to concentrate with him that close to me. I had a very rational story with examples and proof of why ice skating and I didn’t mix very well, but I couldn’t remember all the details at the moment – would he just lean over and kiss me, for crying out loud!
“No?” Rhys pulled back slightly, breaking my stupor. “What do you have against ice skating?”
“I always get hurt,” I said, “or hurt someone else.”
With a laugh, Rhys climbed out and opened my door, helping me out of the Range Rover. “You’re not the same girl you were,” he said. “This will be a whole new experience.”
Rhys reached out and took my hand, pulling me toward the entrance of the skating rink. I felt a tingle at his touch, and I reluctantly let him lead me into the skating rink.
We got our rental skates and sat down on large blocks to put them on. I laced mine up as tightly as I could because I remembered how difficult it was to keep my ankles from wobbling. How did I end up back here again? Oh, the dumb things girls did for guys they liked!
Fortunately this early in the day the rink was practically empty, just a few people skating around on the ice. I tentatively took a couple of steps with my skates and immediately grabbed the rail when we got out onto the ice.
Rhys laughed at the look of panic on my face. “You’re a Berserker now,” he said. “You have better balance and coordination than any human could possibly have. If you give it a chance you’ll find you can do this as easily as walking.”
“Trust me, I find ways to mess that up,” I said, still not letting go of the rail.
Rhys shrugged and took off. With smooth powerful movements, he accelerated and began zipping around the rink. He even threw in a couple of jumps and turns. It was truly an amazing sight. He looked like he had been born to do this, moving with the quick grace of an Olympic figure skater.
Talk about intimidating. Not only was I going to look like an idiot on the ice, but next to Rhys, I was going to look like an even bigger one than usual.
It was time to get this over with.
I took a deep breath, pushed my panic back, and tried to find my balance. Immediately I noticed that I wasn’t having any trouble keeping my ankles straight, so that was an improvement. Hesitantly, I let go of the rail and managed to keep my balance. I made a few experimental pushes with my skates and found myself gliding across the ice at an unexpected speed.
I pushed harder and found my rhythm. After a few minutes of experimenting, I had gotten the hang of it and could maneuver around the rink at will.
Rhys came over and skated next to me. “How’s it going?” he asked.
For the first time since I had found out we were going to ice skate, I smiled. “Not as bad as I thought.”
With a grin, Rhys took my hand and skated alongside me. Hand in hand we skated together, simply enjoying each other’s company.
After a few minutes, Rhys began to speed up. To my surprise, I discovered I had no trouble keeping up with him. At one point he tightened his grip on my hand and turned hard so that we spun together in a circle, faster and faster. Instead of getting dizzy, I felt a thrill of excitement – this was fun!
For the next several hours we raced and played, leaped and turned. Rhys had been right, this was nothing like the embarrassing clumsiness of my last skating experience. I smiled at the looks of amazement the other skaters gave us as we played. At one point I jumped and spun around five times before landing. My sensitive hearing heard several people gasp in amazement and whisper to each other.
When we were finally done, Rhys went to take back our rented skates, and a little girl around five years old came up to me with a piece of paper and a pen. “Can I have your autograph?” she asked.
I flushed with embarrassment. “Sweetie, why would you want my autograph?”
The little girl shrugged. “My Mom said you must be an Olympic skater.”
“I’m sorry to
“No?” Rhys pulled back slightly, breaking my stupor. “What do you have against ice skating?”
“I always get hurt,” I said, “or hurt someone else.”
With a laugh, Rhys climbed out and opened my door, helping me out of the Range Rover. “You’re not the same girl you were,” he said. “This will be a whole new experience.”
Rhys reached out and took my hand, pulling me toward the entrance of the skating rink. I felt a tingle at his touch, and I reluctantly let him lead me into the skating rink.
We got our rental skates and sat down on large blocks to put them on. I laced mine up as tightly as I could because I remembered how difficult it was to keep my ankles from wobbling. How did I end up back here again? Oh, the dumb things girls did for guys they liked!
Fortunately this early in the day the rink was practically empty, just a few people skating around on the ice. I tentatively took a couple of steps with my skates and immediately grabbed the rail when we got out onto the ice.
Rhys laughed at the look of panic on my face. “You’re a Berserker now,” he said. “You have better balance and coordination than any human could possibly have. If you give it a chance you’ll find you can do this as easily as walking.”
“Trust me, I find ways to mess that up,” I said, still not letting go of the rail.
Rhys shrugged and took off. With smooth powerful movements, he accelerated and began zipping around the rink. He even threw in a couple of jumps and turns. It was truly an amazing sight. He looked like he had been born to do this, moving with the quick grace of an Olympic figure skater.
Talk about intimidating. Not only was I going to look like an idiot on the ice, but next to Rhys, I was going to look like an even bigger one than usual.
It was time to get this over with.
I took a deep breath, pushed my panic back, and tried to find my balance. Immediately I noticed that I wasn’t having any trouble keeping my ankles straight, so that was an improvement. Hesitantly, I let go of the rail and managed to keep my balance. I made a few experimental pushes with my skates and found myself gliding across the ice at an unexpected speed.
I pushed harder and found my rhythm. After a few minutes of experimenting, I had gotten the hang of it and could maneuver around the rink at will.
Rhys came over and skated next to me. “How’s it going?” he asked.
For the first time since I had found out we were going to ice skate, I smiled. “Not as bad as I thought.”
With a grin, Rhys took my hand and skated alongside me. Hand in hand we skated together, simply enjoying each other’s company.
After a few minutes, Rhys began to speed up. To my surprise, I discovered I had no trouble keeping up with him. At one point he tightened his grip on my hand and turned hard so that we spun together in a circle, faster and faster. Instead of getting dizzy, I felt a thrill of excitement – this was fun!
For the next several hours we raced and played, leaped and turned. Rhys had been right, this was nothing like the embarrassing clumsiness of my last skating experience. I smiled at the looks of amazement the other skaters gave us as we played. At one point I jumped and spun around five times before landing. My sensitive hearing heard several people gasp in amazement and whisper to each other.
When we were finally done, Rhys went to take back our rented skates, and a little girl around five years old came up to me with a piece of paper and a pen. “Can I have your autograph?” she asked.
I flushed with embarrassment. “Sweetie, why would you want my autograph?”
The little girl shrugged. “My Mom said you must be an Olympic skater.”
“I’m sorry to
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