I do not own MIOBI. So, I reviewing my awesome reviews and noticed one of them said something about a competition. I turned to my sister and asked, "What did I promise?" She said, "Two words: San Antonio." Apparently, I forget what I write as soon as I post it. Does anyone else have this problem? No worries, competition next chapter.
Sasha was sitting in his office early Monday morning, thinking about the conversation he had had with Emily the night before. He had told her, as much as he hated to admit it, that he was proud of her and Damon's choice to keep the baby and take responsibility for their actions. After seeing how much Ana actually would have loved to have children, he knew that it pained her to see them regarded as disposable. Emily seemed to be at peace with her decision, which was better than what Sasha had expected when Ana told him that the Kmetko family would be eating dinner with them the night before. Emily had tried to ignore him and his presence at first, but he had successfully been able to convince her to talk to him.
Normally, he and Ana ate with the Keeler's on Sundays, but yesterday was different because the Keeler girls had decided to go to Canon City for a weekend of fun and White Water Rafting. This left the very cheerful Ana the opportunity to invite the Kmetko's over for dinner so to establish that they were still friends in spite of it all. During the course of the evening, between worrying about the welfare of Payson, Sasha discovered many interesting things.
Kim was still helping Khloe out with her children and with adjusting to her new life. Damon had moved in with them, making up the money which was lost with the scholarship. He and Emily planned on getting married after the baby was born. Brian was pleased to have another man in the house and Khloe had assured the two coaches that Emily was sleeping with her in the bedroom with Damon in Emily's old bed. This revelation made Ana giggle, but Emily blush deeply.
Sasha had made dinner while Brian kept him company, leaving the women to converse. Damon had excused himself, afraid that Sasha was going to beat him for knocking up one of his gymnasts. Sasha had briefly considered it, but wouldn't have really acted on such an impulse. With the men busy in the kitchen, Ana took the opportunity to complain about her awful diet that her horrible brother had her on. Emily had laughed, saying that now Ana knew the same resentment that all the gymnasts had for the dynamic duo. She covered her mouth in embarrassment as Ana chuckled. She told them that she already knew, four times over, the life of a gymnast.
Before dinner was complete, Ana told them that if they ever needed anything, just to ask. She said that she understood just needing a friend. Then, she shared with them her news of the cancer. Both women seemed to be genuinely upset for her.
Sasha had heard the entire conversation and he shook his head sadly at the recollection. Ana was already on her way to the research hub and Payson was currently doing school work in the annex. He was never so excited to see Payson at five in the morning when she came knocking on their door, ready to run. She and Ana seemed to enjoy the run, but Sasha kept thinking back to the night before. Something was bothering him. Even now, it bothered him. Sighing, Sasha shook his head and leaned back in his chair.
He was in his office for a specific reason, not to reminisce on the night before. He needed to find the ring. The fact that Payson had flung the ring in the first place made him groan, he had hurt her so deeply. He had already searched the room high and low about three times. He had asked both Summer and Kim if they had found anything out of the ordinary, but both women had denied seeing anything.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and took out the golden ring with a woven design that Ana had gotten him for Christmas two years ago. He had gotten her a silver one of the same design. She had his ring engraved with the Latin words saecula aurea. He had engraved hers with the words luna printesa. They were twin rings which were supposed to represent the Greek god Apollo and his twin sister, Artemis. They had coordinated their gifts that year, which caused her much amusement. Ana's only regret was that they did not know enough Greek to get them engraved in that language. Sasha kept his in his wallet while Ana either wore hers on her hand or around her neck, depending on her mood. She wore it on her right middle finger, but it was still slightly too big.
He weighed the ring in his hand and lightly flung it against the wall where Payson had said her ring hit. It hit and ricocheted off the wall in a downward spiral off to the left. He followed where it went and picked it up, putting it on the desk. He was frustrated with the lack of leads he was getting, but the ring had given him an idea. He went to the vents in the room and checked each of them with no luck. Sighing he sat back on his heels and cursed softly. Just when he was about to get up and apologize to the young blonde sitting in the next room, the phone rang.
"The Rocky Mountain Gymnastics center, this is Sasha." He answered the phone. It was Summer apologizing, but stating that she would be late to work today. Sasha told her that it was fine and to take her time kindly. She kept him on the phone, giving him her excuse which to be frank, he didn't care about. He was glad she had called, but he was perfectly okay with hearing the words 'I am going to be late today'. He turned around in frustration, leaning against a wall.
