Chapter 21: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
"Do you remember those days hanging out at the village green? / Engineer boots, leather jackets and tight blue jeans / Oh you drop a dime in the box play a song about New Orleans / Cold beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage nights"
"Is he really suspending me for a week and a half?" Annabelle whispered at breakfast the morning after Payson and Sasha had picked her and Samantha up from a party.
"Yes, and he's making the right decision. You messed up Annabelle, time to face the consequences," Payson reminded her, not bothering to lower her voice. Sasha turned from the pan at the stove where he was making breakfast and glared at his rogue gymnast.
"Just because you're well on your way to being an Olympic champion does not mean that the rules don't apply to you. You're lucky I didn't suspend you indefinitely," Sasha said through his teeth. He was still fuming over the night before and Payson knew it would be a long while before he could look at Annabelle the same way again.
"Sasha," Annabelle started, but she was interrupted by a groan from the doorway. Samantha was leaning up against the wall looking pale and very hung over. Payson held out a cup of coffee.
"I don't think I can eat," Samantha moaned, sitting on the empty stool and leaning her head against the cool marble counter.
"You need to eat. Sit up, sip your coffee and then you'll eat this breakfast I'm making for you," Sasha insisted. "My hangover breakfasts have never failed."
"Where's Harper?" Annabelle asked.
"At my mother's," Payson said shortly. "Listen, you are suspended but that doesn't mean you have the week off. You need to keep a strict cardio schedule."
"Will you write something out for me?" Annabelle asked quietly. Payson smiled softly and held out a slip of paper.
"I already have."
#
Payson sighed as she unlocked the Rock's office door. Sasha had been tense and snappy all morning, and it didn't bode well for the day ahead. She pitied the gymnasts. Sasha followed her in, tossing a stack of files onto the desk and sighing heavily.
"Hey," Payson said, turning towards him and reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Take a breath."
Sasha did as she asked, breathing slowly and deeply while bracing his hands on the desk. He shook his head.
"I expected more from her," he muttered. Payson sifted her fingers through his hair, scratching lightly.
"I know, me too." Sasha stood up quickly, nearly knocking Payson back a step, and reached for her. His lips crashed down against hers as he pulled her tightly against his chest, deepening the kiss almost immediately. Payson gasped as their tongues dueled and he turned them, lifting her to sit on the edge of the desk.
"Sasha we can't," Payson gasped as he latched onto her neck, nipping at the skin there knowing it would make her shudder.
"Bugger that," he said, his breath hot against her ear. She bit her lip against a moan as his tongue flicked out to taste the shell of her ear.
"Sasha," she breathed, only half protesting. His grip on her thighs tightened in response. She knew that it was his way of displacing his anger, channeling it into something pleasurable, if not productive.
Payson was prepared to let go, to lose herself in the moment despite the fact that the gymnasts were due in less than half an hour, but they were interrupted by the sound of a group of people walking into the gym.
"Stop," Payson gasped harshly, pushing Sasha away. He backed away, but she knew he hadn't heard anything; he never did when he was focused on her that way. "Someone's here."
Sasha nodded and raked a hand through his hair as Payson straightened her shirt. They only had a moment to collect themselves before two people entered the office, one of whom Payson and Sasha both knew.
Ellen Beals and a newcomer in a suit charged in like they owned the place. Payson watched Sasha's entire body tense. Payson hadn't dealt with Ellen since London 2012, but Sasha had and their relationship was as antagonistic as ever.
"Can I help you?" Sasha hissed, glaring at Ellen.
"Good morning, Sasha. Payson, what a pleasure," Ellen said sweetly. Payson grit her teeth and smiled back tightly.
"Ellen." She glanced over at the newcomer, a man who couldn't be much older than her and was built like a gymnast. He reminded her a little of Nicky; short, well built, with dark features and a bit of a tortured look in his eyes. Ellen followed her line of sight and smiled.
"This is my colleague, Adam. He's recently joined us at the NGO after four very successful years at the University of Michigan," Ellen explained. Adam reached forward to shake Payson's hand, and then Sasha's.
"I don't mean to be rude," Payson started before Sasha could actually be rude. "But the gymnasts will be here soon, so is there something we could help you with?"
"We're here to talk to Sasha about the Trials, and the selection of the coaching staff."
"I already have my coaching staff," Sasha said shortly. Ellen smiled and nodded.
"Yes, well. You've chosen three assistants. We'll give you two of them, but Adam will be the third. The NGO believes that you need someone objective on your coaching staff," Ellen said. Sasha snorted.
"You don't believe that myself, Payson, Austin, and Kelly can be objective?" Sasha bit out. Ellen shook her head.
"You all have gymnasts competing to be on the team, they will clearly have an advantage over the other gymnasts." Sasha turned his glare on Adam and the younger man shrank back.
