Maybe it was luck, maybe it was Divine Providence, but the pool area had not been crowded when the five women had arrived, towels in hand. They settled on some armchairs away from the edge of the pool, and with the happy shrieks of young swimmers as background, Payson haltingly revealed her story.

It had been only three weeks after Rigo had dumped her that she had run into Sasha. Their former coach-the man they remembered as being so solid and confident-had been an emotional mess himself. Since seeing Summer again at the Training Center shortly before the Olympics, he had rebuilt the connection. Their texting had advanced to occasional phone calls which had turned into some casual hanging-out at coffee shops and parks. Sasha had found himself enjoying her company to the point where he broached the idea of them dating again. The brightness in Summer's eyes had immediately dimmed, and she had replied that just the last weekend she had gone on a date with a really nice guy from church. They were going out again that night. Summer was not the type of woman to try to balance two men, and while he could see regret in her eyes, Sasha also knew she would feel guilt if he tried to persuade her to date the both of them.

"So when we ran into each other, we were both a bit vulnerable," Payson said, grateful that her sunglasses shielded everyone's eyes. It was easier to tell the story if some of the emotion could stay detached.

"How serious were you?" Kaylie asked.

"I mean, it was two months, so you guys weren't really serious right?" Jordan followed.

Payson shook her head, "I don't know where Lauren got that number really. Sasha and I went on a few dates for only a month really."

"That's not long," Kaylie commented.

"The thing is," Payson said slowly, "I'd had a crush on him at one time-"

"Which one of us didn't find him attractive?" Emily muttered.

"I know, really?" Kelly added which caused every woman's head to swivel towards her. "What? I may not have trained at your gym but it doesn't mean I didn't notice him at meets! He was a gorgeous gold medalist with a British accent!"

Payson felt the grin spread across her face at Kelly's accurate assessment of their former coach. Her friends' comments also helped to ease the nervous tension she had felt at the secret coming out. "There was some attraction but we didn't have much in common. Plus he was still very much interested in Summer."

"But what about how you felt?" Emily suddenly spoke up. "How did you feel about Sasha?"

"I cared about him as a friend," Payson answered honestly, feeling unexpected relief at sharing. "I will also have positive feelings towards him, but there wasn't really anything there. We were too different."

"He's changed a lot from when we first met him," Emily pointed out.

Payson nodded. The Sasha that was now a happy husband to Summer and proud father to their twin boys was a far cry from the man that had led them to the Olympic Training Center. "He has, but he's changed in a way that melds with how Summer has grown and changed. Not in a way that would have worked for a relationship with a former athlete over a decade younger."

"I don't get what Summer was doing around Steve though," Kaylie said after a pause. "I mean, I remember from the Games that they were back on speaking terms, but it didn't seem to be anything more than casual acquaintances. Plus, you just said she was dating some guy from her church."

"Which is why I was so confused when several months later, my mom told me that Sasha and Summer were dating," Payson replied.

"Ok, I know your mom worked with Sasha at the Rock, but I didn't think they were close enough for him to confide his relationship with her," Emily said.

Payson smirked. "Summer met Sasha after work at Rock one night when Mom was working late. She grilled him for details the next day."

"And?" Kaylie prompted. "You realize that while we all had a great time at the wedding, we never actually talked about how Sasha and Summer finally ended up together?"

"They were just so obviously in love," Emily said, her voice soft. "I guess we forgot that it hadn't been a smooth path to the altar for them."

"So, Payson, what's the story?" Kaylie prodded.

"I don't have all the details," she protested. Kaylie lowered her sunglasses to make eye contact and Payson sighed. "Ok, from what my mom shared, church guy was nice but that was it. Summer didn't feel anything real, so after a few dates, she stopped seeing him. However, she thought Sasha was unavailable-"

"Because she saw the two of you." Kaylie figured.

Payson nodded, "I guess. I found out about Sasha and Summer so much later than our short time dating that I never put it together."

