“What?Why?”
“With all the new safety standards, this board doesn’t pass. It’s so comfortable because it doesn’t have a vise grip on yourankles. It relies on your boots for that. This hardware simply holds your boot in place. It offers more flex, but way less stability. It forces the boarder to take responsibility for their ride, and too many boarders are idiots that can’t be trusted like that anymore.”
A pained look passes across his features as I rock back on the edge. The board is so responsive that I almost topple over backwards.
“She’s sensitive,” I laugh.
“Yeah. She doesn’t need much guidance. You have to ride her with finesse. You can’t just manhandle her like you do your board.”
Thisis the coaching I’ve been wanting. I can get down a slope. I can do big jumps. I can go fast. I want knowledge that gives me an edge over my competition. There are many elements that make up a great boarder that go beyond stance and balance, although those are important too.
“I’m going to take her for a spin,” I tell him, positioning the board on the magic carpet.
Connor stays at the bottom of the small hill, his eyes never leaving me.
At the top, I clip my other boot in and begin my descent.
It’s the smoothest eight seconds I’ve ever experienced and makes me miss my old Vertigo board, even though it still wasn’t as good as this.
“You make that look so easy,” Connor says when I slide to a stop next to him.
“Physically, itiseasy,” I tell him, subtly dropping the hint that I brought us here to work on his mental block about getting back on a board. “I’m going to take another lap.”
When I come back down the second time, Connor is locked in more so than he has been, and I’m unsure if it’s because we’re alone, I’m on his personal board, or becauseI’m finally giving him something other than a cocksure attitude.
“You’re still initiating your turns from your knees and ankles. I know at some point someone probably told you to ‘always keep your hips pointed in the direction you want to go.’ We all know you initiate a toe-side turn by leaning forward on that front foot, pressing your shin into the front of your boot, and a heel-side turn by shifting your weight to your back foot and turning your knee out. But your knees are much weaker than your hips. Try initiating your movement from there instead.”
I nod, doing as he says, but my movements are jerky, and it’s definitely a failed attempt.
“Can you dance?” Connor randomly asks me when I get back to the bottom.
“As well as I board,” I reply honestly.
“Okay, imagine you’re rolling your hips in time with the music. You wouldn’t?—”
Look, a person can’t change overnight, and I interrupt him before I can stop myself.
“You mean the way I did the other night?”
Connor’s pupils dilate at my words, causing me to lick my lips.
“Focus,” he growls. I’m not sure if he’s talking to me or himself. “You can sway your hips from side to side, but that only works for skiing since both hips are facing the same direction. In boarding, you’ve only got one hip aimed downhill at a time, so the motion looks different, but still needs to come from your hips. This time, try rolling them forward and back…” he trails off, his voice dropping low when he begins speaking again, “…like you would if you were…”
When he trails off a second time, I finish the sentence for him.
“Fucking you?”
“Jesus, Vox,” Connor breathes as he turns away, his face flushed with desire.
I might be concerned about overstepping, but I see his hand move lower, and I know he’s discreetly trying to adjust himself.
“Going again!” I shout happily, moving to the magic carpet.
A second later, Connor turns around to watch my descent.
It’s hard as fuck to change your mechanics when you’ve been doing it one way for so long. Especially when you know that how you currently do it is good enough to win. But I want to try.
I roll my hips back and forth, and the board feels unsteady as it quickly switches directions.
