A/N: Thank you to Ida-Cullen, JCI, AnnabelGrey, alliclaire, and KK161990 for your reviews! I thought Payson and Sasha deserved a real date. I also agree with JCI and AnnabelGrey that Kim is TOTALLY a closet Payson/Sasha fan. Love it!
Anyway, here's chapter 7! Hope you all enjoy. As always, let me know if you do! It may make me less likely to combust after my final tomorrow morning.
Chapter 7
"Sasha, we cannot do this here!" Payson hisses as Sasha pulls her in close and thoroughly ravishes her mouth. He can't imagine ever wanting to kiss anyone else for as long as he lives. Payson's mouth fits perfectly with his, they work together in the best ways possible. If he didn't need to breathe, he'd never take his lips off of hers.
"It's been so long," Sasha pouts as Payson ducks out of his arms. He pouts like a little boy and she purses her lips. It makes him want to kiss her again, but the other gymnasts are arriving and he knows he can't. It's been weeks since their trip to Aurora, and Sasha hasn't been able to justify taking her on another date, but he's going crazy, not able to touch her on a regular basis. They need a solution.
"I know, we'll figure something out," Payson says. She scurries from the office to join her friends on the mat.
He spends a few moments watching her; the cat-like way she stretches, the grace with which she moves across the room. He realizes at times like this how much she's blossomed, becoming more comfortable with her body, her curves, her femininity. She's truly incredible, and sometimes he's struck dumb by it.
"You look like someone just kicked your puppy," Kim Keeler says as she enters the office. Sasha shakes himself from thoughts of Payson and turns to Kim.
"No, just thinking," he says.
"Anything important?" Kim asks. Sasha shakes his head, hoping Kim won't push.
"Not really." Sasha sits down at his desk and pulls up the Internet page he'd been looking at when Payson hurried in for a quick morning kiss. Page after page of apartment listings appear.
Sasha isn't planning on leaving the trailer, or the Rock parking lot, but lately he's been thinking more and more that he and Payson need a place where they can just be themselves. That can't happen at the trailer, because Sasha has always had an open door policy and gymnasts come and go at all hours. If he rents an apartment though, he and Payson can have dinner together, they can have date nights, they can be together without being guarded and rushed. He has more than enough money, and maybe someday, when all is out in the open, they can actually move in and share it together. For now, though, they just need a space that's their own.
Sasha hears Payson's strong, clear voice finishing the team warm ups and quickly bookmarks a few apartments that look promising before heading out to the floor.
#
After practice, Sasha heads over to the first apartment. It's within walking distance of the Rock, in a fairly new apartment complex filled with mostly college students. The apartment is nice enough; bright walls and big windows, a spacious living room and a kitchen twice the size of his trailer. There's a bedroom with a large queen bed and a connecting bathroom. Not that they'll be using the bedroom, but it's nice that it's there. The best part is that the apartment comes furnished, so Sasha will have to supply very little. It's perfect.
"You're a little older than the crowd we usually get in here," Liz, the complex manager says as she brings in the lease agreement and a few other things. Sasha smiles.
"This is close to where I work, which is what I need," Sasha explains. Liz nods, not seeming terribly interested as long as he isn't going to be dealing drugs out of one of her units.
"Okay, well here's the lease. It runs year to year, and a renewal notice is due sixty days before the lease expires, or you'll risk losing the unit. Rent is due the first of every month. Any questions?" Liz asks, taking the signed lease from Sasha and handing him a key.
"One, actually. Would it be possible for me to make a copy of this key for my girlfriend?" Sasha asks. It feels inadequate to call Payson his girlfriend, she's really so much more, but it's the easiest term to use for now.
"She won't be living here right? Cause if she is…"
"No," Sasha promises. "She won't be living here, but sometimes she needs a little space from her family, and I want her to be able to come over even if I'm not here." It's a lie, sort of, but Sasha figures that what Liz doesn't know, won't hurt her. Liz seems unconvinced, but digs an extra key out of the move in packet.
"Here."
"Thanks," Sasha says. Liz leaves him to his new hideaway.
#
The entire next day, Sasha works to get the apartment ready to show Payson. He gets everything they'll need; dishes and appliances, art to hang on the walls, anything he can possibly think of. Granted, he's never been one for much decoration and he doesn't have much of an eye for it, but he models it after what he's seen in others houses, especially Payson's.
When he's finally satisfied, he locks the door and heads back to the Rock, where practice is just finishing. He sends Summer and Kim on an errand so that they won't be in the office, and waits for Payson. She appears just a few moments after practice ends, hands on her hips and trying to look stern. Sasha tries not to smile.
"Where have you been all day?" She demands. He doesn't say anything, just smiles and beckons her forward. She quickly looks behind her to make sure the coast is clear and Sasha thanks whatever power might be out there that they won't have to hide forever. She takes his outstretched hands and he yanks her forward, playfully. She tumbles onto his lap, shrieking and laughing.
Sasha quiets her with a kiss, which she returns with fervor. He only indulges himself for a moment before releasing her, though she stays situated on his lap.
"I've been getting your present ready," he says cryptically. Payson narrows her eyes and he knows she's trying to figure him out. He delights in making her squirm, keeping her on her toes.
"What present?" Payson asks carefully.
"Can you get away tonight? For a while?" Sasha asks. Payson's brow furrows and she nods.
"Sure. I'll just tell my mom I'm hanging out with Emily." Payson pulls out her cell phone, but Sasha gently grabs her wrist.
"And what if she calls Emily? Or Emily calls looking for you?" Sasha asks. Payson gives him a look that tells him just how far past being a teenager he is.