"Shove off," Sasha spat. "I choose my coaching staff. You already have two NGO members on the selection committee, that keeps it plenty objective."
"Coach Belov, we aren't asking," Ellen said evenly. Payson reached forward and laid a hand on Sasha's arm, silently telling him to back off. Ellen's eyes narrowed.
"Payson, how's your husband?" Ellen asked. Sasha snorted, clearly Beals hadn't been paying attention to the press.
"Jeffrey and I are divorced," Payson said. Sasha opened his mouth to tell Beals that they were engaged, or at least together, but Payson stopped him by digging her nails into his forearm. If Beals figured it out, good for her, but Payson would rather not announce it to her.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"I'm not," Payson countered.
"Well, Adam will be here observing until the Trials. I'll expect the changes to your coaching staff by the end of the week," Ellen said to Sasha. He grunted. The sound of teenagers filled the gym and Payson said a silent thank you to whatever higher power there might be. Now they could usher Ellen out without being unduly rude.
"The gymnasts are here, so if you'll excuse us," Payson said, heading towards the door and pulling Sasha with her. Ellen nodded and left the gym, leaving Adam behind.
"Gather round!" Sasha called sharply. The gymnasts jogged over quickly, eyes darting over to Adam as they waited for an explanation. "This is Adam, he will be observing Payson and I in preparation for the Olympic Trials. Ignore him. Now some of you may have noticed Annabelle's absence this morning. She has been suspended for the remainder of this week, as well as next, for drinking at a party."
A gasp went through the crowd, no one actually expected Sasha to suspend an athlete so close to the Trials, especially their best. Sasha held up a hand and the group fell silent.
"The rules are not to be broken. I don't care how good you are or how close to the Trials we get, if I find out you've broken one of my rules, you will face the same consequences. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Sasha!"
"And I thought my college coach was a tyrant," Adam whispered in Payson's ear. She jerked away from him, glaring.
"You don't know anything about him," Payson hissed. Then she turned and made her way onto the floor. They had work to do.
#
"I called the NGO at lunch," Sasha said as leaned in their bedroom doorway, unbuttoning his shirt.
"Oh?" Payson asked, a little awestruck by the sight of his bare chest. She never could get enough of the look of him. He laughed, a husky sound, and nodded.
"Yes. It looks like Ellen is correct, one of the spaces on my coaching staff has been filled by Adam and there's not a bloody thing I can do about it," Sasha said bitterly. Payson watched from the bed as he toed off his shoes and socks before stalking towards her, his pants still riding low on his hips.
"So who gets the other two?" Payson asked. Sasha placed a knee on the edge of the bed, crawling up the mattress, over her body.
"You, and probably Kelly. The girls will respond better to two women and two men versus three men and one woman," Sasha muttered, pausing above her hips and tracing his tongue across the strip of bare skin that peeked out between the top of her pants and the hem of her shirt. She shuddered.
"I don't like Adam," Payson said, her voice hitching as he nudged her shirt up with his nose and dipped his tongue into her belly button. She reached out, running her fingers through his hair and scratching lightly against his scalp.
"He's Beals' spy, of course you don't," Sasha said, his voice muffled between her breasts. She laughed as the vibrations in his chest tickled her stomach. "Now, no more talk of him."
"Can we talk about Annabelle's training schedule for when she comes back?" Payson managed to gasp as Sasha nibbled her ear. Sasha sighed, his forehead falling onto her should for a moment before he pulled back to look at her.
"Must we talk at all?" He asked. To punctuate his point, he pressed his hips hard into hers, letting her feel exactly what he had in mind. Payson's head fell back against the pillows and she moaned loudly.
"No, no we don't have to talk at all," she murmured, fisting her hand in his hair and pulling his lips to hers.
#
Saturday mornings at The Rock were always quiet, and for the first time in a long time, Payson was looking forward to it. Usually a quiet gym was too eerie for her liking but the week had been so hectic that a silent gym was just exactly what she wanted while she worked on Olympic Trial arrangements. She wanted to get ahead, make sure everything was set so that if the wedding preparations got too crazy she wasn't scrambling.
Of course, she knew that it was too much to ask. Not an hour after she got there, Lauren charged in with a sketch pad, a tape measure, and a thick scrapbook bulging with fabric samples.
"Lauren," Payson groaned. "I thought we said next week?"
"You said next week," Lauren agreed, setting her scrapbook down on the desk with a heavy thunk. "But I need more time that that, I need the weekend to work on it. So let's talk about what you want."
"I don't know…"
"Well you first wedding dress was very…virginal. I think this time we should go sexy," Lauren suggested, wiggling her eyebrows. Payson squeezed her eyes shut and pressed the tips of her fingers against them.
"Lauren, no, I want something simple."
"Sexy can be simple," Lauren assured her. Payson was about to respond when someone else called her name. She knew in that moment that her day had completely gone to hell and she would be getting nothing, absolutely nothing, done.
