Austin Tucker leaned casually against the wall, observing the various party goers mingling around the room. People were milling around, some at their seats, several people out on the dance floor, others simply standing in groups, drinks in hand. It was the usual riffraff, coaches and gymnasts, agents and sponsors and a ton of press, all out to get their egos stroked and their pockets padded. He was only making a cursory appearance at the event, the men's team competition began tomorrow and he was looking to win gold this year. Not just for himself, but for his team. He saw Payson enter the room and pushed off the wall, intending to congratulate her for the way she blasted a French reporter today before the first round of the team competition for the women. He was pretty impressed with the way she competed as well, but he knew she would brush off any compliment to her gymnastics. She expected to be the best in the world and anything less was unacceptable. He was almost to her when he felt a small hand on his arm. He stopped and turned to see Kaylie looking at him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, her eyes darting around the room.
"I have to talk to you," she said, pulling him away from the crowd, back towards the wall.
Austin sighed. He knew that silent moment in the elevator hallway was too easy. Kaylie had a way of making things more complicated than they needed to be and he had a feeling it was about to happen again. "Kaylie, I thought we understood each other," he said, allowing himself to be moved further away from the rest of the party, into a corner.
"We do," she said, shaking her head. "It's not about that." She flicked a strand of her bangs out of her eyes and took a deep breath, obviously building up to something. "Look, I don't know what you know. I don't really even want to know, especially since Payson didn't tell me herself. She has her reasons for keeping it a secret and that's fine. She doesn't even need to know I was the one who told you,I just thought you'd want to know, Lauren's on the war path. She knows Payson's seeing someone. She thinks it's Boris."
Austin took a moment to process everything she was saying and then suddenly he reacted, "She thinks what? Is she crazy?"
Kaylie laughed, "Maybe, but it's better than the truth." Austin was more than inclined to agree with her. If Lauren found out about Sasha and Payson, at best she would hold onto the knowledge until it served her purpose to hang it over their heads or she'd out them immediately. Either way, Austin wasn't about to let it happen.
"Why would she think it's Boris? That doesn't make any sense."
"She was snooping in Payson's bathroom before we left for lock down and she found a used condom in the garbage. I guess that peeked her curiosity and she found an extra tooth brush and men's cologne. Then yesterday at bed check, she smelled the same cologne on Boris." Kaylie rolled her eyes. "Obviously it's not Boris." She looked at him meaningfully and it finally sunk in that she knew.
"Obviously. How did you..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't really want to know how she figured it out. It wasn't important. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked, although he thought he knew the reason. Kaylie knew how close he was with Payson. She knew he would try to protect her.
Kaylie smiled at him affectionately, "I know you, Austin. You're going to do anything you can to protect her. It's what you do. You're a white knight."
"A white knight, huh?" he asked, grinning at her, not being able to keep the flirtation out of his voice. It was instinct when he was with her, his mouth and body reacted independently from his brain.
She shrugged, obviously uncomfortable and he regretted it immediately, "Okay, maybe a gray one, not white, but not all dark either." He supposed she was making a joke, but he didn't laugh. They lapsed into a tense silence.
He scanned the crowd quickly and saw Payson standing near a group of American club coaches, a fake smile wearing thin across her face as her patience waned. He saw Lauren with a few of his teammates on the other side of the hall, but her eyes seemed focused on Payson. Then they shifted away to where Sasha and Boris were standing, speaking with several members of the Romanian gymnastics contingent. Kaylie was right, he had to do something.
He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text message to Sasha. I'll explain later. Sorry. Snapping his phone shut, he crossed the room quickly and approached the group that Payson was standing near.
He hovered over her shoulder for a moment and then slowly ran his hand from the nape of her neck, to her shoulder, squeezing gently, "There you are," he said, leaning down to place a soft kiss against her cheek. "I've been looking all over for you." He looked up at the club coaches with a roguish smile, "You won't mind if I steal her away for a minute? She promised she'd dance with me tonight," he said, even adding a wink for effect. The coaches looked confused for a moment, all having heard Payson's short answer to the reporter today, but they graciously nodded and Austin led her away from them onto the dance floor.
"Austin, what are you doing?" she mumbled between clenched teeth, as he pulled her close and they began swaying to the slow jazzy tune playing along with several other couples on the floor.
"Do you trust me, Payson?" he asked, looking over her head at where Lauren was standing, her eyes had focused on them, her lips pursed in obvious agitation.
"Of course I do," she said. His hand gripped at the soft material at the small of her back. She looked at him strangely, "Are you okay, Austin?" she asked, stepping closer to him. Perfect, he had to make this look good and unknowingly she was helping. He let his eyes drift closed and moved closer as well. He dropped his head a bit, allowing his cheek to rest against her hair.
