“Char?.?.?. lie?.?.?. not?.?.?. helping.”
He chuckled. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” She shot him a playful glare. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“Maybe I am, but that’s what all good coaches do.” She pushed his arm and he glided to the left. “Let’s see how the video turned out, then we can pick it apart.”
Gemma’s expression sobered. “I’m afraid to ask, but what did you see?”
Charlie tapped the screen and held it between them. “Nothing major.” He hit the Play button, and together they watched the video. “Right here, you’re a little wobbly on the entry edge.” He paused it. “And right before you pull in, you’re holding your free leg lower than you used to.”
Gemma stared at the screen. “I am.”
“Gem, considering the time off and nature of your injury, I thought overall, it looked pretty solid. Did anything bother you on it?”
“No. Laybacks and sit spins are the positions that aggravate my hip the most. I had to limit how many I did before my layoff.” She grimaced. “I can get away without doing a layback, but not sit spins. I’ll just have to find the strength to power through them.”
“One of my students had a similar problem as you, but it was an injury to her growth plate. We ended up modifying her sit spins to a broken-leg position. It took a lot of stress off the hip area.” He ran a hand through his hair. “In your case, I think if we played around, we could find a variant of the sit-spin position that’s less painful than a traditional sit. You shouldn’t have to power through anything.”
“I’m willing to give it a go. Only, how does a person do a broken-leg spin?”
“It’s easy; you start like you’re doing a sit spin, but grab the back of your legs, and tilt sideways.”
Gemma was lost. “Can you show me?”
Charlie’s cheeks colored. “Uh?.?.?. I’m not the best person for the job. Maybe I can see if Frankie is around.”
“Oh come on, Charlie. You said it waseasy.So show me your broken-leg spin.”
He huffed. “If I show you, you can’t tell anyone how bad it looks.”
Gemma promised she wouldn’t, curiosity piqued.
Stowing his mobile into his jacket pocket, Charlie wound up for a sit spin, and grabbed the back of his calves. His bum stuck up too high, however. As he tried to initiate a sideways lean, he fell over and spun around on his bum like a breakdancer.
Gemma covered her mouth with her hand, giggling. “Sothat’swhat it’s supposed to look like.”
“I told you I was lousy at it.” Charlie stood and brushed the ice off his trousers, muttering, “I have a video of Richelle doing it. You can watch her.”
They spent the next hour figuring out what her body was capable of doing. Gemma was surprised to find that she felt better than she had in weeks. The extended time offwasworking for her. Her spirits began to lift.
Gripping Charlie’s forearm, she locked eyes with him. He nodded to her. “On your count.”
“Push, cross. Push, cross,” Gemma said as they practiced a series of slow and fast back crossovers around the rink. “Change.” Charlie’s body moved in closer to hers. His hands moved to her hips. Bending her knees, she directed him, “Ready, go.” A moment later, she was up in the air, “sitting” on Charlie’s right hand, waving to an invisible audience. “Down.” Extending her leg, toward the ice, they glided, then stopped.
“How did that feel?”
“So-so.” Gemma took a mental inventory of her body. “It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but only when we left the ice. I’m not used to your grip. I think when I do it with Fernando, I’ll be okay.”
“That’s good. It’s always difficult to skate with a new partner, especially when you’ve learned different techniques. Is there anything else you wanted to run through or try out?”
Gemma shook her head. “No. I’ve kept you long enough today. Let’s pick up our stuff and go meet your family.”
Charlie grinned widely. “Wait until you try Nan’s turkey and stuffing.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never had any American Thanksgiving foods before.”
“You haven’t?”
