Payson woke up to the sound of laughter coming from the living area. Usually she was the first one up of the girls but she had the day off, and was told by Sasha to sleep in. Told was really an understatement, more like commanded. As she stepped out into the living area, she immediately saw what everyone was laughing about. Her parents were center screen on the TV, cheering her on. Her mom was jumping up and down, and her dad was pumping his fist, both of them screaming for joy.
Her parents had always been loud supporters of her at meets. When she won worlds in 2011, NBC had caught them in their cameras doing something similar. Since then they had been sure to put Microphones and cameras wherever they were seated. "Payson you have to come see this" Lauren said when she noticed Payson in the room. Payson ignored her and instead ventured into the kitchen area to start making herself breakfast. There was a cafeteria downstairs, but Sasha had insisted that they all eat from a special diet, and he didn't trust the cafeteria to be able to maintain that diet.
Payson made herself her egg white omelet filled with all the fresh vegetables Sasha required. She filled out her food journal, something Payson was sure was more for Kaylie then any of the other gymnasts. As team captain Payson still did keep an extra eye on Kaylie, and she knew that Kaylie was checking in with her therapist at least once a day. Payson wished she had someone to talk to.
After eating breakfast and cleaning up Payson went back to her room. She had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do with herself now. She was banned from the practice gym for the day, and Sasha demanded that she rest. Screw that she thought. She quickly got dressed in workout gear and headed for the gym. As soon as she reached the exit to the dorm a familiar cough was heard behind her.
"Where do you think you are going?" Payson turned to see the smug smile on her coach's face. She wished she could just wipe the smirk off of his face, or perhaps kiss it off. She almost did when the team had won team gold. Her feelings had never subsided for her coach, in fact after the whole kissing debacle they just got stronger every day she worked with him. Payson never acted on these feelings, she was too terrified he would leave her again.
"Just going out for a run" Payson said as she turned back to the exit. "Stop" Payson stopped in her tracks. "A run with your gym bag?" Sasha asked while turning her face to his with his hands. He had found out not long ago that she couldn't lie to his face. "Fine I was going to the gym to do a full circuit, get some final practice." "Figures that even at the Olympics you still disobey me." Sasha said as he let go of her face. "Hey it has gotten me this far" was Payson's quick retort. Payson didn't hear what Sasha's whispered response was, but she was pretty sure it was along the lines of "cheeky brat".
"Come with me" Sasha said as he took her gym bag. Payson followed looking defeated. Sasha took her over to the men's dorm, and into his suite. He pointed to the TV and told her to sit down. After finding some cheesy comedy, he popped the DVD into the player and hit play. Before the opening sequence he told her to put her feet up and relax. Sasha then started working on some miscellaneous paperwork, taking the couch beside the one Payson was laying on. There was no way for Payson to escape even if she wanted to.
Payson knew that once the Olympics were over she would see very little of her coach for a while. He had announced his commitment to stay at the Rock after the Olympics, but she would be all over the country for press events and sponsorships. As much as she was excited for the competition the next day, she wouldn't mind time just stopping right now, allowing her and her coach to relax together. She knew she would miss him terribly. In fact the idea of being away from him started to make her sick.
Payson tried to center her concentration on the movie. It didn't help her at all. All she could think about was being apart from Sasha. She hadn't been apart from him in the last year except for a few days during the holidays to visit relatives in Minnesota. She rarely didn't see him on Sundays, even though they technically both had the day off. As it got closer to the Olympics she tended to go to the gym seven days a week, although she usually just did conditioning on Sunday.
None of the other girls went to the gym on Sunday. The first time she went Sasha was there waiting for her. He spent two hours arguing with her over the importance of rest, until finally she agreed that she would only do conditioning on Sundays. Sasha would participate in conditioning with her on Sundays, as he wanted to make sure she wasn't practicing by herself. They would spend the entire day conditioning together, and enjoying each other's company. Neither one would admit it, but each week they would look forward to Sundays.
While Payson was reminiscing she fell asleep. Sasha tried to wake her, but exhaustion must have finally set in. He was sure that throughout the week all of Payson's nerves and her stress were getting to the girl. She was living her dream, and all the hard work and sacrifice that got her here was also weighing on her to not fail. Add in the five gold medals already in her name and the pressure to get her sixth medal must be insane. He was actually surprised that she hadn't collapsed of exhaustion sooner.
Sasha carried her bridal style back to her dorm room. Thankfully when he entered the suite, none of the other girls were there. He placed her on her bed, took off her sneakers and socks, and placed the covers over her. As if on automatic Sasha leant down and kissed Payson's forward whispering "sweet dreams". He then left the girls dorm room, and went back to his dorm.