got a brand new pair of rollerskates Who: BB & Max. What: BB attempts to teach Max how to rollerskate. Where: Pax Letale parking lot. When: Afternoon on a weekend.
BB texted Max to meet her downstairs one Saturday afternoon, merely including a few rollerskate emojis to subtly imply the meaning behind her invitation. She'd been too excited after their impromptu discussion about roller derby, and now she was hellbent on getting Max up to speed so they could both try out for the local team.
Dressed in her workout gear, she was sitting on the curb when Max appeared through the Pax Letale entrance, looking for her. Grinning, BB waved, one hand still holding the laces of her right skate that she'd been in the middle of tying. She held up a second pair.
"Let's go, Maxie! Time to get that cute ass on wheels!"
Max had been expecting this ever since the St. Paddy’s day thing so she wasn’t all that surprised when she got the not-so-cryptic text. Fortunately for BB, she wasn’t working tonight, so she wasn’t sleeping the afternoon away in preparation of a long night out. With a smirk she pulled on some bike shorts and a relatively snug sleeveless top, which she assumed from the video BB showed her would be appropriate attire for skating, and took the stairs down to the lobby.
Outside she saw BB on the curb and grinned at her. “This better be good, you got me out of pajamas for this,” she said, sitting on the curb next to her and starting to unlace her trainers.
"I would not have complained if you showed up in those adorable kitty pajamas," BB replied, tying the last knot to keep her skates in place. She bounced up on one hand, and skated forward a little, managing to stay on all four wheels without too much trouble.
"See? Piece of cake," she started, starting to turn backward and tripping to fall flat on her ass. She sucked in a breath, rolling her eyes heavenward as she shook her head. "OK, I hit a rock or something, do not let that influence your opinion of my mad skills." Putting a hand to the ground, she got herself back on her wheeled feet.
Max couldn’t help but laugh at BB falling on her ass, though she was keenly aware that it would probably be her in a few minutes. She pulled off her shoes and tugged on the provided skates, impressed that they were actually her size. “Were you stalking my shoe size online or something?” she asked with a suspicious grin. “Does that information even exist about me online? I should google myself…” she trailed off, tying the first skate securely and then moving to the second.
BB was back on her feet, albeit shakily. She grinned, shrugging innocently. "You really should. You have no idea what people are saying about you. But no, I didn't get it from there; I'm just really...observative?" She'd made an educated guess, going with the average foot size. They were rentals, in the end, and she was just glad to have gotten it right. She practiced skating forward, getting more confident with her footing. "So, like, you've never been on skates before?" BB flung her arms wide to keep her balance, turning and starting a long oval shape as she periodically glanced at Max.
Max finished tying the second skate and looked up at BB. “Nope,” she said, carefully pushing up from the ground and leaning slightly forward on the brake to keep from rolling away as she stood. She took her time testing her balance, staying relatively in the one spot, though she drifted a little as the ground curved slightly under them. “They weren’t big on that kind of thing on the bases where I grew up. They were pushing stupid things like football and soccer. I liked the activity, but I thought the games themselves were stupid,” she said with a shrug, starting to find her new center of balance and slowly glide around with tiny shifts in her weight, slowly looping into a wide figure 8 around BB, though still making adjustments to her balance as she did.
After a moment it finally registered to her what BB had said before. “Wait, what are people saying about me online?” She had never looked herself up online before, using her computer mostly for email, videos, and research on venues she’d be going to with clients.
BB grinned widely. "Just that you're hot, you make good arm candy, and one site said you needed to lose 10 pounds to fit into that red dress that made you look like Jessica Rabbit at that last event, but they have no idea what they're talking about." She stretched out a hand, threading her fingers through Maxine's. "You know, you're not doing half bad with this. You're, like, a natural."
Max laughed out loud, “I can assure you that rumours of the supposed diet are completely made up,” she said, “nobody’s making me do anything, and besides, my ass looks fabulous.” She twisted a little to look down at it as if to emphasise her love of her own backside.
