"Oh, jeez, did everyone else talk to you that way?" I ask, cringing a little. "That's horrible." It sounds like his exes family was nice, at least. I wonder if that makes breaking up with her even harder, but it seems a little rude to ask already. Maybe later, though. Maybe on our actual date.

I've lost count of how many laps we've done now and Simon is still skating strong. He'll wobble occasionally, but I secretly like that a little bit because it means he grabs onto me for support.

"You absolutely do not have to bring me a present," I tell him with a grin and another squeeze of his hand. "Meeting you has been a nice gift all by itself. And I would love to bake you something sometime. Though maybe not for the date because I'm pretty sure I'll have pushed all my baking muscles to their limit by that point and I'll need a little bit of a recovery period. Soon, though."

Maybe I'll surprise him with those sour cherry scones, actually. I wonder if he'd like that.