The Hockey Star and the Ice Princess (Complete)

Ch. 17 - The triple

After Rachel was strapped into the harness around her waist, Cain strapped a black harness on himself that went around his waist and shoulders too and snapped a strong steel bar into a slot on the front of it. That steel bar curved straight upwards in an arch out in front of him and had a spinning pivot piece on the end that had several bungee cords attached to it that hooked to the harness around Rachel's waist. This would allow her to jump and spin freely and keep her from falling down.  It reminded Rachel of what she had seen acrobats wear when they were training for the circus.

"I made up this harness design myself and I already submitted a patent on it," Coach Sumners said proudly. "I custom made it for adults to use. Having the second harness around the waist of a bigger, stronger person lets you hold up the weight of a smaller adult so they can safely practice really hard dangerous jumps without the fear of falling." 

"Wow Coach," Rachel smiled. "That's actually really impressive. Have I ever told you you're a genius?"  

"Only about a million times," he laughed. 

"Well it's true. You're seriously the best figure skating coach in the world and if by some miracle I can pull this off and get that gold medal after a three year hiatus, I'm gonna tell everyone it was because of you," she smiled. "and Cain too of course. You both have been amazing."

"Thanks kid," Coach Sumners said with a smile. 

"Coach!" she groaned. "I'm twenty two now!" she laughed. "I think you can stop calling me kid already." 

"Nah, I don't care how old you get Rachel, you'll always be my kid. I couldn't be more proud of you than if you were one of my own biological children," he told her, and she saw his eyes getting misty. He blinked a few times and said, "Enough of that sentimental crap before you make me ball like a baby. Let's get to work," he laughed, rubbing the tears from his eyes. 

 "Ok Coach," she smiled. 

The coach walked away across to the other side of the rink and she looked up and her eyes met Cain's grey eyes and the way he looked at her made her stomach do a flip. 

"You're definitely not a kid," he whispered with a smirk, giving her a wink. That gave her butterflies and she tried to fight back a smile. 

"Okay! Let's go ahead and start with a single lutz to get you warmed up!" Coach Sumner called out from across the ice. 

Rachel took a deep breath and started skating around the rink and Cain started skating with her, holding tightly onto the steel bar that was holding her up that was attached to his waist. He could easily keep up with her with his hockey skates on. 

She looked back into his eyes as he skated behind her and it had a calming effect. She wasn't as anxious as she usually was before trying a jump. She skated backwards and bent her knee with her right arm behind her and stretched her right leg back and tapped her toe pick against the ice drawing both feet together and spinning once before landing smoothly on her right foot. She had her left leg up behind her and her arms out to the side. 

"Perfect technique!" her coach called out. "Let's do four more of those to warm up and if you land them all we'll try a double." 

She did four more singles and landed them easily. 

"Great! We're making good progress. You're getting more consistent and your technique is perfect which is the most important thing!" 

She could feel it too. She was getting consistent and feeling more confident. 

"Okay. Go ahead and try a double," he said. 

She took a deep breath in and let it out, shaking her hands and kicking her feet out to the side for a second