While he was talking, a sparkling glint caught his eye. Once he hung up the phone, he walked over to where the ring had gotten stuck between the back of the tall filing cabinet and the wall. Thanking whatever god exists, he pulled the ring from behind the cabinet and slipped it into his pocket. He turned and began gathering his things from the desk.
"Good morning, Sasha. Can I help you?" Kim smiled as she walked in, placing her purse on the desk.
Sasha jumped, flinging the keepsake Ana had given him on accident. He cursed softly before answering her, "Good morning, Kim. I was fine, but do you mind helping me find that? It is a ring that Ana got me. I think she'll kill me if I lose it." He muttered a few other things as he looked in the general direction it flew. Kim looked at him blankly before joining him in the search.
"Oh, here it is." Kim caught hold of the ring and brought it close to her face for inspection. She read the inscription and frowned, not able to understand it. "This isn't the ring you got my daughter." Kim commented thoughtfully, handing it to him. Sasha choked.
"Ana got that for me a few years back. What do you mean?" He tried to sound calm as he replaced the precious gift in his wallet, and then placed it in his pocket. He really did not want to know what Ana would do to him if he lost his twin ring. Hers was such a precious artifact to her that he feared his socks wouldn't be the only victims to her disappointment.
"You didn't think I would notice the addition to my daughter's jewelry collection?" Kim laughed, sitting against the desk. Her eyes were kind and bright.
"Notice, yes. Know who it was from, no bloody way." Sasha commented lightly, settling into his chair.
"I am more perceptive than you give me credit for. If you are the all-knowing god of gymnastics, I am the all-knowing goddess of the Keeler household. I know what takes place, even if the other inhabitants try to keep secrets." Kim hummed lightly, shifting her pose.
"How much do you know?" Sasha answered evenly, shrugging as if to concede to her dare.
"And I quote, 'You are the breath I breathe and the blood which courses through my veins.' Close quote. So much for her not reading that letter, Sasha. Before you ask, it is a mother's job to read her daughter's love letters which are hidden under her bed." Kim's voice grew low, but not unkind. Payson had been hiding everything that was important to her under her bed since the beginning of time. It was a rather unoriginal place to hide them.
Sasha looked extremely contrite. "I have done you and your family a great disservice. By my actions, I have betrayed your trust. I will do whatever you decide is best, but I beg your forgiveness." Sasha immediately said as comprehension dawned on his face, causing Kim to smirk. She was afraid that Sasha was going to fall onto the ground and beg her forgiveness on his knees. She laughed at his quaking. This was a full grown man, quaking for the fury of the mother of the woman he loved.
"Have your slept with my daughter, Mr. Belov?" She asked seriously.
Sasha choked again while vehemently shaking his head. "I would never place her in a compromising position. I would never risk her dreams."
Kim nodded, "Keep your relationship, even if it be romantic in nature, at the strictly PG to PG-13 level and I will allow it to continue. Stop sneaking around, Belov, you're not good at it. At least not with me, I doubt anyone else suspects." Sasha nodded.
"How long have you known?" He couldn't help but ask. Kim had been so kind and loving toward him, without any changes.
"Since the beginning, I suppose. I even know about the hand holding under the table when we happened upon you and Ana at the ice cream parlor. Did you find my daughter's ring or not?" Kim laughed.
"I, uh, yeah eh." Kim raised an eyebrow, causing Sasha to sigh, "I was going to return it this evening. With your permission?" He sounded so unsure of himself.
"What would I be giving permission for?" Kim rose an eyebrow, but her air of good fun did not leave her.
Sasha stood up straighter, clearing his throat. He pulled out the dainty ring from his pocket. "It is a promise that if, after the Olympics, we still have feelings for each other, we will pursue a real relationship."
"You already have a real relationship. You love her, she adores you. I am only concerned you'll freak out and leave her again." Kim stated tersely, crossing her arms over her chest, "You really hurt my little girl." This statement caused Sasha to groan lightly. He knew he had hurt her deeply, her body told him the tale.
"Among many things, it is a promise that I will always be there for your daughter. I will never leave her again." Sasha stated, more to himself than the woman standing before him.
"Do me a favor, Sasha?" Kim asked, smiling brightly.
"Yes?"
"Don't make me a grandmother until my daughter is twenty-two? Force her to go to college first. I do, however, expect to see gold on her hand before dinner tonight." Sasha choked, but agreed and quickly excused himself. It was just in time, too, because Summer had just entered the Rock.
