“You’d never let me drown.”
“Good. Now, what are we doing first?”
I’ve never concentrated on something so hard in my life. Even with the added element of the water, every move so far, which we’ve practiced at least ten times each, has been very easy.
The depth of the pool is enough to give her that security she needs, while still allowing us to work with our height difference. She told me we’re starting the hard ones now and immediately her enthusiasm has changed.
“I lean forward and push my body up from your hips,” she says, putting both her hands on my hip bones. “My cheek is going on your shoulder like this. Sort of lock your arms under my rib cage and lean back. It’s almost like a counterweight situation.”
I do exactly what she says, slowly leaning back as her body rises out of the water, legs extended perfectly. I have a great view of her ass right now, but I’m happy about the lift too.
Her body lowers down, and I stay in position until she tells me I can stop. Her smile is practically infectious and I’m so relieved this seems to be working. We do it another handful of times until she’s happy.
“What are we doing next, Coach?”
Pressing her fingers to her lips, her cheeks blush and she shakes her head. “I don’t want to show you.”
“I promise I won’t drop you.”
She splashes her hands against the water, looking anywhere but me. “It’s not only that. Uh, I’m kind of concerned you’re going to get an eyeful of what’s between my legs. I have to spread my legs wide while I’m above your head.”
I’ve seen her do this one; I’d say her concerns are valid, given the size of her piece of string. “You can’t show me anything I haven’t already seen. You’ve used my face as a seat, Anastasia. I’m a big fan of your work—arguably your biggest fan.”
She mutters, “For fuck’s sake,” under her breath and turns around to face away from me. “Ready?” She links her fingers with mine and counts down from three. I push her up in the air, locking my arms as her legs spread out. She’s wobbling a little and her hands are gripping me tighter.
“Don’t panic, I’ve got you. I’d catch you before you even hit the water, baby. Concentrate.” I can hear her muttering to herself, but I can’t work out what she’s saying and after a few seconds the wobbling stops, and she begins to laugh. Her legs drop down and I slowly lower her back into the water. “Well done, you’re doing so well.”
We practice a handful more times until she’s happy we’ve nailed it, and each time I lower her back into the water, I can feel the fear slipping away.
“You’re really strong, you know,” she says, almost like she’s surprised. I’m not getting into it with her because I know that she probably weighed herself this morning and now isn’t the time.
“Why don’t we do the lift you were doing when you were dropped. Is that the one worrying you the most?”
She floats in front of me in the water explaining the ins and outs of the move but doesn’t let me touch her. I sink down so my shoulders are submerged, too, and listen to her tell me where our hands need to go. I can hear the anxiety in her voice, and I can’t imagine how much worse it’d be if she had hit the ice.
“Anastasia, listen to me. I’m not going to drop you, and even if I did, you’re going in the water. That’s the absolute worst thing that could happen. You get wet hair and a mouth full of gross
Maple Hills pool water.”
“I know I’m being silly, I’m sorry. I trust you, I promise.”
“Come on, no more talking. Let’s do it.” We get into position, and before she has time to change her mind, she’s above my head, balancing on one of my hands. Even with my hand only on her hip, I can feel the way her body is shaking and can hear her erratic breathing. “Deep breaths.”
“Let me down, I don’t like it.”
“Try to make yourself fall, Stas. Wiggle about. Move as much as you can.”
“You’re being ridiculous!”
“Just do it!”
She mutters some expletives as she begins to thrash about above my head. It takes me all of one second to get my other hand on her other hip and it doesn’t matter how much she moves, she’s not going anywhere. I give her another ten seconds of moving around, trying to get free before I slowly lower her back into the water in front of me, hands still secured on her hips.
“See? You’re safe.”
Her stomach is flat against mine, arms tight around my neck, breathing labored. “What did I do to deserve you?”
I press my lips against her forehead, thinking about the best way to answer that question. There isn’t one, so I’ll have to settle. “I don’t know, but I’d like you if you had crab hands too.”