok if anybody's cute around here, it's you. God I want to kiss you so much right now, but this is probably not the place.”

“Well that's motivation to get out of here.” Jumping off the bench, Cara pulled Jamie by the hand and nearly sprinted to the truck. When they got there, giggling, Jamie opened her door, lifted her onto the seat, and kissed her like his life depended on it. The parking lot was basically deserted this close to closing, so the muttered “Get a room!” from a few feet away was a surprise — one that sent them into fits of giggles again. A few more giggly, breathless kisses later, he peeled himself away from her with a groan and walked around to climb into the driver’s seat.

“I guess we should go.” But he leaned over to kiss her again.

Giggling into the kiss, she hummed agreement.

“Ok ok ok, going. Driving. Now.” One more kiss and he started the truck, reaching for her hand as he turned onto the highway.

As he drove, Cara quietly watched his face. She didn't mean to stare, but she couldn't seem to look away. Occasionally, he would glance over at her and grin. About halfway to her house, he glanced over and found her asleep, face still turned toward him, hands still wrapped around his. He smiled softly and turned back to the road, fighting the urge to watch her sleep.

When he pulled into her driveway, she was still sleeping, still holding his hand, so he turned off the truck and brought his other hand up to gently cradle her face. Running his thumb along her cheek, he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

“Cara. Baby. You're home.”

Without opening her eyes, she smiled and reached up to pull him back to her lips for a slow, sleepy kiss, which he happily returned.

He walked her to the door and kissed her again, still sweet and gentle, but lingering.

“Good night, Beautiful.”

“Good night, Handsome. Text me when you get home, ok?”

“Ok.” Another soft kiss, and he turned back to the truck.

...

J: Home. Sleep well baby

C: :) You too. I had the best time today. :*

J: Me too. :*

Notes