Sasha ducked out of the room, determined to corner the young lady in the annex before her friends arrived. He nodded to the two giggling girls who just walked into the other room. He watched them go to the locker room before walking into annex. There, sprawled out in the middle of the mat was Payson, books scattered around her. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun. He watched her for several moments before she looked up. He was leaning against the door, arms crossed with a serious look on his face.
She looked up at him, feeling that she was being watched, and smiled lightly. He smiled back and nodded his head back to the gym behind him, "Time to get back to work." She smiled brightly at him and bounced up. She bounded toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple, "We probably shouldn't embrace like this in public, love."
She laughed and smiled, "You don't look like you're complaining."
"Get to work, Payson." Sasha laughed. She brushed passed him, opening the door to the main gym and ran toward the other elites. Sasha followed, slowly, shouting orders. The other girls thought nothing of Sasha getting Payson from the annex. They knew that she always came early and left late.
That day had gone by rather slowly. Everyone was excited when Ana danced in at three in the afternoon. She had decided to work from eight until two every day, leaving her afternoons to finish her Spanish Papers and her other projects that she did not finish during her sabbatical. In addition, she wanted to be able to still hang out with Sasha at the gym two or three days a week. She smiled brightly as the girls ran to hug her. Sasha bellowed at them to get back to work, nodding at his sister.
Ana immediately waltzed over to where her brother stood. Smiling up at him, she wrapped an arm around him before leaning her head against his shoulder, "I have so much busy work, but nothing to do." She groaned in mock fatigue. He wrapped his arm around her and smiled at her obvious attempt to get pitied.
"You didn't change, Ana. How are you supposed to coach looking like a professional supermodel?" He asked lightly, she scoffed looking down. She was in a pink oxford shirt and a black skirt which reached her knees. Her black heels had been shed in her car, leaving her barefoot. Around her neck was the twin ring on a sliver chain and her hair was pulled back into a bun. She also still had her lab coat on. Seeing her still in her coat, he helped her out of it, "You aren't working at the bench, why do you have to wear this heavy thing?"
"Part of the uniform?" She tried lamely. They both knew it was because she hoped to be allowed near the bench. She took out her earrings and started to unbutton the top few buttons of her shirt, revealing a grey tee shirt beneath it. "I have clothes in the office. Take these?" She handed him her earrings.
"And what am I supposed to do with your silver circles?" He asked, aspirated. She shrugged, running toward the office.
"Here, Sasha, put them here." Payson ran up with the empty coin purse from her gym bag. "Who is Ana working with today?"
"Lauren and Kaylie. We need to work with the training equipment in the annex, Payson." Something in his tone told Payson that they would not be doing too much working in the other room. She also highly doubted they would be fulfilling any of her fantasies over there either. Internally, she groaned, silently praying that he wasn't going to try to put limitations or anything on their relationship.
Ana bounced back in a few moments, still barefoot. She now wore black capri yoga pants and the grey tee-shirt. "What did you do with my earrings?" She grinned widely, seeming to revel in the fact that she was in the gym.
"Payson has them, we plan to ransom them." Sasha answered, completely serious. Ana shrugged. She began to stretch out, "I presume you got my text?"
"I did. I cannot wait to work with the girls." She flashed an award winning smile at the girls. "Now, I believe you have a new vault to work with this one?"
"Seriously?" Payson danced with joy, causing both of the adults to chuckle. She practically ran to the other room, but Sasha hung behind for a moment.
He watched his sister stretch and warm up, "Where are your shoes?"
"Heels aren't really appropriate for a gym. I forgot my tennis shoes. Shouldn't you be working on a vault?" She said the last part sarcastically. Sasha raised his hands in surrender.
"Shouldn't you be working on some scientific paper?" He quipped back, winking as he jogged to the next room. When he got there, Payson was sitting on top of the vault table. He realized he had forgotten to interrogate Ana on her lunch choices, but seeing Payson sitting there banished those thoughts.
"What's up, antrenor?" Payson smiled.
"What did you just call me, dragă?" Sasha was taken back to hear Romanian.
"Trainer, right? I think that's what Nicholai taught me. Was I wrong?" Payson said confused and frowning.
"No, that's correct. You look lovely today, by the way." He smirked at her blush as he walked toward her. She was still perched on the vault table, legs dangling. He stepped between her legs and ran his fingers up her thighs in a light pattern. She shivered, but smiled down at him. She was covered in chalk from head to toe and her hair resembled a rat's nest.
"I look awful." She retorted. He chuckled, reaching up and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against himself. She leaned down and their lips met. She ran her hands over his shoulders and chest.
