She was in over her head and she knew it. Kaylie looked into the eyes of one of her best friends and saw the anger and frustration there. As soon as she walked into the Rock, she'd been cornered by Payson. The expression on her friend's face made it abundantly clear that they were going to talk immediately. Payson led her to the gym office and shut the door.
"Why are we in Sasha's office? Why are you so upset, Pay?" she asked, watching Payson pace back and forth across the mat before running her hands through her blonde hair.
"I asked Sasha to let me talk to you as team captain and handle this without him." Payson finally stopped moving around and turned to face her. "Kaylie, this morning Nicky showed up here and punched Austin in the jaw."
Kaylie's jaw dropped at the revelation. Nicky was as non-violent as guys got, he usually let things roll off his back. "Why? What did Austin say to him?" It never failed, just when things were going great in her life, just when she'd found a guy she loved and loved her back, Austin Tucker popped up making a mess of things.
Payson shrugged and shook her head, "He didn't say anything; he didn't give him a chance. Sasha asked Nicky why he did it and apparently he did it for me. He thought that he was defending my honor, I guess."
Kaylie sighed, "I don't understand, Payson. Why would he think that?"
"You should understand. You're the one that told Nicky, Austin and I were dating, which we're not and when footage aired on Good Morning America today that linked Austin and MJ together, which they are, Nicky thought…" Payson trailed off. "He was being a good guy, but Kaylie, why did you lie to him? He said you told him over and over again that Austin and I were together, that we were keeping a low profile because of the Rock rules, just like you and Nicky and then last Friday you told him that Austin and I weren't that serious, that we were in a casual relationship, which he totally didn't buy by the way. Why would you do that?"
Kaylie shrugged, "I just thought it was easier. I mean you guys were so close and you always acted kind of like you were together and if it eased his mind that Austin was with someone else, so much the better, right?" she said. She could feel the tears building. "But then I thought about it and you guys don't really act like a couple so I thought maybe saying it wasn't that serious would make it more believable. Pay, I'm such an idiot."
Payson sighed, "You're not. Austin's the one who came up with that little fib to begin with, and it's partly my fault that I didn't make it clearer to Nicky when I talked to him in London, but why did you keep it up, Kaylie? It was just so unnecessary."
Kaylie shrugged and then looked up at her friend. "It was, it was two reasons I guess, but it boiled down to the same one. Nicky, I really, really like him and I knew he had a thing for you, so if he thought that you were with someone else, well then so much the better and if he thought that Austin was with someone, well then…"
Payson finished the thought for her, "Then he wouldn't think anything was going on with you and Austin. Jeez, Kaylie, when you do something like this, you don't do it by halves," she said, sighing heavily.
"Was Nicky really angry?" Kaylie asked, cringing at the thought of him, the most amazing guy she knew, so focused and intense, but with a softer side that gave her butterflies, even now. She'd never meant to hurt him.
Payson nodded, "Yeah, he was pretty pissed off. He apologized to Austin, who felt bad for him I think. Kaylie, you've gotta talk to him and to Austin. Apologize and make it right. I kept this off Sasha's desk for now, but if there's a ton of tension..."
Kaylie nodded, "I know, I know." She knew they all had every right to be angry. She'd been so desperate to hang on to Nicky and to keep Austin out of the picture, despite her attraction to him, that the lie had fallen from her lips multiple times. It would be a miracle if either of them spoke to her again. Then she looked up at her friend, "And what about you, Pay? Are you angry at me too?"
Payson tilted her head and sighed, "I was, a little, at first. I mean come on Kay, a casual relationship? You know that's not my thing, but I'm not really angry at you. I'm upset that Nicky's hurt and Austin got hit for no reason, but I get it, Kaylie. I get why you did it. You're one of my best friends; this isn't going to change that."
Kaylie took two steps towards Payson and pulled her friend into a hug. They pulled back, "So, will you talk to Austin for me, before I go and apologize to him?" Kaylie asked, biting her lower lip. "You're one of his best friends, Pay, he listens to you."
Payson sighed, "All I can tell him is that you're sorry and honestly, Kaylie, I'm not sure he'll care. He was pretty pissed off."
"All because of a stupid lie," Kaylie said, annoyed at herself and the ridiculous way she'd behaved. This was not like her and she was going to make up for it, however she could, even if it meant groveling to Austin Tucker. Her pride was going to take a blow, but she had to fix this.
Payson shook her head, "About the lie," she agreed, "but mostly I think he's hurt. He still feels something for you Kaylie. I don't know how strong it is and I'm not willing to say more than this, but you two have to clear the air before more than his jaw gets hurt."
"She's sorry?" Austin said as he sat at Payson's kitchen table. "I get punched by her boyfriend for cheating on a girl I'm not dating and she's sorry. That's great, well why doesn't she say so to my face?"
