Free Laying Low in Hollywood by Jean Marie Stanberry Page B

completely and was laying on top of me.  I was laughing as I struggled to push him off of me, he was heavy!  He floundered around on the ice for a few moments, then he finally managed to scramble to his feet.  It was so hilarious, I could only lay there on the ice and laugh.  Maurice had skated over with his camera and was panning in close, capturing our embarrassment for all of America to see.  I was still laughing hysterically.
     
       “Oh my God, are you okay?  Did I hurt you?” cried Ron.  He started to skate toward me, I scrambled to my feet quickly.  I knew he hadn’t mastered stopping yet, and I really didn’t want him on top of me again!
     
       “I’m thinking that crossovers are maybe something you should work on alone,” I told him with a sly smile.
     
       “Really are you okay?” he asked, anxiously.  I felt bad, he looked worried. 
     
       “Didn’t your football coach teach you anything?” I asked.
     
       “Huh?”
     
       “Rule number one, never tackle your coach.  Rule number two, no cooler full of Gatorade on my head when we win,” I told him with a little laugh.
     
       He laughed.  “Seriously, are you sure you’re okay?  I fell right on top of you,” he said, his voice was filled with concern.
     
       “I was a professional skater Ron, this is not the first time I’ve fallen on the ice,” I told him with a smile.  Ron smiled back at me, then he gave me a serious look.
     
      “What were you like, back when you were a professional skater?” he asked, looking into my eyes, mesmerizing me once again.
     
       I shook my head in an effort to shake off the spell he was casting over me.  No moment was ever private, I could see Maurice filming us out of the corner of my eye.  I sighed miserably.
     
       “I was pretty much the same person I am now, except I was younger and prettier...probably stupider too,” I told him with a little smile.
     
       “I can’t imagine you being any prettier.  Did you have to fend off the guys with a stick?” he asked, giving me a sly smile.
     
       My heart was suddenly pounding again as he looked down into my eyes, and that smile...well, it was too bad that Mr. Brannon was married, because if he wasn’t, I just might have to flirt with him.  I took a deep breath and tried to focus. 
     
       “That’s what I had a partner for,” I told him with a little wink.  I silently berated myself, okay, so I slipped up a little bit.  No more flirting, from here on out.
     
      He smiled at me and I slowly started to skate backwards away from him.
     
       “All right, back to work.  We need to work on your crossovers Mr. Brannon, you’re going to follow me, and you are going to do them all on your own, come on, skate this way!”  I called to him as I skated away.
     
       Soon he was following me as I attempted to help him with his crossovers at each corner.  I skated backwards in front of him, telling him what to do, he followed and attempted to do as I said. 
     
       The first three turns resulted in serious wipe outs.  I felt bad for him, but I was glad that he wasn’t taking me down with him each time.  I had old injuries too and I really didn’t want to get hurt.
     
       By the fourth turn, he had actually started to get it.  He was very shaky, but his skates were under control and he didn’t fall.  After about half an hour of him following me around the rink, I actually felt brave enough to skate with him and help him with his stroking.
     
       I was actually enjoying skating with him, as we glided around the rink.  It was the first time in quite a while, I had skated with a man who was anywhere near my age.  I was used to working with up and coming skaters, most of them were just nearing adulthood.
     
       Ron was very strong, which was going to help me immensely with his training.  I could feel the strength in his body as we skated around the rink together.  His muscular