Shaking himself, Finn signaled to exit the parking lot. If he no longer had a movie night tonight, he could hit the hay early and start thinking about his next moves on the ice.
It was nosurprise to Robbie that he enjoyed the return to routine, getting up every day and going to the gym, even if the stuff he did there looked different to what he’d done before.
Today was their first full day of training, and he and Finn had one of the unfilmed workout spaces booked first. Finn was going to walk him through some basic ice-dancing steps, and then, after lunch, they’d meet with Stef to pick a song and build their choreography.
In the meantime, here Robbie was, in sneakers, basketball shorts, and an old team-branded T-shirt, staring incredulously at Finn, who was holding a squat expectantly, both hands extended.
“I can’t do that,” Robbie protested.
“Why not?”
“I’ll squash you.”
Finn gave Robbie a clinical once-over. “You’re fine. Don’t be a baby.”
A baby? Just because he thought it was a bad idea to climb Finn like a tree and shove his ass—or his crotch, Finn said he wasn’t picky—right in Finn’s face? When Finn might drop him? Or Robbie might lose his balance and fall and bust his head open, and then who would look after Sawyer?
“Do I need to get the weights out to prove I can hold you?”
Okay, no, that would not make Robbie feel better.
“Come on. Just step up. Your legs are long enough. Once you see how to do it from this side, we can try it the other way around.”
Finn had held the squat for a worryingly long time already. Robbie might as well get this over with.
“I can’t believe you do this on skates,” Robbie muttered as he took his place to Finn’s right. “And people think goalies are crazy.”
“Figure skates have wider blades,” Finn said for probably the hundredth time. “And your pants will have Kevlar padding in them. Stop stalling, man, I’m going grey over here.”
With a deep breath and a deeper sense of resignation, Robbie took the two steps closer to Finn and rotated his body toward him. On the third step, he grabbed Finn’s hand and turned as he set his right foot on Finn’s thigh. Then he finished the rotation and—
“Huh,” he said faintly.
Finn hadn’t even flinched. Now Robbie was standing on his thighs, his back to Finn.
“Good,” Finn said. “See? No big deal. Although if we were doing this lift in competition, you’d have to stand up straighter.”
Easier said than done, balancing the way Robbie was. What kind of core strength did these people have? “Do I have to?”
Finn snorted. “Nah. Just—did you feel how I moved with you? Kind of making sure you landed right? That and keeping me steady is all you have to worry about.”
“Also not getting my dick sliced off by an errant blade,” Robbie grumbled.
“You’re wearing basketball shorts. Unless you’ve got it taped to a stupid spot on your leg right now, I don’t think we’re going to have a problem.”
Robbie smirked. “Hey, you don’t—”
Finn arched an eyebrow. “If it reaches that close to your knees, I’m calling Guiness World Records.”
Robbie snorted. “Uh, Finn?”
“Yeah?”
“How do I… dismount?”
“You sort of jump while also pushing off with your hands. I can help so you’re not pushing all your weight on my thighs.”
Finn put his hands on Robbie’s hips and pushed up at the same time Robbie gently hopped, pushing off Finn’s legs and shoulders. He landed on his feet, with only a minor stumble.
