I pull him back so I can look into his face. He needs to see my horror. Torin flounders as he tries to keep his balance, laughing when he sees my face.
“Unacceptable. What size are your shoes?”
“Really, Hugo. I don’t need to know how to skate to pick up pucks.”
“You need to know how to skate! It should be taught to everyone when they learn how to walk.”
He sighs. “Eleven.”
Giving him a curt nod, I make sure he’s steady on his feet before heading to the equipment room. We have backups of everything. Ev-er-y-thing! Just in case. You don’t want something as stupid as abroken shoelace, a snapped cup strap, or anything else to be the reason you can’t play a game. I find some elevens and head back to the ice. Grabbing Torin’s hand on the way by, I bring him to the bench.
I know he’s humoring me as he takes off his shoes and stuffs his feet into the skates. When he laces them up, he gives me a scowl. “These are really stiff.”
“Yes. They’re supposed to be. Ankle support.”
“How do you move without bending your ankles?”
Grinning, I drop my stick and gloves on the bench and pull him to his feet. “I’ll show you. All you have to do is keep upright for now. Engage your core,” I tell him, pressing my hand to his stomach.
Torin flushes. I love the way his cheeks burn.
While I think most people would grab someone’s hands and haul them around, I place my hands on his hips instead. His hands grip around my wrists, his face a bright red as he looks at our feet.
“Watch my feet, but concentrate on keeping your balance. Okay?”
Torin nods.
He has a really small waist. I haven’t really noticed that, which is silly because we’ve cuddled and hugged and shit. But I guess I’ve never had my hands here like this. I can almost reach around him with my hands, he’s so narrow.
Okay, I’m exaggerating a little, but he’s definitely a very different body shape than mine.
Torin flounders suddenly, his right foot coming out from under him. He doesn’t fall because I have him steady. His dark eyes flicker up to mine.
“It’s okay. You’re doing great,” I assure him.
He rolls his eyes. “No,you’redoing great. I’m just not falling on my face, which isn’t due to my own skill but yours.”
I grin. Keeping one hand on his hip, I bring the other to his stomach. “Balance is about core strength. Most people don’t realize that because it comes naturally and you don’t have to think about it much. But here is where you want to retrain your muscles. Don’t let your entire body overcompensate when you slip.”
His lips are parted as he stares at me.
“Here,” I say and slide us to a stop. Taking his hands, I put themon my shoulders. “I’m going to go backwards. Use your muscles to keep yourself standing and your spine straight.”
He gives me a skeptical look but even through my pads, I can feel his grip tighten as I push off gently. He tenses and nearly falls, but I grab him.
“I really can’t believe you’ve never been on skates,” I muse, chuckling.
Torin glares and brings his body closer to me, then his eyes flicker to our skates. My hands rest lightly on his hips again, giving him that extra support.
“Why should I know how to skate when hot guys can just push me around on them?” he says. He’s speaking to our skates, so I’m not sure he meant to say it out loud.
I grin. “I suppose being a damsel… uh, what’s the masculine form of that?”
He shrugs. “Damsel is fine. I definitely feel like a damsel right now.”
Laughing, I grip him a little tighter, pulling him a little closer. His eyes rise to mine. For a while, we skate around like this. By we, I mean I skate around and bring Torin with me.
No words pass between us as we stare at each other. He does much better with his balance when he’s lost in thought. I nearly point this out, but I don’t want to disrupt it. He’s doing well. Even his feet are moving a little. I think if he remains distracted, he’ll learn to skate all on his own.
