Kim smiled as she sat down to the breakfast table with her husband. It was just the two of them. Becca slept over Lily's the night before and Payson was obviously at her own house, with Lord knew who. She frowned momentarily, thinking about how her once close relationship with her daughter had slowly been deteriorating over the last month or so. There hadn't big a blow out fight or a defining moment, she just felt her drifting away. She rarely came over for dinner anymore, rarely spoke beyond polite conversation on their days and news at the Rock. She'd noticed a change in her daughter more generally as well. She wasn't happy. The last year she felt like Payson had undergone a renaissance of sorts, marrying her drive and focus with an unbridled joy for the sport she so dominated. She'd returned to the serious, young woman who rarely cracked a smile. It was unsettling to say the least, since Kim traced the change back to just after the World Championships, the same night she suspected Payson had slept with Austin Tucker. She couldn't prove it and she hadn't shared her suspicions with anyone, but there was something different about Payson and based on the various versions of the story she'd heard about the night of the infamous kiss, it was the only conclusion that made sense. It was disconcerting to say the least since it appeared Payson's relationship with Austin hadn't changed in the slightest. She still maintained that they were nothing more than friends, that the kiss had been a moment of insanity and nothing else, but Kim knew her daughter was suffering and everything pointed to Austin.
"So I talked to my sister Cathy yesterday," she said, avoiding the topic swirling through her head. Mark had not taken the media frenzy well and while Payson had talked to him about it, it was still very much a sensitive issue.
"Yeah, I saw them last week for dinner," he said, passing her maple syrup for her pancakes. "Chaos,as usual."
"She was talking about coming down next week for Thanksgiving," Kim said with a smile. Their relatives never came to Boulder. Most of them had disagreed with their move to begin with and so they'd never made the trip down.
Mark nodded, "That would be nice to have Cathy and Dave here and it would be good for the girls to see Payson and Becca."
"That's what I thought. I'll call her today and invite them to stay," she said with a nod. "I'll invite Sasha as well," she added. "He won't have anywhere to go."
Mark tilted his head, "Does he even celebrate Thanksgiving? Sasha's so British. Pilgrims probably aren't his thing."
Kim rolled her eyes lightly, "That's besides the point. He should have a place to go."
Mark smiled at her indulgently. "Sounds like we'll have a houseful."
She smiled, "It'll be nice. It's been too quiet around here lately."
Mark grimaced and nodded. "You spoke to Payson yesterday?" he asked. The expression of resignation almost broke Kim's heart. She knew he wasn't sure how to go about bridging the distance that had developed between them and Payson.
"I did. She's looking forward to the holiday," Kim said with a smile.
"Is she still maintaining that she's not dating that Tucker kid?"
Kim shook her head, "Austin and yes, she says their just friends, that the kiss was just a kiss."
"And you believe that?" he asked, setting down his fork in frustration.
Kim shrugged, "I don't know, Mark. I've seen them together, they're definitely close, but," she shook her head, "I just don't know. She says they're not together, I don't see what choice we have other than to believe her."
He frowned and then asked a question Kim hadn't expected, "What does Sasha say about all this? Does he think they're together?"
Kim tilted her head, "You know, I don't know. I do know he spoke to both of them after they got back from Worlds, but I don't know what he said. He hasn't really said one way or the other."
Mark nodded, "Then he must think they're not together. He's not about to let two of his gymnasts flout the rules right under his nose." He took a bite of his pancakes.
Kim bit her lip and looked up at Mark almost apologetically, "I didn't tell you, did I?" she asked and he looked at her expectantly, "The parents board overturned the no dating rule on Sasha's recommendation. He was saying something about it causing more trouble than it prevented."
"Alex 'Keep All Male Species Away from my Daughter' Cruz went for that?" He snorted.
"Alex trusts Sasha and so does the board," she said, "I'm inclined to agree with him."
Mark smirked, "I kind of liked that rule. That rule was every father's dream."
"It was obviously ineffective and I think Sasha's right, it causes more harm than good. Look at it this way, say Payson and Austin are seeing each other, which really, what's wrong with an eighteen year old girl having a boyfriend? Without the rule in place she wouldn't have felt like she had to hide it from anyone, especially us."
Mark nodded, "And even with the no dating rule gone, she's still denying that she and Austin are together?" he asked.