"Sasha, everyone tries my cell first. And I'll tell Emily to cover for me," Payson says with a shrug.
"Won't she want to know what you're doing?"
"Nah. Now hush." Payson presses a finger to his lips and dials her mother. Sasha opens his mouth and catches her finger between his teeth, biting down gently. Payson pulls her finger away and glares.
"Hi mom? Yeah, uh I'm gonna hang out with Emily for a while, okay? No, I don't need a ride anywhere. I will. Bye."
Payson hangs up the phone and Sasha watches as she taps out a lightning fast text that he assumes is to Emile. Then she puts her phone down and looks back at him. In that moment, Sasha's confidence wavers a little bit. He pushes the unease down though, the same way he conquered nerves about a meet when he was competing, and smiles at her.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Sure. Always ready for a present," Payson says, a giddy light coming into her eyes. She climbs off his lap and he leads the way.
Sasha knows Payson is confused, and she gets more confused with each passing second. When he turns into the apartment complex, she looks completely bewildered.
"Sasha, what are we doing here?" Payson asks, turning to him. He had planned to take her up to the apartment before explaining his idea, but he's too excited. He parks the truck in their spot and then digs in his pocket for the key. Holding it up, he smiles at her.
"I still don't understand, Sasha," Payson says slowly.
"It's a key," Sasha says, handing it to her.
"But to what?" Payson begs.
"To an apartment. For us. We need a place where we can be just us, like in Aurora, and this is it," Sasha explains.
"You're moving out of the trailer?" Payson asks, staring at the building. Sasha reaches out and brushes his thumb over her cheek, bringing her attention back to him.
"No. Neither of us will be living here," yet he adds silently. "It's just a place where we can go when we want to be together."
For a few long minutes, Payson is silent. Sasha starts to worry that she doesn't like it, that he's overstepped his bounds. He worries he's pushed her, too hard, too fast. But then she turns to him with tears shining in her eyes and a smile so sweet it makes him want to cry, and he knows he's done the right thing.
"Thank you," she whispers. She holds the key tightly in her hand and leans over to kiss him, pressing her lips to his. He takes her face in his hands, loving how perfect she feels, and presses another kiss to her forehead.
"Want to go inside?" He asks. She nods, sniffing. Sasha sweeps his thumbs beneath her eyes to catch the tears that are just starting to escape and then leads her upstairs.
He watches as she explores the apartment, wide eyed and smiling. She makes the rounds, much like she did at his house in Cambria, starting at one point and making a circuit, touching things along the way. She stops in front of the one thing he knew he had to hang on the wall; a cut out from the paint exercise he'd had her do after her injury. It was one of the first times she'd connected with her new identity, and he'd kept it.
She traces her fingers over the bright swirls and lines, smiling. She turns to him.
"You kept this?" She asks. Sasha just nods. She looks at it a moment more before her smile turns wicked.
"Show me the bedroom, Sasha," she says. He hesitates a moment, realizing one of the dangers of not having to look over their shoulder. It will be that much harder for him to control himself around her, though he knows he has to.
He leads her to the bedroom, staying in the doorway as she slips past him, trailing her fingers over his hip. She turns to face him and walks backwards, taking her hair out of its bun along the way, until her legs hit the edge of the bed. She gives him what can only be described as a come-hither look and crooks a finger at him.
Sasha feels like his feet move of their own accord, like she has him on a string, which is fine by him. He stalks towards her as she sits down and scoots to the head of the bed. Never once do her eyes leave his. When he reaches the bed, he hesitates. Can he really control himself if they're in a bed, in an apartment all alone?
"Sasha, I trust you," Payson says, once again reading his mind. He smiles and sets a knee on the bed, crawling up and over her. Using his arms to support his weight so he doesn't crush her, he leans in and brushes his lips along her law line. She sneaks her hands beneath his t-shirt, running them up and down his chest, scratching lightly. Sasha groans as he nuzzles her neck and she giggles.
As their lips fuse, Sasha slowly lowers his body so they're pressed together. One hand goes into her hair as the other rests on her waist, and he kisses her thoroughly. It's different, without the constant fear of being caught. All he can think about as they kiss is how easy it is, just to be with her, how they work with each other just as well when they're being significant others as they do when they're being coach and athlete.
Sasha rolls over so that Payson is on top of him and hugs her tightly. She grunts and giggles against his lips before sitting up and reaching for the hem of his shirt. He helps her lift it off and then she tosses it across the room before reaching for her own.
"Payson, wait," Sasha says gruffly, laying his hands over hers.
"Why?" Payson asks quietly.
"We need to slow down."
"Sasha, I'm not taking off my pants. It's just a shirt," Payson sighs. Sasha takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes closed, trying not to throw self control out the window.
"I know, Payson. But it's so easy to say that and then lose yourself and keep going," Sasha explains, propping himself up on his elbows. Payson frowns and Sasha hates that he just reminded her of how much more experience he has.
"Sasha, I'm not a little girl. I know perfectly well that there are a ton of steps between what we do and sex, and we're both controlled people. We're not going to let it happen before it should," Payson promises. Sasha sighs.
"Payson, when it comes to you I am the least controlled man alive," Sasha grumbles. She leans down, her hair tickling his chest and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"Well then I'll have to be controlled enough for the both of us," she whispers, before nibbling on his ear. He shivers and watches, speechless, as Payson sits up and pulls off her shirt in one quick motion.
"You're going to be the death of me, you vixen," Sasha groans as he rolls them back over. Oh yes, Sasha's in big trouble.