Been You

Chapter 75: Learn to Skate With Me

ELYSANDRA'S POV:

The last time I ice skated was when Justin tried to teach me to skate the first time and I asked him out. And then he froze, breaking my heart. And then I fell trying to get off the ice. So, needless to say, I'm pretty freaking scared to try again. And this is all I can think as I sit here on the bench while Justin tightens my skates. I'm convinced that they're too damn tight, but he's the pro, so I digress. This last pull making me wince is the last straw. "Okay, babe! That's enough!" I yell, standing up.

"You're lucky I was done, anyway," he smiles smugly. I wobble away from him on these god forsaken death contraptions toward the entrance. I can hear the rest of the guys goofing around on the ice. I start to have qualms about having them here to help teach me. I look behind myself at Justin worriedly. He walks up behind me, grabbing me by the waist and leaning down next to my ear. "Don't worry, babe," he whispers, before walking ahead of me and gliding out onto the ice effortlessly. He skates up to the guys. "Yo, idiots. Chill, my woman is scared and she doesn't need you guys jerking around," Justin says, eliciting laughter from all of them. Although they seem as though they're not taking him seriously, they have stilled. I take a deep breath as Justin circles around back to me. He holds his hand out to me, "My lady?" I blush, grasping his hand and stepping out onto the ice, far from graceful.

"Woah," I let out, feeling unbalanced. I grab the wall with my free hand.

"No, no, no. You don't need that," Justin instructs, switching the hand he's given to me, and lacing his other arm around my waist, steadying me. "Just relax, I'll pull you," he soothes. I take a deep breath, doing as he said. He pulls my body rather quickly over to where the guys are. I have to admit, the rush is amazing. Once we reach the center of the ice where the performance will take place tomorrow night, Justin stops us both. Christian, a natural leader in this environment, automatically asserts his leadership.

"Okay, here's the plan," Christian starts. "First, since your dance will mostly stationary, it'll be a good thing to learn first. It'll get you comfortable on the ice and it'll get the most important part out of the way. Next we'll practice your basic gliding. What good is learning the routine if you can't make it to the center of the ice? Last, we'll work on your stopping. It's more important than you think. We don't want you taking a nosedive before the music starts. Okay, break!" We all stand still, looking around at each other confusedly. "Sorry, force of habit," Christian laughs.

"Christian's right, babe. We gotta start with your dance. Do you have your music?" Justin asks, his arm still resting around my waist.

"Yeah, but I don't have speakers or anything," I say.

"That's fine, all that matters is that you can hear it. Now, I'm gonna go to get your phone out of your pocket. Don't freak out," he warns cautiously. I appreciate his awareness of how uncomfortable I am. He reaches in my back pocket, pulling my phone out. He smirks at me as his fingers brush my butt cheek. A blush is my only response. "Ready?" I nod. And five, six, seven, eight. The music starts and I go through the arm motions that make up the beginning of the routine. Wow, I'm actually doing this! I start to gain confidence, but once I get to the part that involves hip movement, I lose my balance. I begin to wobble. Normally, I know Justin would grab my waist with both hands, but one of his are occupied holding my phone. He reaches out to grab my hand, which he does, but my feet are still sliding beneath me. I fall flat on my ass. My face goes red with embarrassment when Ryan bursts into laughter. Za hits him, making him stop, but it's too late. My pride is already bruised. Tears sting my eyes, but I angrily blink them back. I turn over so that I'm on all fours and begin crawling. I knew this was a stupid idea. I only make it about two strides before a large pair of hockey skates stop in front of me. I look up, expecting it to be Justin, but the skates belong to Christian. Great. At least with Justin, I could've begged, guilted, or seduced him until he let me leave.

"No quitters in my training," Christian states flatly. "Get up, and go again."