Kim pursed her lips thoughtfully and shrugged, "So maybe they really aren't together after all."
The Rock was pulsing with activity when Kim arrived, after seeing Mark off to the airport. She caught sight of her daughter on the beam, working through her new routine under Sasha's watchful eye. She stopped for a moment to watch and saw Payson dismount the beam directly from a practical tumbling pass across the length of the four inches. She made it look easy, but the scuttlebutt around the gym was that when the new code of points was released, Payson's dismount would be rated a G skill and called a Keeler. She landed it solidly and looked to Sasha, both wearing the same stoic expression.
"Good," she heard Sasha say. She saw him raise his hand, ostensibly to pat Payson on the shoulder, but he stopped halfway there and shook his head before nodding back towards the beam, "Again," he said and she grimaced, but followed orders.
It had been this way for almost a month now, this fierce intensity that radiated between Payson and Sasha as she trained. Nothing ever seemed good enough, they focused like a laser beam on the minutia that would possibly see Payson to Olympic gold. Kim frowned. She'd seen a change in Sasha as well, almost a 360 degree circle from when he first arrived. He hadn't exactly been footloose and fancy free, but there was a sense of peace around him. He'd seemed happy. The lines around his eyes and mouth had become less pronounced, he'd seemed at ease with himself and the world around him and then he shifted again, back to the stoic, taskmaster that he'd been when he first began coaching at the Rock. He'd come home from Istanbul, different, much like Payson had, in fact she'd briefly considered that the two had a falling out of some sort, but their relationship seemed unchanged the more she watched them together. She suspected it had something to do with a woman, maybe MJ, she knew those two had a history and she couldn't imagine what else could possibly throw off Sasha Beloff.
Professionally, things were great, the girls had done very well at Worlds, though Kaylie had been disappointed, finishing just off the podium in both the floor and vault event finals. The men's team was more than holding its own as well, though Nicky Russo's fourth place finish in the all-around had been a disappointment, but Austin held onto his title and Carter had medaled again. No, it had to be something personal, His relationship with his father, maybe? She was determined to find out. Sasha had become something of a, well she didn't know how to define it, she wouldn't quite call him a son, she didn't think she was quite old enough to be his mother, but it was close enough. She cared about him and she wanted to help. The invitation to Thanksgiving dinner was a way of trying to cheer him up a bit, if it was possible. Whatever the problem was, it seemed to be consuming him.
Sasha saw Kim arrive out of the corner of his eye as Payson executed another perfect dismount from the beam. Her routines were coming along beautifully and at a faster pace than he expected, even from Payson. She'd dropped two pounds a week over the last month and that was aiding in the development of her new skills.
She approached him, her pretty face serious and her mouth drawn in a line. Their professional relationship hadn't changed much, if anything they operated on another level entirely, one he'd never accessed before with any athlete he'd worked with.
His eyes met hers, the look communicating exactly what he thought of her perfect dismount and then he switched focus, "Your mum just arrived."
She nodded, "Yeah, she had to drop my Dad off at the airport this morning. He'll be back at the end of the week for Thanksgiving." He raised his eyebrows, "Don't worry, strict diet for me, no overloading on carbs, I swear." She smiled a little and he thought he caught an ironic lilt in her tone, but he wasn't sure.
He shook his head, not giving voice to his thoughts that she'd been perfect before and he found himself missing the soft curve of her hips, less rounded now than they'd been a month before as he'd held onto them while buried deep inside her, her skin soft and supple under his fingers. "No, that's not it. I'd forgotten there was a holiday coming up," he said, masking his true thoughts well enough, though perhaps she saw through him. He was sure she always knew what he was thinking, especially now.
She smiled at him briefly, though the serious expression was back in place quickly enough, "I better get back to it." She moved towards the beam again.
"Yeah," he said, "Run through the whole routine four more times before moving over to the floor." She nodded and he headed straight for his office, not chancing another glance in her direction. If this was where his head was today, he had better stay away from her. There were some things that he couldn't control and his mind was one of them. There was a pile of paper work waiting for him on his desk. Tara and Jake had practice well in hand and he wanted to work on it when he knew Kim was there to answer any questions he had.
"Morning," he said, as he entered the office, Kim already at her desk hard at work.
"Good morning," she said with a smile, handing him a packet of papers to add to the already intimidating pile of work on his desk.