Payson nodded, holding out a spoon full of sauce, her hand under it for a taste test, "She will. I just thought it was important you knew that she was sorry. She was pretty devastated when I talked to her today. She still feels something for you, Austin. I just don't know any more than that. You have to work it out between you. How's that?"
He nodded, "A little more garlic," he said, standing up. "Fine, I'll talk to her, but no promises. I thought I was done with this drama."
Payson smiled at him, "You don't get off so easy. If you hadn't intimated to Nick that we were dating in the first place, none of this would have happened."
Austin rolled his eyes, "The only reason I did that was to cover your ass because youare having an undercover under covers relationship with our coach."
Payson laughed, "Please, you didn't know that at the time. You were just having too much fun with it. In fact it was mostly that, you're just a washwoman who loves gossip."
Austin smiled, kissing the top of her head as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the kitchen chair. "There is that too," he said. "Enjoy dinner, more garlic," he said, backing out of the kitchen.
She smiled down at the sauce, adding a little more garlic. She heard voices in her front hall, then the door shut and Sasha appeared in the kitchen entryway. "Hey," she said, turning towards him. Her stomach flipped at the picture he presented her, leaning against the frame of the archway, his jeans riding low on his hips as usual, the long sleeves of his ribbed henley shirt rolled up to the elbows, the ever present five o'clock shadow, and those eyes, staring at her as if she were the only thing in the world. He's just to gorgeous to be real, but he is real and he's mine.
"Hey," he said, stepping closer to her, pulling her into his arms. They kissed for a moment, just a soft caress of their lips, before she pulled back.
"Dinner's just about done. Set the table?" she asked, moving back towards the stove.
He clinked around in the cabinets before coming out with plates and flatware for them. "Austin was here," he began, allowing her to fill in the blank.
"Yeah, he wanted to talk about some things."
"Things being Nicky Russo and getting punched in the mouth."
Payson nodded and sighed. She knew she'd have to tell him everything. He'd been incredibly patient with her so far, allowing her to handle it as the team captain, but she knew Sasha and he was very protective of all his gymnasts. It was probably killing him that he didn't know the full story. "I think we've worked it all out. You know Nicky punched him because he thought Austin was cheating on me with MJ."
"Right," Sasha said, "That's the part Russo filled me in on. There's more?" he asked.
Payson nodded, "It's partly Austin's fault, probably partly my fault and partly Kaylie's fault."
Sasha's brow furrowed, "Kaylie's fault?" He sighed, "Kaylie and Austin? Or Kaylie and Nicky? Or both? Payson, what is going on?"
"I thought I knew, but I'm not sure." She turned to face him, squaring her shoulders, she knew this might be a battle. "I think, maybe, this wouldn't have happened if the Rock didn't have a no-dating rule."
Sasha's expression shifted from confused to something else entirely. He narrowed his eyes, "You think the no-dating rule is to blame for one of my gymnasts assaulting the other?"
She shook her head, "No, there are a lot of things to blame for that, including our relationship, but I do think the rule had something to do with it. Without the rule, Kaylie and Nicky would have been free to be open about their relationship. Nicky assumed what he heard about Austin and I was the truth because he knew if I were involved with someone, especially Austin, I would keep it under wraps, no confirmation or denial. It added confusion to a situation that was confused enough and honestly Sasha, no one follows that ridiculous rule anyway." she said, her voice rising with each word. She was frustrated, for herself and for her friends. Her eyes refocused on him as she finished speaking.
His hands were crossed over his chest, his lips pursed in thought. "So you're saying my rule is the cause of all this? That this is somehow my fault."
"Don't be stupid, you know that's not what I'm saying, but I do think a lot of this could have been avoided and it is a silly rule. It's not really even a rule if no one, including me, follows it. More to the point, everyone knows you won't enforce it, especially since everyone's been so successful. They know you won't kick out members of the National team, Olympic contenders."
She saw his jaw clench his grey-blue eyes flashed with anger, anger at her. Shit. "I hadn't realized that my authority as a coach had been stripped to such a point that people think they can do whatever the hell they want and that there won't be consequences for their actions. Is that why you wanted to handle this today, Payson? To keep your friends out of trouble?" His voice grew louder as he stepped closer to her.
She looked at him sideways, raising her voice as well, "You're kidding right? I wanted to handle it because it's part of my responsibilities as team captain and because I didn't want to put you the in position of having to do something you'd regret, like suspending members of your elite team a week and a half before the World Championships."
He scoffed, "Right, you did it for me. I get it. How magnanimous of you, Payson, really."
"Nice," she said, "Real nice. I try to help and you pick a fight with me. That's great, Sasha," she said, turning away from him and turning down the burners. She poured the sauce into a bowl and tossed the pot into the sink.
