Page 15 of Wilder

The girls hurried to do what she asked of them, then Lexi began to skate around the rink. It was a full-size rink, so there was plenty of room for her to build up the speed necessary for the jump combination she wanted to perform.

The triple Axel-triple loop combination was one of the more difficult combinations she did, but she’d practiced hard to get it to where it was reliable. It wasn’t just a combination they put into a program and then she’d cross her fingers and hope she’d land both. She landed them with a high level of consistency.

In reality, her favorite jump was a throw triple loop. Flying through the air was an amazing feeling. And landing was even better. But that wasn’t an option that day.

After taking enough strokes to get up to the speed she needed, Lexi launched herself into the air, spinning the three and half rotations required for the Axel. Then, after landing on one foot, she immediately jumped up into a triple loop.

When she landed, she held the glide, then she skated toward center ice and shifted into position to begin her spin. She decided on the Biellmann spin, which wasn’t one she did very often as a pairs skater, but she loved it, so she’d worked to perfect it. Grabbing the blade, she lifted her leg behind her into the air. The stretch felt good, as did the freedom of the motion.

She did the required eight rotations, then releasing the blade, she shifted into an upright spin, the speed increasing as she raised her arms above her head. When she lowered them after a few rotations, her speed slowed and finally, she came to a stop.

Applause quickly reminded her that it wasn’t just her and the girls at the rink. There was a temptation to bow to the people atthe edge of the rink who were clapping. Instead, she just nodded in recognition of it as she skated to the girls.

“That was amazing,” Layla said. “I wish I could skate like that.”

“I skate like that because I’ve devoted a lot of time and energy to it,” Lexi told her. “When I was your age, I spent eight hours at the rink and at the gym. Some days I had ballet lessons.”

“Didn’t you go to school?” Amelia asked.

Lexi shook her head. “I had a tutor who worked with me for two or three hours a day. The rest of my time was spent training.”

“Did you like it?” Layla asked.

“Some days I did. Other days, it was hard. But just like with anything you want in life, you have to work for it.”

“Thank you for showing us your jumps and spins,” Layla said. “And for teaching us.”

The three of them moved to the opening in the boards, and Lexi watched as Blake helped both girls to the bench, then knelt to take off their skates.

“That was great,” Wilder said from where he leaned against the boards. “You’re super talented.”

“Thanks.” Lexi wasn’t sure what more to say.

“The girls are never going to stop talking about this,” Kayleigh said as she joined them. “It’s not every day they get to take lessons from an Olympian.”

Lexi schooled her expression to keep from grimacing. As far as she was concerned, the fewer people who knew that about her, the better.

“Are you finding that the people coming to the rink are experienced skaters?” Hudson asked.

“Several have had enough experience that they were able to stay up on their blades. Others have needed more help. Especially the kids.”

“Are you open to more coaching?” Kayleigh asked. “I know you kind of did this as a favor to me.”

“The hours here at the rink make it a bit difficult. If it’s kids wanting lessons, I would only have Saturday and Sunday mornings available, since they’d be in school during the week.”

“Well, if it becomes too much to give the girls lessons, just let us know,” Charli said. She held an adorable baby facing out on her hip. The little girl looked at Lexi with big brown eyes while she chewed on her fist. “We really appreciate your willingness to do this much.”

“I think it’ll be fine. Do they have a place to practice during the week?” Lexi asked.

“We have a local rink that we can go to. Although, since both Blake and I work, we are limited in the time we have to take them there.”

Lexi remembered all the times her mom had gotten up early with her to go sit in the cold rink and watch Lexi work with Mik and the coaches. She had to remember that these girls weren’t able to devote the time or energy to skating like she had at their age.

“Any practice they get is good. Have they entered any competitions?”

Charli shook her head. “They’ve really just been learning the basics. Their other teacher wasn’t a choreographer.”

“Let me know if you’re interested in them competing,” Lexi said. “I could come up with programs for them.”

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