Learning To Skate With Adam

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Bombay bailed. Again. He promised he'd teach me to skate. Apparently, this has happened a few times. Fulton has been helping me practice my slapshot in the alley since we got back.

I was like a tutor during the Goodwill Games - when Miss Mckay wasn't teaching, I was the kid who they got help from. Plus, I helped out with whatever I could and acted as a support system or fan. I thought they hated me for a bit since we're the same age but I was helping them with school stuff. We actually became really close. Bombay agreed that when we got back, he'd teach me to skate.

We were meant to start yesterday. Once again, he didn't show up. Nobody knows why. Maybe he just doesn't want to waste time with me since he's all important now. I was waiting in a park alone for like 30 minutes before Adam and Charlie saw me. They said they'd teach me today instead. I'm just waiting for someone to show up. I'll call Charlie and see if anyone is actually coming.

"Charlie, we still skating today?"

"Yeah, sorry I got held up. Adam left a few minutes ago, so he'll be there way before me."

"I see him." I say, waving at Adam as he skates over. "Gotta go."

As I put my phone back in my pocket, I go and sit on a nearby bench to put on my rollerblades. Adam helps me up and tells me the plan.

"So you can get used to it, we'll go through the park. When you feel comfortable, I'll take you across town where we'll meet up with the Ducks."

"What are we doing with the Ducks?" I ask, confused about how they fit in with learning to skate.

"Well, since Fulton's been teaching you how to slapshot, we thought why not teach you some hockey? If you want to."

"Yeah, sounds great! I'm a quick learner, so hopefully, we won't keep them waiting too long."

In the next 15 minutes, I fall so many times I've lost count. I pick up speed, thinking I'm getting the hang of it. However, it's short lived because I begin to freak out and slip. The only difference is, this time, Adam manages to catch me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, thought I had it that time." I look at the ground with embarrassment.

"You're getting better." He lifts my chin and continues. "I have an idea." He grabs my hands and says, "Keep your eyes on me. Remember, keep your knees bent and stay low."

"Okay." I nod and take a deep breath.

Adam starts skating backwards. I keep a tight grip on him as I move with him. I keep unintentionally looking down in fear of falling.

"Hey, it's alright, just look at me." I apologise and lock eyes with him again. "Tell me about one of your favourite memories."

"Um, okay." I'm confused - thought we be focusing on not falling. "When I realised you guys didn't hate me."

"You thought we hated you?"

"I don't know. I mean, I was helping tutor everyone and I'm the same age as you. I guess I was scared you'd think I was some arrogant know-it-all."

"We love you. We never thought that - trust me, we appreciated how you helped us and supported during games."

"I know that now. When you guys invited me to the beach after practice, I finally felt like I had some friends. We became so close and I'll always be grateful for that." I smile.

"We're all grateful." He smiles back. "Guess what."

"What?"

"You're skating."

I look down and realise that Adam is no longer holding onto me. I let out a laugh of disbelief as Adam moves out of the way. I speed up a little, turn around and skate back to Adam.

"Holy shit! I'm skating!" I cheer as Banksie laughs and claps.

I end up skating into his arms and laughing. He picks me up and uses the momentum to spin us around. I hold on tight, still laughing.

"I knew you could do it!" He cheers as we spin. "I'm so proud of you!"

As he puts me down and I regain my balance, I still can't believe I did it. Without thinking, I reach up and kiss Adam - instant regret and embarrassment.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to - I was caught up in the moment." I stammer.

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you did." He smiles and kisses me back.

I never expected today to like this. He holds my hand and proudly says:

"Let's show the Ducks what you can do."

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