"Payson, have no fear, you're wedding planner…oh." Kaylie's brilliant smile died the instant she realized that her former best frenemy was sitting in Payson's office.
"Kaylie, what are you doing here?" Payson asked, getting quickly out of her seat and moving to hug Kaylie. The tiny brunette returned the embrace, but Payson could feel her distraction in the way she held back a little, keeping one eye on Lauren instead of greeting Payson fully.
"I uh, I thought with being so busy here you could use some help with the wedding planning. But if you've already…"
"No!" Payson cried, grabbing Kaylie's wrist as she started to back out of the office. "I'm so glad you're here, I really could use the help. You were right, eight weeks isn't very long to plan a wedding."
It was a half lie. Payson was truly glad to see her friend, she missed having the girls within driving distance, but she still thought that Kaylie was blowing how much work her wedding would take way out of proportion.
"Hey, Kaylie," Lauren said quietly from her seat. Kaylie looked to Payson.
"So what's she doing here?"
"Lauren is designing my dress. We were just talking about what it would look like. Lauren thinks it should be sexy, please tell her…"
"Actually," Kaylie interrupted, studying Lauren closely. "I was sort of thinking the same thing. Classy, but more grown up than your first one." Payson looked towards the ceiling and hoped she had enough of the famous gymnast self-control left in her to let her friends live.
"Seriously, guys, I don't want sexy," she insisted.
"Payson, will you just trust me, for once?" Lauren huffed. Kaylie and Payson both stared at her, eyebrows raised.
"Trust you?" Payson asked. Lauren rolled her eyes.
"I know that when we were kids I didn't give you any reason too, but I do this for a living Payson. Just let me take a few measurements and then create a few sketches over the weekend, please?" Lauren begged.
"Yeah, Payson, come on. You can always say no," Kaylie promised. Payson stood there, caught between her two friends, and sighed.
"Fine. But I get veto power," she demanded quickly. Kaylie and Lauren shared a smile that wasn't entirely innocent.
"Of course," Lauren agreed. She stared out the office window to the floor below, nostalgia flashing across her features. "You know, the last time I was on the beam was London."
"I bet you couldn't do it anymore," Kaylie teased, but Payson was surprised to find no malice in her tone. Lauren snorted.
"You're on." She and Kaylie hurried towards the floor, laughing like they were sixteen again. "Pay, you coming?"
"In a minute, and then I'll wipe the floor with both of you, just like in London!" Payson called, unable to keep a tiny smile off her face.
She reached for the phone, dialing the number by heart.
"Help me," she hissed as soon as the ringing stopped.
"Pay? Help you with what?" Kelly asked. Payson could hear the sounds of a live gym in the background.
"Lauren and Kaylie have joined forces to plan my wedding. My wedding. I don't care what you have to tell Austin you get on a plane right now," Payson demanded, a little hysterical.
"I'll be there in the morning. Promise."
And then Payson hung up the phone and went to join her former teammates.
#
The first thing Sasha noticed when he walked in the Rock's main doors on Saturday morning was the sound of the springboard, followed shortly by the sound of feet hitting the beam and mats and it made him frown. Though it was almost ten a.m., even the elite gymnasts weren't expected until noon on Saturdays and the only one who would have come in early was Annabelle. But she was suspended. He quickened his pace to see what was going on.
As soon as he stepped onto the floor he felt like he'd been thrown eight years back in time. Kaylie, Lauren, and Payson were laughing as they worked through simply beam, bar, and floor routines looking almost as good as they had when they were in London. Granted, the skills weren't the same, but the performance was there; there were some things a gymnast could never forget.
"Hey Sasha," Kaylie said when she spotted him, like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to find her tumbling across the floor.
"Ladies. Training hard for Johannesburg I see," he teased. Payson did a simple dismount off the bars and saluted him, adding a wink and a laugh.
"I decided that my two medals from London aren't enough. I need at least one more," Lauren said, jumping into the splits before landing lightly back on the beam. Sasha laughed and made his way up to the office.
His desk was covered in wedding stuff. There was a thick book with scraps of material sticking out every which way, Lauren's he presumed, and a binder full of papers that had "Payson and Sasha's wedding" scrawled across it in Kaylie's girly handwriting. He smiled. It was happening, he was marrying Payson. Some days it was easy to forget that they had a wedding coming up, but then he was reminded by scenes like that one.
He turned to the window, watching Payson jump cat-like onto the beam and say something to Lauren that made everyone laugh. She was so perfect, so beautiful, and he had absolutely no idea how he'd gotten quite so lucky.
A/N: Thank you so much to Egyptian Kiss, Hope Flies, and JTellersOldLady for your reviews! You guys are really the best.
We're getting down to the wire! There are really only a handful of chapters left (for now, that could change, lol). So, if there's anything in particular you guys would like to see happen, let me know! And PLEASE, please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thanks a million!