Pixie and the Professor

Evidently they recognized him, "You're Pixie's Professor, right?" one of the women asked.

He chuckled a bit, "Yes, I'm Pixie's Professor!"

"She told us you would be coming, go ahead!"

"Thank you!"

Practice hadn't started yet, as the majority of the women were skating around, stretching and finishing putting on their gear. He was almost bowled over when Pixie sped up to him and hugged him. The skates put a full four or so inches added to her height. "You came!" she almost shouted.

He kept his voice a lot quieter. "Yes, I did, several times, thank you very much, and I'm here to watch you practice, too!" That elicited a laugh from her, "So did I! A good time was had by all!"

She directed him to the bleachers, the best place to hang out and watch a practice. There were a handful of other guys there and more than a few children. Some were doing homework or some other activity, a few playing with toys and a couple of older ones with their phones out.

He watched the practice carefully. There were two obvious coaches there, one was working with the Jammers and the other with the blockers. There were stretches at the start and end. Some agility drills skating through and around various obstacles. A number of various scrimmage runs as the session went on. And then some endurance runs spinning around the floor. Will wondered how open they might be to some suggestions.

He talked with Pixie about some of the things she did, including the way she took a check from the blockers. He showed her a few moves he thought might help, how to redirect some of the force and energy away from her.

She tried using some of his suggestions and was rather surprised that they worked. Even the coaches could see the improvement and at next week's match they beat their opponents by a 2 to 1 margin. The following week, at the Monday practice, Pixie was talking with the other Jammers, she led them over to him and explained, "Look, you explain it a lot better than I can, can you show them what you showed me?"

Will looked at the handful of women standing there. "Give me a minute!"

He walked over to where the two coaches were talking. "Hey, guys. Look, I've been working with Pixie on a few things, and she's been trying to share with the other Jammers. She wants me to explain these ideas to the other Jammers, but I don't want to step on any toes."

"So these ideas are what has almost doubled Pixie's scoring at the last match?" It was Frank, the head coach.

"Well, the ideas are sound, and she has put them to good use."

"So these ideas, where did they come from, have you ever rolled before?"

"Never skated. But the human body only works in certain ways. And energy and gravity are very specific in how they work and affect what's around them."

"And you learned this, how?"

Will made a sort of face, he'd have preferred to keep it under wraps, but realized he'd have to show he had some qualifications. "I teach Asian History. And one cannot really delve into the culture of the various countries in Asia without including the study of the many martial arts. My dissertation is on some of the history of these skills. I've had extensive training in several of these arts."

"Such as...?"

"3rd Degree Black Belt in shorin ryu. Teaching certificate in Tai Chi Chuan, extensive instruction in a few others, Kung Fu, Hapkido, Iaido and kobudo."

"You want to teach them to fight?"

"No, no, no, fact is, I'd rather you kept that part under wraps. Hell, I haven't even told Pixie about that! Most of the ideas involve having a good understanding of the forces involved more than they do about fighting. I think that helping them have a better feel for some of these concepts would improve their overall performance. "

Stephanie, the other coach, "Do these concepts only work with the Jammers?"

"They apply to everyone, and not just on the track, but everyday."

"Well, it is obvious that your ideas have value, unless Wheel Pixie's performance Saturday was a total fluke. What do you propose?"

"Ten to fifteen minutes each practice. It can be before, after, or even during a break. First few are pretty much some basic explanations of the concepts. Later there will be some exercises, but they are such that they can do some of them on their own or when working with one or two others. And," waving in the general direction of a couple of the walking wounded, a cast on one arm, crutches on another and another arm in a sling, "It is likely to reduce the number of injuries."

"I certainly vote for that!" stated Stephanie. "But I think there needs to be a caveat."

"What's that?" Frank was nodding, but had a puzzled look on his face.

"I think he needs to do it on skates! That will help with the credibility factor."

Frank chuckled, "Agreed! You want to do the first one today? We'll give you a pass on the skates for this session."

So Will found himself in front of a crowd of almost 30 people, explaining some basic concepts of balance and gravity.

Pixie helped him find some second hand skates that didn't set his budget back too much and spent some time helping him get comfortable on them. They'd hit the park or even just skate around the neighborhood a bit. His balance was pretty good, but it took a while to get comfortable with the lack of friction with the ground.

The team did well in their matches, very well. They were undefeated and broke into the top 25 teams in the country and got an invitation to one of the regional competitions. Even against some of the top teams in the country, they were dominating the scoring, easily beating the competition. And before they knew it, summer was over and the fall semester was coming up fast.