"Thanks," he said, his sarcasm clear as he sat down behind his desk, picking up a pen.
"Before you plow into that, I wanted to know if you had plans for this Thursday, yet?" Kim asked, drawing his attention.
"This Thursday? No, I don't," he said, wishing he could pull back the words as he said them. He knew what was coming next and he knew he wouldn't be able to refuse her. You're such an idiot, Beloff, you were just talking with Payson about the holiday.
"Great, then you are cordially invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Keeler family. Nothing special. My sister and her family will be down from Minnesota and the more the merrier, I say."
Sasha opened his mouth, not being able to find his voice, "Kim…" he began,
"Nope, sorry, not taking no for an answer," she said with a smile.
He couldn't help but return it. He genuinely liked Kim Keeler and that's what made it so difficult to be around her. He knew he had her respect and affection and he knew that one day in the not so distant future that he would lose it. Her smiled brightened as he shrugged helplessly, "What should I bring?"
"Yourself and a bottle of wine wouldn't go amiss."
So that was how Sasha found himself dressed in one of his two suits, standing outside the Keeler's front door holding a bottle of red wine. He rang the bell and the door was opened just seconds later by the person he'd hoped.
"Hey," she said, a soft smile playing on her lips. Christ, she looks beautiful. It wasn't the dress, although the crystal blue color reminded him of something, and it wasn't her hair, though she wore it in soft curls, flowing down her back and over her shoulder, just as he liked it. She was just glowing at him. Then he realized it. It was the first time they'd seen each other outside of the Rock in a little more than a month. He swallowed roughly, the urge to pull her to him, press their bodies together and kiss her almost overwhelming, but was quickly quashed as Mark Keeler popped his head around the door and smiled.
"Sasha," he said, moving around Payson and extending his hand. "Happy Thanksgiving."
He shook Mark's hand firmly, "Happy Thanksgiving," he said, and handed him the bottle of wine.
"Payson, were you going to invite him in or keep him outside the entire night?" Mark asked his daughter who flushed a little and opened the door wider. Her father stepped away from them, bringing the bottle of wine towards the kitchen.
Sasha stepped inside the house and was immediately besieged by the noise level. He looked around and saw two unfamiliar people standing in the dining room, glasses of wine in hand already and four, maybe five blonde girls running around in circles until suddenly he felt something slam into the backs of his legs. Immediately a wail went up and Payson, who'd been standing next to him, crouched down and stood again, this time with a small girl perched on her hip.
Sasha's heart practically pounded out of his chest as the picture she presented him. The little girl, buried her face in Payson's neck, as she made soothing sounds, brushing a small kiss on a chubby cheek. "It's okay, Livy," she cooed lightly at the child, who couldn't be more than two. "You're okay and Sasha's not angry. You should say sorry for bumping into him though," she murmured.
The little girl lifted her head up and looked at him curiously, two fat tears running down her cheeks. "Sowry," she whispered.
His heart melted on the spot. "It's okay, little love," he said, reaching out and wiping the tears off her cheeks with his thumb. "I'm sorry too, I got in the way."
"Oh my God," a voice he didn't recognize pronounced. "Look at them; doesn't it look like Livy could be their daughter? All that blonde hair! Wouldn't that be a scandal?" Despite the obnoxious, grating voice that delivered the statement, Sasha couldn't help but agree. Any child of theirs would be fair-haired and the sight of Payson holding the little girl in her arms was almost too much for him.
Payson looked up abruptly, her eyes meeting his in slight panic before she sighed in resignation, "Aunt Cathy, this is my coach, Sasha Beloff," she said, "Sasha, this my mom's sister, Cathy and her husband, my Uncle David."
He smiled at the pair, "Pleasure to meet you both," he said with a nod.
"Wow, that accent! So you're British? Isn't Sasha a girl's name though? Always thought it was a girl's name. Doesn't matter, though if you look like you do. No one is going to doubt you're all man." Payson's Aunt Cathy rattled on without taking a breath and Sasha could feel the heat rising on his neck. He turned towards Payson who looked livid.
He smiled in what he hoped looked like a genuine way, "My name is Alexander actually, Sasha is an old Russian nickname for Alexander."
"You're Russian? But your accent, it's English," she continued to speak.
"He's English and Romanian, Aunt Cathy," Payson cut in, looking at her uncle pleadingly.
