Page 57 of Alpha & Omega

He raised a brow and watched me dubiously as I spun my board upright. “If I get hurt, you get to take care of me.”

I smiled broadly and cupped his face with my free hand. “I always will.”

His face softened, and his eyes turned into what? It looked almost like adoration, not that I had vast amounts of experience in that department.

Our eyes shuttered closed as we kissed, but didn’t deepen it.

“Let’s get started,” I said when we pulled away. “You should’ve gotten yourself some gear, too.”

“Don’t you have any?”

“I’m experienced and know how to fall.”

I walked over to our blankets, where several sets of gear were piled, and grabbed some of them for him. After I got him protected, I grabbed my board, and we walked over to the least crowded spot to learn the basics.

“So first, we’ll learn the simple stuff, like balancing, walking the board, and pushing off.”

“I feel like I’m too old for this,” he chuckled nervously.

“You know, Tony Hawk is fifty-six and still skating.” There were several other famous skateboarders who were older, but even non-skateboarders knew of Tony.

“Fair enough. Okay, let’s do this.”

“The first step is easy. You’re simply going to walk the board. Put your right foot on top straight, then walk like you normally would.”

I demonstrated for him before he easily took over.

“Awesome. Next, you’re going to do the same thing, but then you’re going to put your left leg at the back of the board, and after that, you’ll adjust your right leg horizontally. Once your board is moving, you can wiggle the board back and forth to change directions. Just make sure you keep your knees slightly bent.”

Soon, I had him stepping off the board with the other leg, walking it, hopping on, rolling, and turning, alternating between legs. Next, we practiced stopping.

“This is only to give you a solid base before moving on to more complex moves,” I explained. “Now we can learn a back kick and a turn.”

“You think I’m ready?” he asked, looking uncertain.

I shrugged. “You’re padded. Seriously, you’re pretty steady, so I’m not concerned. You’ve got good balance, probably from all that darting and maneuvering in the kitchen while working.”

I demonstrated how to kick back with my board, which involved lifting the front by pushing on the back. “Turning is fairly easy. To do that, you first need to move your head in the direction you want to go, hold your arms out for balance, twist your shoulders and arms with your head, and then kick back and turn the board.”

Harley practiced that several more times, getting it down until he got cocky and tried for a bigger turn. The board slipped out from under him, but I wasright there to catch him—or my body was. I fell onto my back on the concrete, and he fell on top of me.

“Oof, you’re heavier when I’m flattened on the ground,” I wheezed.

Harley scrambled up and reached for me. “Sorry, sorry.”

When I grabbed his hand, he hefted me up and dusted off my back and ass, making me laugh. “I’m okay, Chef. I fall a lot. Anyway, I think that’s good for one day. You did pretty good, actually.”

“I had a good teacher.”

Before we could reach each other to kiss, Hudson came running up to us excitedly with Stix, Nacho, and Pippin behind him.

“Dad! Watch! I learned how to do an ollie.”

He dropped his new board on the ground and pushed off. As he rolled steadily, he kicked and flipped his back, launching the board into the air. He then jumped and landed back on the board.

We all clapped. “Nice work, Hud,” I said. “That was spot on and steady. You’re a natural.”

“He really is. Teaching him has been a breeze,” Nacho said.

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