"Summer always felt safe with Steve. After feeling left behind by Sasha, she went to Steve for comfort," Emily spoke up. "But as Lauren said, that didn't last long. Summer came to her senses and called that relationship off."

This time everyone's eyes swiveled to Emily.

"How would you know that Summer was the one to break things with Steve off?" Kaylie asked. "You weren't even living in Boulder."

An eyebrow arched over the top of Emily's sunglasses. "Who was Steve dating when all of you went to the Olympics?"

"Oh," the word fell drawn out from Kaylie's lips.

Emily nodded. "Exactly. My mom. There were a lot of good things in her relationship with Steve, but in the end they decided they were better as just friends."

"Like Sasha and me," Payson said. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jordan visibly relaxed at that phrase. She understood the other woman's reaction. After the abuse Jordan had suffered and stories they had heard from other gyms, she knew that not all coach-athlete relationships were good ones. The thought that Sasha could have abused his position of authority was a painful one, but a question that she had prodded carefully after their month together until she was sure that nothing wrong had taken place.

"So Steve was best buds with your mom and confided his relationship troubles to her?" Payson tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Kelly's slightly skeptical question.

Emily barked a laugh. "Hardly. When Chloe and Steve decided they were better as friends, he offered her a job in his office. Steve already knew that Chloe had a way of connecting with all sorts of people, and he had discovered that she also had some strong organizational skills and the ability to pick things up extremely quickly. Summer came to Steve's office to break things off."

Kaylie winced, the grimace visible even behind her glasses. "Ouch. That sounds tough."

The edge of Emily's mouth turned up. "Apparently he didn't leave her much choice since he wouldn't answer her calls or texts."

"Steve did like to ignore problems if he couldn't figure out a way to solve them to make his own situation better," Kaylie grumbled. Payson guessed her friend's mind was flashing back to how Steve had solved the issue of their long-ago coach Marty's affair with Kaylie's mom.

"Anyway, part of what makes my mom such a secretary for Steve is her unashamed curiosity and Summer didn't shut the door when she marched into his office, so she heard everything."

"And you're just now sharing?" Kelly asked.

Emily laughed. "I don't think we were really friends three years ago, Kelly."

"Eh," Kelly waved the truthful statement off.

"Chloe told me about it in one of our phone calls but I was a new mom trying to figure things out all the way in Los Angeles," Emily explained. "The love dramas from Boulder were not high on my list of priorities at the time."

The group fell silent then, giving themselves time to let all their words sink in. Kelly was the first to relax, leaning back into her chair, her arms and legs positioned just so for maximum sun benefit. Jordan and Kaylie were next, slipping away from the group to take a dip in the warm water although they stayed away from where the sandcastle slide dumped preschoolers and preteens into the pool.

"You ok, Em?" Payson asked as she settled back against her chair. The other woman was still sitting up straight.

"I think I'm kind of pulling a Steve."

"A Steve?"

"Ignoring the other person when you don't know how to deal with them."

"You're not pulling a Steve, Em," Payson said with a shake of her head. "I don't know what happened between you two, but I know that you're not avoiding Damon just to figure out how to twist the situation to your benefit without caring how things end up for him."

Emily's shoulders slumped. "But I am avoiding Damon. I haven't let him talk to me beyond anything related to our son for the last several months."

"And he's been trying." It was not a question from Payson. His agent's words at EPCOT the day before made Damon's actions obvious.

Emily exhaled slowly. "About a year ago we had a really in-depth conversation about our relationship. How even though we had agreed to co-parent without being romantically involved, we still cared deeply for each other."

"He wanted to try dating again?" Payson guessed.

Emily nodded.

"What did you say?" Kelly sat up and leaned towards them. Emily hesitated, and Kelly continued. "Look, I know we aren't that close. I didn't really get to know your fellow Rock Rebels until after you had left, but trust me, I know a thing or two about pushing the guy you love away."

"I didn't say I loved him," Emily replied even as pink flushed on her cheeks.

