Did I honestly think I could get through this without feeling any sort of attraction to him? Did my stupid suggestion of friends really eliminate the chemistry we had when we tumbled into bed together? And, who could blame me? The man is devastatingly handsome, even more so with a thicker beard and tired eyes, and I have to remind myself to breathe.
The air around us is charged. We’re standing so close I can see another scar above his eyebrow. I can hear his sharp inhale and smell the hint of his cologne and toothpaste. There’s no reason for him to be in my orbit like this. It extends well beyondthe scope of basic drills, but he doesn’t pull away. I also don’t ask him to. We stare at each other, and when his throat bobs, I’m hit with the memory of how utterly perfect he looks when his head is between my legs.
“Now what?” I ask. It’s barely above a whisper, but it’s all I can manage.
“Now I’d kick your ass and win the face-off because you’re distracted,” he murmurs.
“And you’re not? Please. Ten bucks says I’m a faster skater than you.”
“You probably are, but we’re not here to skate fast. We’re here to go slow, remember?” Brody’s eyes bounce away from my mouth, gaze meeting mine. Caught red-handed, but he doesn’t seem to have a care in the goddamn world. “Do you know how to go slow, Hannah?”
My breath hitches at the sound of my name from his lips. It’s the first time he’s used it sincethat night, but I do my best to play it cool. I do my best to appear unaffected, and it’s a battle I might be losing. “I’m more of an instant gratification kind of girl.”
“If that’s the case, maybe you should show me, since you know how to do this drill correctly.”
His tone is so commanding that I get why the guys listen to him. I feel it everywhere on my body, and it’sso fucking good. “What drill?” I tip my head to the side, staring back at him. “You haven’t told me what to do, Brody.”
“Glide.” His hand is still on my knee. “On one foot in a circle around me.”
“And what is this focusing on?”
“Control.” I swear a muscle in his jaw tightens as he says it. “Learning how to use your body to stay on that single edge.”
“How fascinating.” I back away from him. Push off with my left foot and balance on my right, circling him like he asked. “How’s this?”
“Perfect,” he says, and the praise makes me warm all over. “Now do it here where the puck would drop. Smaller space, less room to work with.”
I don’t know where he came up with this drill, but I like it. It’s implementing the fundamentals more so than anything else we’ve done this morning, and I bite my tongue, paying attention to the limited surface area I have.
“Four more,” Brody tells me. My balance wobbles, but I correct myself. “Good, Hannah. You’re making this look easy.”
I don’t know the last time someone complimented my skating, and it kicks the competitive athlete in me into high gear. I make the last two rotations the best ones, not a toe out of line, and when I bring my right skate down, my leg muscles are screaming.
“Holy shit.” I wipe my forehead and put my hands on my hips. “I haven’t concentrated that hard since I attempted a quadruple Axel.”
“How do you feel?”
“More aware of my body. Cognizant of every move and how it impacts the big picture.”
“Exactly what I was going for. It wasn’t too elementary?”
“Not at all.” I beam. “What else do you have for me, Coach?”
He runs me through a few more drills, and I notice the shift in my mindset. I’m looking at the ice in a different way. There’s nothing fancy, nothing advanced, but I appreciate this version I’m working on. When Brody pulls out his phone and curses under his breath, I’m disappointed.
“I need to get going. The guys have a weight training session.” He takes the whistle off and tucks it in his pocket. “Then we have film review.”
“Hang on. Wait. We haven’t talked about how I’ll pay you for these sessions. You strike me as an old school guy. Do you prefer check? Venmo?”
“Not necessary. I’m at the arena anyway. I like watching good skating.”
“That’s not really fair.”
“Life isn’t fair.” Brody looks at me. “You’re going to be all right, Hannah.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. I can tell you aren’t going to go down without a fight. Friday the battle continues. You in?”