"I'm fine, but I need you to trust me right now, Pay. What I'm about to do, it's important and you need to go along with it," he whispered. He focused on the scent of her shampoo and perfume mingling, the soft hair pressed against his cheek. She was a beautiful girl, this shouldn't be too difficult. He opened his eyes and caught sight of Sasha across the room who'd obviously received his text message because he wasn't glaring at him, simply looking confused. He steered Payson closer to where Lauren was standing, still staring at them. "Do you understand, Payson? You need to play along." He looked down in her eyes, the questions there innumerable. His hand came up to stroke against her cheek lightly.
"I understand, Austin, but," she whispered, but he didn't let her finish the thought, trailing his lips from her temple, down to her cheek before brushing against hers, drawing her body even closer to his, their bodies pressed together tightly. It was unnatural and awkward at first. He'd taken her by surprise, but then he felt her hands grip the front of his shirt, hanging on tightly and kissing him back. His tongue tentatively sought hers out, nudging against hers lightly before deepened it completely, his open mouth against hers. He let it carry on, probably longer than he should have and she was the one to pull away. She looked up at him, breathing harshly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "There better be a spectacular explanation for this."
He smiled, pulling her against him again as he led her off the dance floor, "Oh there is." They left the ballroom quickly and he pulled out his phone, sending Sasha another text, Room 420, five minutes. "C'mon," he said, leading her towards the elevators. "You are not going to believe what happened."
Five minutes later, Payson was sitting on his bed, staring up at him in shock as he explained what Lauren knew and his reasoning behind kissing her. "It was the only thing I could think of that would throw her and everyone else off completely. Just like before, if we're together, then you're not with anyone else."
"What about MJ, isn't she going to be angry?" Payson asked.
Austin shrugged, "I don't really care. The thing with MJ, it is what it is. She probably won't care, in fact she might be happy. She thinks it's good for both our images to be together. Gives you an edge, gives me a softer side, I think is how she put it."
Payson rolled her eyes, but he noticed she couldn't argue with the reasoning.
There was suddenly a loud pounding on the door and Austin opened it quickly, allowing Sasha to push past him, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch your bloody lights out," Sasha ground out between clenched teeth.
"I did it for you?" Austin said, suddenly his plan not sounding nearly as brilliant as he thought it was only a few minutes earlier. He heard about Sasha's right jab. Marty Walsh had been put down in one punch.
Payson stood and walked over to Sasha, putting her hands on his chest lightly, "He did," she said, looking back at Austin with a small smile.
Concern flashed over Sasha's face, "What happened?"
It was a beautiful thing, watching the person most important to you in the world succeed. Sasha smiled as Payson stood at the top of the podium, the World Champion on the uneven bars, the last event final held in 2011 World Championships. She would be walking away with six medals again, gold in the team, all-around, beam and uneven bars, silver on the vault and floor. She was quickly becoming one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time, a two time World Champion, a chance for a third and an Olympic medal in 2012. He was practically bursting with pride as he watched her. He felt the sharp prick of tears gather in his eyes and he wiped them away roughly. She descended after getting her picture taken hundreds of times and walked straight toward him, the gold medal still around her neck, the flowers they'd given to her in her arms. Her arms went around his waist as she leaned against his chest.
"I'm so proud of you," he murmured, holding her tight. He brought a hand up to stroke his fingers against the back of her neck, but thought better of it and placed it upon her shoulder lightly. It was the most they could hope for in public, an embrace between a coach and his athlete.
It had been a media circus for days, all because Lauren Tanner had snooped around in Payson's bathroom. The press was going crazy over the very public kiss, caught by several people on their camera phones, one person had been industrious enough to video tape it. It had aired during the coverage of the event as well, the press eager to not only confirm that Payson Keeler and Austin Tucker were together, but to redeem themselves after Payson had snapped at them before the competition began. Yet, Payson had shut out all the voices, all the distraction and won despite it all.
Hours later, he sat on his hotel room bed holding the key card to her hotel room between his fingers, staring at it. It had begun as a small thought days ago, when they lay together in her bed, their bodies sticky with sweat, entwined together, slowly allowing sleep to overtake them and grown steadily from that moment. He knew what he had to do. He closed his hand around the rectangular piece of plastic and gripped it firmly as he stood and left his room, closing the door behind him, muffling his father's snoring. The ten steps to her hotel room felt like miles as he approached the door and stared down at the lock and then the key. He shook his head, pocketing the key and knocked lightly.