"I don't think you need to," Payson said, gently rubbing her friend's shoulder. "Although I don't understand our conversation earlier this week now. You made it sound like you had no choice but to move on from Damon like he didn't want anything beyond a positive parenting relationship."

Emily sighed again, her head falling briefly into her hands before looking back up at the two other women. "I told him I wanted to see where things could go too, but that I needed us to take it slow. Damon agreed and for a couple of months, it was good."

"How good?" Kelly asked, a smirk on her face.

"Not that like!" Emily was quick to say. "We had actually just had our first kiss-"

"This time," Kelly murmured, but Emily ignored the former Denver Elite's comment.

"And then I found out Kaylie was coming to visit Damon."

"Oh," Payson said.

"Oh?" Kelly asked. "She's with Austin. Has been. Why is that such a big deal?"

"Because Kaylie wasn't always with Austin," Payson said when Emily stayed quiet.

"Oh!" Kelly caught on quick. "Kaylie and Damon had a thing?"

"Right around the time I was pregnant," Emily said, her voice clipped.

Kelly grimaced, "No wonder you don't like her."

"I didn't for a long time, but this trip has helped to clear some things up."

Kelly nodded. "True. Those negative vibes I was picking up on the first day aren't as strong now. Well, unless we consider Lauren."

"Not the important part right now," Payson cut in.

"I know Damon was part of it too but because Kaylie's sort-of-maybe relationship with him helped to derail us, I've always been sensitive about her," Emily explained. "So a few days later when Damon realized I was mad, instead of being willing to listen to him tell me why she was coming for a visit, I kind of shut the door on the idea of us."

"I'd say your sensitivity was a bit understandable," Kelly replied in a wry tone.

"Except when you consider what actually brought the two of them together in the first place," Emily said. "When Kaylie was battling her anorexia, she discovered that she had a knack for songwriting. She ended up using music as a form of therapy."

"Therapy?"

"It was a different way for her to express herself," Emily said. "And with me suddenly gone, she created an anchor for Damon. Helping her develop her songwriting voice was a balm for his anguish."

"Balm for his anguish?" Kelly repeated. "Very poetic, Kmetko."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "They were both hurting and together they figured out a way to heal."

"So that's why Kaylie went to see Damon recently," Payson caught on.

Emily nodded even as Kelly still looked confused. "She went to him to help her with her music as she re-centered herself after her relapse. Damon had even said something about it being song-related, but I didn't want to listen."

"You'd been hurt," Kelly said, her voice soft as she put the pieces together. "It's not easy to move past that."

"But we're adults now," Emily protested. "Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Move beyond the things that bothered us when we were teenagers and make better choices?"

"From everything I've heard," Kelly started, "You've been making excellent choices as a young mother. You even put yourself out there again for a chance with Damon. And yeah, maybe your reaction to Kaylie coming to visit wasn't the most mature, but we're human. We're allowed to mess up. There are no judges scouring our performances for deductions anymore."

"So you think Damon would see it that way? That I just made a mistake?"

Kelly swung her legs over the side of her chair so she was facing Emily full-on. Pulling off her sunglasses, she leaned forward, her eyes intent. "The man sent his agent after you. His agent who I'm sure had a million other things to coordinate. I'd say the move is in your court now, Kmetko."

The tiny brunette slid her sunglasses back on and resumed her relaxed position lounged against her chair. Emily stared at her for another minute before turning back towards Payson.

"For what it's worth, I agree with Devil Horns," the blonde said.

"I heard that," Kelly chirped.

"Well, I wasn't whispering!" Payson called over, and a hint of a smirk etched itself onto Kelly's face. It was yet another sign of how they had changed from their early competitive days at the senior level that Kelly had become part of their trusted group.

There was silence for another long moment before Emily spoke again. "Ok. I'm going to enjoy this sunshine for another half hour."

"And then?" Payson could not help the prompting.

"And then I have a concert to get ready for."