"What am I supposed to think? They're your friends, of course you want to protect them, but I'm their coach and I'm your coach and it's my responsibility to look after their best interests. It's my job, Payson, not yours."
"They're my friends, but they're also my teammates and I am their captain. I asked you to let me handle it and I did. Why are you acting like this?" she asked, but suddenly her eyes narrowed at him, "Oh I get it, this is about your ego."
He scoffed, "Please," he said, rolling his eyes at her dismissively.
She glared at him, annoyed at his condescending tone. "No, it is. Your gymnasts, your responsibilities, your ego. They ignored your rule and you knew they were doing it, but now you're upset? Get over yourself, Sasha. I'm trying to help you out. This wasn't a problem a few hours ago, why is it a problem now?"
Sasha immediately went on the defensive. It was one of his weaknesses, something that most people learned about him quickly, though it had never been an issue with Payson, his ego. He'd been accused of being a self-centered, ego-maniac before and for a long time it had been true, but he thought he'd put that part of himself to rest after what happened in Romania. "This isn't about my ego," he said to her, between clenched teeth. "What you're saying is that I've lost my ability to control my athletes and that's unacceptable."
She spun around, "Listen to yourself, control your athletes. Is that what you want to do? Control them? Control me? Is that what this is?"
"Don't be ridiculous," he said, with a wave of his hand.
"Right, I'm the one being ridiculous. You know what, forget it," she said.
"Fine," he said, turned on his heel and marching out of the kitchen, down the hallway and out the door, slamming it for good measure behind him. "Shit," he said, kicking at the bricks of her front landing before plodding down them towards his car.
"You have a fight with that pretty girlfriend of yours?" a raspy voice called from across the driveway.
He squinted to see an older man, maybe sixty or so sitting on his front steps smoking a pipe. "What gave it away?"
The older man chuckled, "You two have got some pipes. I could hear you all the way out here. Got 'er dander up did ya?"
Sasha sighed, "She got mine up and then I got hers up," he said, not even sure why he was sharing.
"What were you fighting about?" he asked. Sasha looked at the old man and scowled. "It ain't exactly often we hear angry noises coming through the walls from you two, if you catch my drift."
Sasha hadn't blushed in a very long time, but he felt the heat creep up his neck and over his ears at the man's insinuation. He was struck speechless.
"Don't take any offense, young man, Sasha isn't it? That short for Alexander? I knew a Sasha when I was in the army, Russian, his was short for Alexander."
Sasha nodded, flushing deeper at how the old man had probably learned his name, "Yes, but only my mother ever called me Alexander. And you are?"
"I'm Roy," he said and Sasha stepped forward to shake his hand. "You really going to leave?" the man said, taking a long pull from the pipe.
Sasha rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the keys in his hand, "Yeah, I was going to."
"She's a sweet thing, your girlfriend. Always brings in the garbage pail for us, helped my wife with the groceries the other day." The man squinted at him. "You're a might bit older than her, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he said, but the old man cut him off with a wave of his hand.
He put the pipe to his mouth and said, "Nothin' wrong with that. Girl like that needs a man and not some boy. She's got a good head on her shoulders. You know about the kid on the motorcycle that comes by?" he asked.
Sasha smiled, Roy apparently had his back, "Yeah, friend of both of ours," he said. "Like her brother," he assured the older man.
"You love her?"
Sasha sighed and looked back at the house. The lights were all out now, except for her bedroom light. He could see her shadowy figure moving around the room.
"Then my advice to you, Alexander, don't leave." Roy tapped the pipe against the brick and stood up before slowly, but steadily making his way back up his stairs and into the house.
Sasha sighed, looking down at his keys before looking back up at her window, still glowing with light from her bedroom lamp. He shook his head and moved back up the stairs and knocked firmly on the door. He waited, hands in his pockets, staring at the brickwork of her front steps before the door opened and she stood there, wearing one of his shirts, not dissimilar to the one he was wearing at the moment and nothing else. Her hair was down and she looked up at him with red rimmed eyes. An immediate pang stabbed at his gut. He'd made her cry.
He didn't say a word, just stepped into the entryway and allowed her to shut the door behind him. She looked up at him again. He lifted his hand to her face, stroking just under her eye with his thumb. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, not really caring what he was sorry for.
"Me too," she said, pushing up to her toes and kissing him lightly, then again with more urgency. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up, feeling her wrap her arms around his shoulders and then her legs around his waist as his hands slit down to support her weight. "Upstairs," she murmured into his ear before biting down gently on the lobe, giving it a soft tug.
He needed no further urging, making his way towards her stairs, feeling sharp pains in his knee all the way up, but ignoring them as he carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed, covering her body with his. Looking down at her, her long blonde hair spilling over the pillow, his last real coherent thought was that if Roy and his wife thought they'd been loud before, they hadn't heard anything yet.