Page 16 of Keeping Kyle

“Not at all.” I stood and stamped my feet a couple of times to make sure my feet were set right.

“Damn, you’re fast. It took me a few minutes to get the laces right.”

“I could do this with my eyes closed I think.”

Austin fidgeted with just a bit of fear in his eyes

“I promise this will be good. Fun.” I gestured for him to step onto the ice. I followed close behind, just in case he needed an assist.

He hesitated, looking at the ice as if it might come alive and swallow him up. I didn’t want to make it a big deal, so I stepped out and faced him.

I held out my hand.

He took in a deep breath before he grabbed on and squeezed it tighter than I’d expected.

“Are you sure this is okay? We’re taking up an entire rink for me to repeatedly fall on my ass.”

Austin stood between me and the boards, keeping his grip on me and using his other hand to steady himself on the ledge. His concentration… I kind of wanted to kiss the crinkles along his forehead and around his eyes.

“Totally fine. We’ve got this rink for ninety minutes. This is where Bobby plays, and he helped me get it.”

“How’d I let you talk me into this?”

“That’s not how I recall it.” I slowly moved us along, trying to take his mind off the mechanics of how he moved. “You were pretty excited about the idea.”

“Too many beers maybe?”

“Nah. Not with just the one.” I smiled, and some of the fear left his eyes.

He took his hand from mine and attached it firmly to my forearm—like an action figure that had super powered grip. It didn’t hurt through my hoodie and sweatshirt, and honestly, I kind of liked how he took charge and held me how he wanted.

“Now we're going to glide away from the boards. You’re gonna trust me. I won’t let you fall. Once you lose the fear of getting hurt, you’ll enjoy this more.” I sent him all the confident energy I had. “Trust me?”

“Yes.” He didn’t pause to think. “You coach kids. I should be able to do this.”

I nodded. “You can do this.”

His hold relaxed just a bit.

“Now, let me go.” He hesitantly released me, and I waited patiently so we didn’t move too fast. “Now I’m going to come around in front of you.” I easily pivoted so we stood face-to-face. “Now, bend your legs just a little.” I squatted a bit—exaggerating my normal stance—to demonstrate. “It’s like you’re about to sit. That lowers your center of gravity. Now just walk forward, one skate in front of the other.”

He made tentative steps, and I stepped back to mirror him. It only took a few more steps before he glided more than walked. Exactly what he should do.

“See. Progress. Now think about this like it’s a dance. You’ll mirror the moves I make. We’ll go as slow or fast as you want.”

Austin vibrated, his shudders rolling into my hands and arms. I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or the instability in his strides. My grip on his wrists was firm but not tight.

“Try not to look down at what your feet are doing. You’ll tend to move the direction your eyes go. My young students are the same—always wanting to look at their feet or the puck. Keep your head up.”

His strides improved as we started a second lap with his speed increasing too.

“Holy shit.” His eyes were wide and happy. I’m doing it.” Laughter and joy filled his voice

“Yeah. Yeah, you are.” My chest filled with pride at teaching him. Kids were never scared of skating, and I wasn’t used to trying to coach someone who was. “Told you I could get you to skate.”

“It doesn’t seem nearly as hard as I made it out to be.”

We continued to move around the rink.