Grip Tape

The Fall

Wind whipped the hair from my face as I watched the sun disappear into the edge of the concrete. The adrenalin courses through my veins as a result of the speed as I descended into the bowl. I take a breath and close my eyes for a moment. Everything slows down and all that matters is this moment.
I started skating when I was nine when I got my first hand-me-down board from my brother, Josaya.
"Be safe and ride long, Hannah," he would say. That was a decade ago. Now he's with the Marines in some foreign country doing bad-ass military stuff. Some people see skating as crazy and looking for certain death but he and I see skating as a way of celebrating life in all aspects. Just like now.
I open my eyes just as I come up to the mouth of the bowl again and grab the deck of my board, turn, and race down the side again. My heart starts pounding as I feel the board come out from under my feet. In one swift move, I role onto my side and skid on my protective gloves. When I finally stopped moving, I raised my head slowly. Still here, I thought as I checked for a concussion. Though my head was unscathed, my side was less fortunate. My white tank top was shredded with a gnarly scrape peeking from underneath. Not bleeding though, I thought, though it was already beginning to burn.
"Hey! Are you alright!?" A voice spoke from above.
"God, is that you?" I answer sarcastically. There was a swishing sound of someone sliding into the bowl.
"Nope," the person chuckled in good nature and crouched by my side. I was now looking at a pair of dusty grey skinny jeans and a pair of black canvas skate-shoes. Looking up, I see a beautiful angelic face looking back at me. His eyes are a sparkling blue and his hair a shade of chocolate brown with warm red tips.
The air leaves my lungs and doesn't return for a long moment until I suddenly remember the importance of oxygen. He reached out to help me up, and when I took his hand, he gently raised me to my feet. My heart flutters as I utter," thank you" and offer a soft smile.
Standing on my left ankle became hard as the angry sprain announced its presence. I shifted my weight away from it so I was standing on my right foot alone. Maybe he won't notice. Look natural!!
"I'm Nathan," he introduced himself.
"I'm Hannah," I said as smooth as I could, though my voice is shaking.
"That fall was pretty nasty, are you going to be alright?" He questioned.
"Yeah, it's fine. I've fallen worse than that before," I said. I wasn't exactly lying either. When I was twelve, I pulled a stunt in front of my friends and landed wrong. The result was a broken wrist and my wounded pride, but at least I waddled away with dignity.
"Your definitely not okay, that scrape is gushing pretty bad and you're avoiding your left foot," he pointed out. Damn he noticed!
He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled my arm around his shoulder. We limped over to the side and once he scaled the wall, he reached down and lifted me with ease. There was a clinic right inside of the rec-center with a little sector just for skaters, just in case someone was unfortunate enough to fall in the bowl or miss the grind rail and eat it. That's where Nathan took me.
We hobbled in awkwardly and a when the nurse took me back, Nathan followed close behind. His eyes were soft and concerned. He sat and waited as the nurse patched up the "gruesome gash" that was my shallow scrape. After checking my ankle for a break, and deeming it sprained, we left.

That was the day I fell. I didn't just fall from my board, I fell for the boy with the blue eyes and red tipped hair.