It was the best first date I ever had! Well, it was my first “first date” I ever had, but it was still the best! We had been great friends with each other since the 5th grade, and thats the way we liked to keep it. We were best pals. We had been classmates, lab partners, study buddies & even sidekicks before, but we had never quite made it to the “Lovers” category. We always shared with each other our secret “crushes”, and were always there for each other when our crushes  “crushed” us back by somehow breaking our hearts. I decided that enough was enough and that it was time to ask her out on a real date.

When I saw her there I was awestruck. She was so beautiful, I was almost at a loss for words. I met her at The Aventura Mall, right by the big Christmas tree where Santa sits and takes pictures with the kids. She wore that nifty little plaid skirt and black tie I always thought was sexy, and her cousin “Lala” gave her a pretty pink bow tie clip for her hair. It was almost as if Santa Clause had finally brought me the me the one present I had been wanting for so long. There’s something so strangely romantic about the mall during Christmas time, so I used it to my advantage and grabbed her by the hand for an adventure.

First, I took her for a delicious snack at the Auntie Aunies pretzel stand, and then led her up the escalator to a quiet bench overlooking the giant Christmas tree where we sat and shared it. I held her close as we reminisced about past holiday’s and fond memories that had brought us so close together. I was starting to see a whole new side to her which I really liked. “I wish Christmas could last forever” I said. She agreed. After a while, I took her by the hand again and we skipped our way through the mall until we arrived at the Christmas train station. She bought me a ticket, and I hit my head hard as I entered the train. I think I was starting to fall for her.

Inside the train, I didn’t know what to say or what to do with my hands, so I figured the best way to fill the awkward silence was with a kiss. Boy was I wrong! She totally avoided the kiss and I ended up hitting my head on the side of the train again as she dodged me. I pretended nothing had happened however, and I continued to bring up Christmas related topics like ice skating & “the North Pole” which she kindly answered the best she could.I didn’t take her avoidance personally though, I knew it was just the wrong time. When the time is right however, I know it will be amazing!

When the ride was over, we skipped through the mall some more and window shopped. Everyone stared at us and asked us where we got our clothes. We told them our Mom’s did all our shopping, but we were thinking of putting an end to that and going to the mall ourselves for a change. After all, it was pretty fun & romantic. Before we knew it, it was getting super late and we both had to get home and take our allergy medication. We gave each other a big hug and said fair-well. I knew this was just the beginning of something special, but I knew it would have never happened unless the wondrous spirit of Christmas hadn’t brought us together on our first “first date.”

Photo by: Charis Kirchheimer

Model: Caitlin Alana Cimino