Her uncle seemed to take the hint, "Cathy, why don't you see if Kim needs help in the kitchen? I'm going to try to round up the girls." He put a hand on his wife's shoulder and led her out of the entry way, back towards the kitchen.
"Wow," he said, quietly. "That's your mum's sister?"
"They're very different," Payson said, an embarrassed frown appearing again.
Suddenly, the little blonde girl seemed to tire of being in her cousin's arms and squirmed until Payson let her down. She stood in front of Sasha and looked up, craning her neck. "Up!" she demanded, lifting her arms high. He looked to Payson who shrugged, so he bent down and lifted the little girl into his arms, "Whoa!" she exclaimed. "High up top," she said and giggled.
"And what's your name? he asked, as the little girl leaned back in his arms to study his face carefully.
"Wivy," she lisped and he smiled.
"That's a lovely name, Livy. I'm Sasha," he said and caught Payson's eye. She was smiling at him in that way that usually led to a kiss. It was an easy leap to make at the moment, though he knew it wouldn't be happening.
"Washa," she mumbled to herself, letting out a small giggle.
Suddenly a voice cut into their moment, "I hate to say it, but I think my sister-in-law was right, you three do make a picture," Mark said returning to them. "Are you going to come inside or are you and Payson going to pow-wow in the hallway with my youngest niece for a while longer?" They followed him into the living room.
Payson quietly mumbled, "Sorry about my Aunt. She's had five glasses of wine already and that's actually her being well behaved."
"Don't worry about it, love," he murmured back. Her eyes shot up to his and they met for a brief moment before he caught himself. "Sorry," he whispered.
She shrugged and gave him a small smile. She didn't mind, but it was a small reminder to be careful. "Down," Livy suddenly demanded and he let the little girl down as she toddled off in the direction of the most noise, down the hallway, where he assumed the rest of the girls Payson's uncle had mentioned were.
"Sasha!" Kim called as they entered the kitchen, "Happy Thanksgiving," she said, bussing his cheek lightly.
"Happy Thanksgiving," he said, accepting a glass of wine from Mark who'd opened the bottle he brought.
Payson turned to the only person in the room he hadn't been introduced to, "Sasha, this is my cousin, Maureen," she said. He took in what had to be Cathy and David's eldest daughter. She looked to be in her early twenties and was a near replica of her mother.
Cathy leaned forward, "Maureen is a senior at U of M," she said loudly and her daughter glared at her. "Going to be a teacher. Payson wouldn't you be in college right now if you weren't doing your gymnastics?"
"I am in college, Aunt Cathy," Payson said sweetly, though Sasha immediately recognized the insincere tone of voice she used. "I'm going online at UC Boulder right now, so I can concentrate on my training."
"Right, right," Cathy said, waving a hand in the air dismissively. Sasha's eyes flitted around to everyone in the room. Kim and Mark seemed to be used to this kind of behavior and little fazed by it, but Payson looked absolutely mortified.
"So you're Payson's coach?" a new voice asked and Sasha turned towards Maureen.
"Yes, I am," he answered, not sure if he was supposed to elaborate.
"And you were a gymnast beforehand?" Maureen asked. She was pretty enough, dirty blonde hair, a small upturned nose, dark brown eyes, but the way her eyes were taking him in made him nervous.
"Sasha is a four time Olympic gold medalist," Payson said, her frustration evident. "I told you that last night, Mo." Maureen shrugged, her expression outwardly bored, but she met Sasha's eyes and what he saw was clear as day. She was coming on to him, in front of her entire family. He looked to Payson whose eyes were shut as she shook her head.
The awkwardness was broken by a high pitched shriek followed by a loud roar of answering screams. "Payson, would you?" Kim asked, her daughter. Payson shot her mother a desperate look before she turned and left the room towards the sounds of chaos.
"They listen to her," Cathy said, with a shrug.
Kim looked at Sasha as he watched her daughter leave the room. Maybe inviting him hadn't been the best idea. When her sister, brother-in-law and their six daughters, ages twenty to two, had arrived the day before, the sole fixation had been that Sasha would be attending dinner. Cathy had plied her for details on the young man, obviously intending to match him up with he daughter. Kim loved her sister, but she had no delusions about her.
"Don't you think he'd be just the thing for Maureen?" Cathy said, as they sat in the living room. Mark and Dave had taken the younger children out for frozen yogurt, leaving Kim, Maureen, Payson and Cathy with the house to themselves.