He heard her footsteps approaching the door, there was a pause as she looked through the peephole and then it opened wide. She stood on the other side, looking as grim as he felt. Is it possible she's thinking the same thing you are, Beloff? Now, wouldn't that be incredible and more painful that you can possibly imagine?
"Hey," he said, entering the room, there was soft music playing in the background. She shut the door behind him and then suddenly she was in his arms, kissing him lightly once, twice and then slowly opening her mouth beneath his, a slow, intimate kiss, breaking apart and coming together, neither willing to stop, until they both broke away, breathlessly.
She rested her forehead against his chest, one hand grasping the front of his shirt, the other resting against his bicep, stroking the skin just below the edge of his tee-shirt sleeve.
"You were amazing this weekend," he said, his voice low, though they were alone.
"Thank you," she said, turning her head, pressing her ear against his chest. He knew she could feel the uneven beat of his heart. He gave into the urge he'd felt earlier in the day, lifting a hand and stroking his fingers against the nape of her neck, pulling her closer to him, simply holding her. It could have been hours, but it was probably more like minutes when she looked up into his eyes. He saw the same pain and fear in her eyes that he felt inside himself.
"I love you," they said together. Sasha let out a small, mirthless laugh and she smiled humorlessly, tears beginning to gather in her eyes.
She finally continued, "I love you, but…" she trailed off, unable to say the words.
"We can't do this anymore," he finished for her, his eyes drifting closed as he could barely choke the words out.
"You'd be blackballed; your career would be ruined, not to mention your life. I almost took that away from you once and I'm not going to do it again," she said, her voice unsteady, her grip on his shirt tightening.
He felt a lump form in his throat, "You did beautifully under pressure, but you shouldn't have to deal with it, not at the Olympics, not when I can prevent it. If it came out, you're reputation, everything you stand for, your relationship with your parents, your family and friends; we've put it all at risk. We can't do this anymore." The words were no easier the second time around, even accompanied by his reasons. "It would be all too easy for the wrong person to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. My cologne almost outted us. So it's enough now. I won't let you put yourself at risk anymore."
He felt her shoulders begin to shake and tears gathered in his own eyes. His vision blurred as he took a shuddering breath. She looked up at him, tears swimming in her eyes. She brushed away a tear streaming down her own cheek, before reaching up and catching one of his with her thumb.
"I love you, Sasha. I love you more than any woman has ever loved a man. I know it deep in my soul." Her eyes slid shut, as the words seemed to give her actual pain. The tears flowed freely now and she shook her head, unable to continue, looking down at the floor.
He ducked his head, lifting her chin with his finger, forcing her to look at him. She bit her bottom lip lightly and she took a harsh breath before sniffling softly. "Payson, I have never loved anyone the way I love you. You woke something up inside of me I never even knew existed. Sometimes it feels like I need you just to take my next breath. I will love you for the rest of my life, I swear it."
She cried then, gasping for breath, unable to stop the steady stream of tears falling from her eyes. He pulled her close, trying to sooth her pain, though he knew he was the cause of it. "Shh, it's going to be okay. I promise."
"No, it's not. How can this be okay? I know it's what we have to do, I know that, but it hurts so much, Sasha," she said, her voice catching on her words, her breathing ragged and strained.
"I know," he said, and he did. He could feel an iron clamp gripping his heart, squeezing it so that he could barely breathe from the pain. "I know it does."
"So this is it then," she said, trying to bring herself under control, succeeding only mildly.
"For now," he said, brushing the tears from her cheeks again, Even now, her eyes puffy and red, her cheeks flushed from crying, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"I love you so much, I never want to let you go," she said, fresh tears appearing again.
"I know," he said, pulling her into him again. He vaguely heard the slow sultry notes of the music coming from the radio on the nightstand playing in the background. He recognized the song, it was the same one she'd danced to with Austin the other night. "Dance with me," he murmured, beginning slowly, shuffling his feet, allowing her to follow him.
They danced, long after the song ended, replaced by another, but they kept the same slow pace, their bodies pressed together tightly. Every so often, a soft sob would escape her throat, though her tears never subsided.
Later, they lay in her bed again, just holding each other, reveling in the closeness, trying to fight off the break of dawn. She fell asleep eventually, though it never came for him. He heard the call to prayer as the sun rose and he gently slipped from her bed. He felt that pain in his chest again, it settled into a dull ache that he knew would remain for a little less than a year. That is if she still wants you then, Beloff. Otherwise you'll feel it for the rest of your life. He watched the warm sunlight drift in through the curtains, illuminating her face, so innocent in sleep. He quietly slipped out of the room, steadfastly not looking back, knowing he would not be able to leave had he done so.