Janelle’s P.O.V.
“And I so much as see you try and make any of your jumps, you’ll be banned from the rink, do I make myself clear?” Uncle Henley chastises.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumble, rolling my eyes.
“Janelle, I’m serious. You have no idea how scared I was seeing you hit the rink the other day. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you on my watch ever again.” He says with sad eyes.
“I’m sorry, uncle Henley. I bet mom gave you an ear full about that too.”
“She did, but it has nothing to do with you being careful.”
I arch a brow.
“Ok, fine. Maybe a little, but you know I’m right and that you need to be careful!”
“I know. Bexley gave me the speech of the way over here already.”
He chuckles, making me frown.
“What?”
“I take it you are no longer mad at him for whatever you were mad at him for?”
“I was never mad at him!” I blurt, my voice way too high-pitched.
“Sure. I always not yell at someone like you did at the hospital when I’m not mad at them.”
“Whatever, uncle Henley. I’m heading down to the rink.”
“ Bexley has a class in fifteen minutes. You won’t get much time on the ice,”
I grab my skates from the floor and stand up.
“It’s alright. Bexley asked me to help with the junior team tonight,” I smile, leaning against the door frame.
“You’re helping him teach tonight? Who are you and what have you done with my favorite niece?”
“I’m your only niece, dummy! But yes, I am helping him. Is that OK?”
“Sure, but as I already told you,”
“I know, I know. I’ll be careful on the ice. I promise. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Bexley would kick me off the ice if I’m not, so, you don’t have to worry.”
He laughs and waves me off.
As I’m approaching the bleachers, I see Bexley looking out on the ice.
“You already got your skates on?” I ask, pulling his attention toward me.
“I do.”
“And you’re not on the ice yet?” I ask, arching a brow.
“I was waiting for you.” He says, giving me a shy smile.
Kind of cute.
“You didn’t have to.”
“I know, but I figured you might need help tying your skates,” He says, pointing at the seats next to him for me to sit down.
I look down at my arm and at my skates.
“I didn’t even think of how I’d tied them,” I answer, a deep crimson blush creeping on my cheeks.
“It’s alright. I’m here to help,” He says, pulling one of my foot up and settling it on his knee.
In no time, he has my skates tightly secured.
“Thank you,” I shyly say, stepping on the ice and gliding away softly.
“You’re welcome,” he says, following me close by.
After a few turns around the rink, he glides closer.
“You’ll tell me if you feel uncomfortable or if your arms start hurting, right?”
I can see the worry in his eyes. For some odd reason, it warms my heart.
“The kids will be here in a few minutes. Can you wait for a bit while I take the stability bars out on the ice?”
“Can I help?”
“NO!” He says a little too abruptly.
But I’m not mad. It actually makes me smile.
“Ok. If you’re sure, I’ll just wait here.”
He takes off and opens the wide gate. As he takes out the last one of the bars, a few kids start making their way on the ice, their parents hot on their heels.
“Hi there,”
“I thought this was junior practice time?” One of the parents says, looking around and spotting Bexley further on the ice,”
“It is. I’m just here to help Coach Bexley,” I answer, feeling a little out of place.
“Hi, Mrs. Roberts. Is everything alright?” Bexley asks, skating to a stop next to me.
“I didn’t know there was a new coach,” She snids.
“There isn’t. Coach Henley's niece got injured the other day and can’t practice for her competitions. She offered to help me with training while she recovers. Is that a problem?” Bexley says all too sweetly.
“Oh! You’re the head coach's niece! He has talked about you moving here for quite some time. He is so proud of the skater you have become. How did you injure yourself?” She asks, her attitude changing on a dime as soon as Belxey mentions I’m the head coach's niece.
“It was a freak accident on the ice. But I’ll heal in no time,” I answer, smiling awkwardly.
She doesn’t say much more as other kids and parents are arriving.
When everyone is on the ice, Bexley claps his hands to get everyone's attention.
“Hello everyone. I’m glad to see you all here tonight. I’m sure you’ve noticed we have someone new with us tonight. Her name is Janelle and she’ll be helping me teach you guys for a while.” He smiles and nods at me to say something.
“Hi. As Bexley says, I’m Janelle, and I’ll be here to help you learn.”
“Can you even skate with a cast on?” One of them asks innocently.
“I can still skate, but I can’t jump or anything like that. It could hurt my arm or injure me more than I already am,”
“You can do jumps?!” One little girl asks in amazement.
“I can. Maybe when I’m all better I can show you, but for today, I’ll just be helping coach Bexley.”
They all murmur in excitement. I glance a Bexley and he winks at me, making me blush.
“Look, miss Janelle’s blushing at coach Bexley!”
“Oouuuu!!” They tease, making Belxey laugh nervously.
“Alright, that’s enough playing around. Let’s get some skating done,” he encourages, but I don’t fail to notice his red ears.
He’s just as embarrassed as I am by their teasing.
By the end of practice, just as Bexley predicted, none of them were using the stability bars. Anyone could see the pride shining in his eyes as he encouraged them all one by one to have faith in themselves.
He’s incredible with kids. Which surprises me and doesn’t at the same time.
After everyone leaves, we sit on the bench. He offers me a bottle of water and I gladly accept it.
“How did you find teaching the junior class?” He asks, taking a huge gulp out of his own water bottle.
“It was fun. I really enjoyed it. You were pretty awesome with them too,” I say, bumping his shoulder with mine.
“Thanks. They are a pretty good group. You weren’t too bad yourself with them. Do you think you’d want to come back and help again some other time?”
“I would love that.”
We sit there for a bit, taking a few more sips of water before my phone buzzes.
I sigh, already knowing who is texting me.
“Your mom?” He asks as I open and close my phone.
“Yeah. She’s asking when I’ll be home.”
“Want me to drive you home now?” He asks, sounding disappointed.
“No, not yet. Can we circle the rink a few times before we leave? Please?”
“Sure. Why not,” He says, grabbing my hand and pulling me back onto the ice gently.
Even as we skate, he doesn’t let go of my hand. Nor do I even try to pull it out of his.
I glance at him from the side and blush.
What has gotten into me?
Aksara