You giggle into your free palm - you know she's right; you've seen the girl you adore having tripped over nothing but air and her own dignity many times previously - and her grin widens to show glimpses of her teeth. Her mission, make her very nervous but very endearing girlfriend laugh, accomplished.
She moves her palms to rest on either side of you, using the cushioning on the bench to hold herself up as she presses a small kiss to your temple, hot breath ticklish across the hairs on your head. Your eyes flutter closed as she does so, relishing in the way that such miniscule actions from her make your skin flood with warmth.
When you reopen your eyes, she's standing ahead of you, bright smile and smooth hands offering to uphold you both emotionally and physically. You accept her offers - both of them - and let her cheery mood pass unto you like a sickeningly sweet contagion while she tries to help you stand. Hands grasped together, she slowly assists in bringing you to your feet.
It takes minutes to get used to the uncomfortable sensation of having wheels instead of movable legs - posture wobbling as you try to navigate how to move without feeling like you're going to faceplant straight into Robin - and even when you think you finally are ready to make your way to the hardwood skating area, Robin's skate accidentally collides with the side of yours and then you're both holding on to each other's shoulders for dear life so that you don't tumble into the hideously patterned carpet.
Keeping your legs and your breathing stable, arms still clutched together with the grip of a professional rock climber, the two of you can't help but laugh at your shared clumsiness.
"See?" Robin asks, the corners of her mouth quirking upwards cheekily. "If you go down, I go down." Her eyes look to yours, meeting in a faded blue embrace painted golden, as if the very sea and sky had collided and were being blessed by the afternoon sun. "We fall together."
Her confidence and sureness bleed into you, and this time you move in tandem, two paper airplanes soaring through the air at the same pace and landing on the same patch of grass. She moves her left foot forward and so do you, and then, after briefly shared glances of assurance, your right legs scoot forward together. As shaky and uncertain as both of your actions are, somehow keeping this routine among the two of you is holding your ship afloat.
By the time you reach the edge of the skating area, you have a comfortable pattern worked out, feet pushing in sync and your hands - still faithfully intermingled - swinging back and forth to hold your balance. You find the set of steps that leads to the floor, something you curse the creators of this place for - wasn't it hard enough to manage skating without having to somehow climb some stairs? - and wait patiently as Robin makes her way down first.
To your complete surprise, the typically clumsy girl manages not to falter; in fact she maneuvers the steps in a way that's almost graceful, a swan whose wings are a little out of use, before beckoning you to join her below.
Unfortunately your conquest against the stairs isn't as victorious as hers was; everything starts out decently enough until your back two wheels get caught on the middle step, sending you bounding right into your wide-eyed girlfriend. Your eyes snap shut and you prepare for the impact of the hard floor beneath you - your childhood of skate parties taught you of the unyielding brutality of such landings - but somehow, quite miraculously, it never happens.
A warm arm latches onto you, wrapped around your waist to restabilize your balance, and when you peep open an eye to assess the potential damage, Robin's already giving your body a once over.
"You good, babe?" she asks, a ghost of a smile dusting her lips - one that gives you an insight into the near future; you can practically hear her boasting now as she recounts how she, ever known to be uncoordinated, saved you from plummeting into the hardwood floor of doom. The thought has you fondly beaming in the girl's hold.