She gratefully clasped her hand with BB’s, letting her pull her along. “It’s all about balance though, isn’t it? It’s not much different than self defence - once you know your center of gravity, the rest is easy.” She leant back a little on her skates, rolling back a little and pulling BB with her so the two slowly circled each other with their hands clasped in the middle. “Now, racing competitively is a whole ‘nother deal,” she added with a smirk.
"Oh, for sure," BB replied, tugging the other woman along. She dropped Max's hand and fell behind her, putting her hands on either side of Max's waist to push her forward. "But that's what practice is for! We should find a hill..." She tried to surge forward, taking Max around in a loose oval similar to that of a roller derby track. "Once we get the speed and direction down, it should all be pretty easy don't you think? Shit, I should've brought a boombox with some music."
Max coasted along, giggling when BB pushed her from behind and enjoying the little rush of movement, allowing herself to be led around by her friend. “We should have found a hill before we put on the skates,” she pointed out. “Unless you want to try skating uphill. Is there like, a skate park or something nearby? That would rock. Also, we really should have shock pads or something, in case I fall on something that isn’t already padded,” she said, briefly putting her hands on her ass in emphasis.
"Aw, c'mon, Maxie," BB replied, her hands briefly sliding down atop Max's own on the woman's ass. "There's plenty of padding there. Gotta get some bruises and scrapes to earn our stripes! But I'm def interested in the skate park. I hadn't thought of that. We'll find one around here somewhere!"
She scooted Maxine forward more, trying to pick up the pace against a sudden gust of wind. "Don't tell me you're nervous??"
Max gasped in mock surprise. “Moi? Never, she said, leaning back a little against BB as she let herself be pushed around the parking lot. “It’s a bitch to have to try to cover up scrapes and bruises if I need to wear something backless or strapless or whatever, is all. Already looking beaten up is kind of a giveaway when you’re job is discreetly watch someone else’s back.”
She spun away from BB once they got to the edge of the parking lot, smoothly gliding around to face her. “So what do you say, want to try racing to the other side of the parking lot?” she asked. “Loser pays for takeout for dinner,” she added on a whim, grinning wickedly. She loved food. And free food always tasted better.
"Oh, you are so on," BB replied, moving around to match where Maxine was standing. She put one wheeled foot against the curb, waiting for Max to do the same, and then started to count them off to begin the race. "Three...two...one...go!"
She took off without a second thought, focused (mostly) on reaching the other side of the parking lot. She didn't honestly care if she had to pay for takeout; the fun was in the race itself. Once she was a little out ahead of Max, she edged into the woman's path, doing her best to mimic how events might take place on a derby track.
A wide smile broke out on Max’s face as she waited for the countdown and then raced off at the word ‘go’. The thrill of competition filled her with adrenaline and a giddy sense of excitement, causing her heart to start pumping faster and her limbs to tingle with anticipation. She glided easily, though part of her was still unsteady on the unfamiliar skates. The wind in her hair was exhilarating and she put all her energy into pushing as hard as she could with her legs, watching the curb quickly draw closer and closer and closer until it was too close to stop.
A split second before it happened she saw what was coming and braced for impact, her skate hitting the edge of the curb, tipping her over heavily onto the grass and the thankfully soft cushion of earth beneath it. She rolled onto her back, though fortunately there were no injuries, laughing until her stomach ached.
BB was just behind her, a close second. She sprawled in the grass next to Max. "Well," she admitted, turning over and pushing a few random strands of hair out of her eyes, "I'm not chicken shit enough to deny when I've been beat. So what're we eating?"
Max was still grinning, excitement still crawling around in her stomach. “Chicken wings,” she said matter-of-factly, “and garlic bread...and fried zucchini. Do bars deliver pub food?” she propped herself up on her elbows, noticing a piece of grass in BB’s hair and reaching over to pull it out. “You get to pick the movie though, you know more about them than I do.”
"That I do, that I do," BB replied, rolling over onto her knees so she could get up. Once she was standing on the grass, she offered a hand to Max. "Some bars do. I can do a quick Google search. But first we definitely need to earn our appetites. C'mon!"
She tugged her friend back toward the pavement, where they rolled for another hour or so before tiring themselves out enough to merit dinner.