He drew her legs around his middle and pulled her off the vault table. His hands held her firm to himself, spinning her around slowly. He deepened the kiss and Payson ran her hands through his hair, pressing herself closer to him. Instantaneously, as if he remembered his earlier conversations, he stopped and sighed. Breathless, he pulled away and slowly peeled her from himself. Setting her down on her feet, he slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out the dainty ring there, "Your mother was quoting some really horrible poetry this morning when she came into work." He smiled, kissing her on lightly on her lips and slipping the ring onto her right ring finger.
"How can you kiss me and talk about my mother in the same breath?" Payson groaned into his mouth before squealing and looking at her hand, "You found it! Oh, I knew you would! I love you so much." She wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a sweet kiss to his pulsing vein.
Sasha grinned, "Your mother knows."
That stopped Payson's joyous outburst. She stopped and looked at him, "What is going to happen?"
"Well, what just happened cannot happen again. She said she will ignore our relationship as long as it remains more or less platonic for the time being." He breathed, sitting down and patting the mat beside him. She huffed, before sitting next to him and cuddling into his side. He wrapped an arm around her, "Do you need to talk about it?"
"What do you mean more or less platonic? Just how much can we do without breaking her rules?" Payson sighed, snuggling closer to his side. He felt her arms wrap around his waist, so he returned the favor by pulling her closer.
"She said to keep the relationship somewhere between PG and PG-13 or something silly like that. I interpret it as we are allowed to kiss and hug, but beyond that nothing can happen." He kissed her forehead and then stood up, pulling her with him. They stood embraced for several more moments before he spoke again, "Now, if you have no more questions, I really do want to work on a new vault. My grand excuse to get you alone was not that much of an excuse."
She rolled her eyes before walking over to where the training trampoline stood and turned to face him. He followed her, explaining his plans as he went.
"Payson, it is time to go. Pick up your books." Kim called as she walked into the annex, part of her braced to see something she did not wish to see. Instead, she saw her frustrated daughter falling on the trampoline with her coach making soft comments about her form. It was natural and not at all inappropriate.
"I'll gather your things, Pay. Try it one more time." Sasha said lightly, waving to Kim. Payson nodded, but came crashing down. Sasha walked over to her and helped to pick her up. He ran his hands in a very professional manner over her shoulders, explaining something to her. She nodded, asking him a question too light for her mother to hear.
Kim smiled, they were so careful when working on gymnastics. She knew Sasha was treating her daughter like a gentleman should, which is why she wasn't concerned about their continued relationship. Her husband and the rest of the world might condemn it, but she saw it as an innocent fling. If the fling lasted, then at least Payson would truly know her partner. If not, they would always be friends.
She continued to watch as Sasha ran his hands down her daughter's back, asking if anything hurt. The gestures where innocent, platonic, and very professional. Nothing in the way they were interacting at this moment was sexual. Payson shook her head to another unknown question before smiling brightly and walking to pick up her stuff. Sasha followed and helped.
"Good evening, Kim, are we coming over for dinner tonight?" Sasha asked, remembering his sister's plans to invite herself over. They began to walk out of the gym together, Sasha opening the doors for the two ladies.
"Yes, Ana mentioned missing her movie night. You don't mind if we just have salads with grilled chicken, right?"
"Sounds perfect. See you once we get cleaned up." Sasha smiled lightly, waving to the Keeler ladies and jogging toward his sister. Ana also waved at the ladies before looping her arm with Sasha's and pulling him gently toward the road to their house, leaving the car and presumably her heels at the Rock.
The rest of the night went without much event. The siblings went to the Keeler house around six in the evening and were greeted by salads, grilled chicken, and vegetable soup. All of the foods were perfectly in Ana's new diet. They were also in Payson's diet plan. Kim mentioned the fact that Sasha's diet plans were stricter with less wiggle room. He simply smirked and stated that that made the occasional treats, such as a piece of birthday cake, much more enjoyable. Ana jabbed him in the side, saying that she was going to make sure they passed through Italy with a long layover on their way to Hungary if he meant that. He scolded her lightly, telling her it wouldn't work.
Ana was able to win back her silver earrings in a card game and they watched several cartoons. Payson had excused herself to finish her school work after the card game. Ana and Sasha excused themselves from the Keeler's house around eight-thirty. Both of them noted that Kim was still acting the same as always, in spite of her knowledge. Ana then began jabbering on how awesome going to San Antonio with Payson was going to be. The sudden mention of a weekend almost alone with Payson filled Sasha up with an indescribable pleasure and he began to think of what he could do with her there where no one knew her.