"Is he hot?" Maureen asked, looking towards Payson for an assessment.
"He won't be interested," Payson said shortly.
"Payson," Kim cautioned her daughter, who shrugged unapologetically. She and Maureen had never gotten along as children and it seemed that had carried into young adulthood.
"Why wouldn't he be interested in my Maureen? She may not have posed practically naked in a magazine, but she's pretty enough to be a model," Cathy shot towards Payson.
It had started when they arrived. Somehow in their absence, Cathy and Maureen had formed quite a lot of resentment towards Payson's success and there wasn't much they were holding back.
Payson rolled her eyes, "Excuse me," she said, standing up and leaving the room.
As soon as she was gone, Cathy reeled on her, "Well, Kim really, that girl of yours. I really think all this fame has gone to her head. And they're still talking about that magazine picture of her in town. I can't believe you and Mark would let her do something like that. Then we arrive her and she's not even living at home anymore?"
It had been all Kim could do to keep her mouth shut. She wanted this holiday to be a pleasant experience.
When she called them all to dinner, it was an absolute relief that they would have the food to occupy them at the table.
"Sasha, how did you get involved in gymnastics?" Dave asked and Kim smiled.
"It's in my blood actually. My father was a gymnast for Romania and it was something I grew up doing."
"So you've never had a real job?" Cathy asked and Kim cringed. Sasha had rebuffed all of Cathy's not so subtle hints, pushing him towards Maureen all night and now her sister was in attack mode.
Sasha's eyes flashed briefly, but he seemed to reign himself in, "I suppose that's one way to look at it. I've never had to work at a job I've hated. I've been lucky enough to do what I love since I was a very little boy."
"Is that what you plan on doing as well, Payson?" she asked quickly, and Kim saw Sasha's eyes narrow towards her sister and instead of allowing Payson to answer he jumped in.
"Payson is a world class athlete. If she does as is expected next year in London she will arguably be the greatest female gymnast of all time. She has worked harder than any athlete I have ever encountered and overcome the most astounding obstacles a person could face to get to this point. So, no, I suppose she won't have to resign herself to the drudgery of simple employment for a paycheck. Excuse me," he said, standing, dropping his napkin on his chair and leaving the dining room.
The entire table sat there with their mouths agape. Kim made to rise, to go after he guest and apologize, but Payson's hand on her stopped her. She shook her head and stood to follow him.
"Well, how rude," Cathy said, her eyes fixed on Kim. "Are you just going to let that man speak to me that way?"
Kim stared at her, "Are you serious, Cath? After the way you've been behaving? All your little comments and insinuations, what is the matter? Are you jealous? Is that was this is? You thought us moving here was a mistake and we've proved you wrong and now you're jealous? Excuse me, I've lost my appetite." She stood and marched into the kitchen where the kids were eating, oblivious to what had happened in the dining room.
Becca looked up from cutting Livy's turkey for her. "Sasha and Payson went out back," she said off handedly.
"They needed some fresh air," Kim said as an excuse, though she knew it was a weak one. She moved towards the window and looked out into the yard, not seeing the pair.
"I don't know, Sasha looked pretty angry," Becca said. "Payson will be able to calm him down though. She always does."
Kim looked back at her daughter. "What you do you mean?"
"You know, like when we're at the Rock. Whenever Sasha goes off the deep-end about something, Payson's the only one who can get through to him without getting her head bitten off."
Kim nodded, still looking outside into the dark yard before finally spotting them near one of the large trees. Sasha had given Payson the jacket to his suit, which made sense since it was only about forty degrees outside. It looked like they were talking. Kim watched as they both seemed to calm down, their shoulders more relaxed, the tension gone from their posture. She saw Payson nodding and then Sasha leaned down to brush a kiss against her daughter's cheek. She took off his jacket and handed it to him and he left the yard from the side gate. Apparently he'd had enough, not that Kim blamed him. She looked back towards her daughter who was standing in the middle of the yard, staring at Sasha's retreating back, holding her hand to her cheek, as if she were trying to keep something there. Kim's eyes widened and she gasped. Suddenly, the changes in her daughter made sense, the shift from completely and utterly content and happy to the overriding sense of sadness that hovered over her, the tension she seemed to be operating under on a daily basis. Payson had fallen in love with her coach.