Pixie was chewing her lip again. He knew when she did that something was rolling around in her brain. He waited patiently and finally she sighed. "Okay, Will, I'm going to ask you a question, I don't know what the results will be and don't know how I'll feel about your answer either way. I hope I'm okay either way. Ready?"

"I'm ready, Julie." He knew when they were alone and she used his first name and not his nickname, that she was being very serious.

"Can I move in with you? Before you answer! I'm not happy in my current place, I just don't seem to fit. Some of the things they cook just smell terrible. There's a rather larger difference than I would expect between a couple undergrads and a grad student. As strange as it may seem, they party way more than I like. My lease is up at the end of the month and I really don't want to sign a new one. I can contribute to the rent of this place. We already spend several nights a week together and we haven't really found any big problems. I can put my stuff in the downstairs room here, there's almost nothing in there. I can set up my own study area there. I've got a couple pieces of furniture we can add to the living room and fill it in a bit. I'm going to graduate next May, so the worst case would be I move out then."

Will thought about it. They were already spending a lot of time together, even meeting for lunch on campus once or twice a week. "I see, so you are really moving in so you can use my jet tub."

She took a swipe at him in response to his teasing.

"Okay, let's do it. But let's put together a formal rental agreement with all the specifics. That will protect both of us if something should happen between us, sort of like it never rains if you have your umbrella, we can put it away and never look at it. From a practical standpoint it will save us both some gas money and travel time. And I'm certainly going to be cheaper than your current lease."

"I rather like the idea of having you around, you are always fun to watch and fun to do things with and I don't just mean the sexy stuff which is pretty damn amazing. And, Julie," it was his turn to put the serious note into things, "Whether you realize it or not, I have fallen completely and hopelessly in love with you!"

She squealed and launched herself at him. "I feel the same way, but was afraid it was too early to say it!"

They agreed very early on that he was not going to be on top of her at any time. His weight on her for even a couple minutes would smother her, or even crush her ribs. The closest thing to a missionary was to have her at the edge of the bed and he would stand to the side and plunge into her while standing. That was pretty good as his hands were free to roam over her body, caressing her face, tweaking her nipples. Her squeals of delight always made his heart sing.

There was no doubt that he was a tight fit. A bit of lubricant was always a big help. Sitting in a chair with her on his lap was one of his favorite positions. Once she slid down the length of his shaft, he could just hold her.

Pixie was not really happy. The first match of the season was on Friday night, it would be the first anniversary of their meeting and the Professor wasn't going to be in town. He had to go and defend his dissertation in front of the committee. But he had promised that he would be back in time for the after party at the latest.

Will was pretty sure he was going to be back earlier, much earlier. The committee was meeting at nine in the morning. His advisor told him that the defense seldom went more than three hours. So even if they took a break for lunch and came back, it should all be done by mid-afternoon. With a four hour drive, which he knew he could do in three and a half if traffic was good, he'd be back before the match started.

He touched base with Molly and Angela and told them what he wanted. The plan was to do it at the end of the first match, the one she was skating in. And they helped him set it up.

He arrived before the start of the match, but made sure to keep a low profile and tried to stay out of sight of Pixie and, as far as he knew, he was successful. She did very well, scoring almost half the team's points as they cruised to an easy victory. As the last jam was starting up, he slid onto the bleachers, pretty much the same place as he normally sat. Pixie was so focused on her position that she didn't even look at the bleachers, which is what he expected. As the whistle blew signaling the end of the last jam, Molly and Angela proceeded to take Pixie by her arms and pretty much pulled her over to the bleachers and pushed her into them, right where he was. Expecting things this time, he easily caught her. Her eyes lit up when she recognized him and she squealed, "You made it, Professor!"

"That's Doctor Professor!" And his voice was booming out of the loudspeaker system, someone was holding the announcer's microphone near his face. With that statement the entire team gave some whoops and cheers. Will continued, "Wheel Pixie, a year ago at the first match of the season, you took a heavy check and flew across the track and into my lap. We have hardly been apart since then. And I am totally and hopelessly in love you. I can't imagine life without you, so, would you marry me?" He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and presented it to her. The entire crowd went crazy at that point, and while the 'Doctor Professor' wasn't a clear reference, the proposal was understood by everyone.

And he could barely hear her whispering in his ear, "Of course I'll marry you!"