She spent most of the morning covering for her slip ups. Blaming it on a lack of a warm-up, cold floors, loose bars, poor chalk. Anything to stall her admittance of the true cause. Him. Sasha. She tried to remember the words he had so calmly used to mend her heart.
"You are the most beautiful woman, Emily. But you know this is wrong. There are lines between a coach and his athlete, and I will not cross this one. You need to keep focused."
While cutting, his words assured her of the reciprocation of their feelings. In that moment at least, Sasha wanted her just as much as she wanted him. Not wanted. Needed. They finished their midnight rendezvous with no more talk of want or need. No more talk, at all, really. They didn't need words anymore, they were connected. She flew, moved, jumped, balanced with an ease and grace she had never known. She was on fire, all because of him. Trusting him, opening herself and her heart to him had made the difference. It had give her the edge she needed to bring it to Nationals.
A day full of sub-par performance had her convinced otherwise. She allowed herself to become distracted by flashes of their encounter. His arms around her waist. The texture of his lips. The sparkle in his eye. The indecision that she evoked in him. She finally understand why coaches had strict dating rules. If something as innocent as a kiss had her in this state of mind, it could only go downhill from there.
She surveyed the gym, watching the other girls for once. The effects of teen romance was evident on their performances as well. Emily knew that what she was feeling was wrong. It went against everything she had worked for. Giving up her childhood, a sense of stability, boyfriends, real friends. But her feelings for Sasha, for this man who had awakened something deep inside her, were unstoppable.
Everything she felt for any other man paled in comparison.
Razor, her coworker, first friend in boulder, and mystery suitor. He once made her weak in the knees. No longer.
Damon, her most loyal and trustworthy friend in years. She could tell her cared about her, and he used to present the biggest challenge to her devotion. No longer.
Leo, a fellow gymnast and Kaylie's older brother. Emily thought he was the closest she would get to someone understanding her lifestyle. No longer.
Finally she was having something a normal girl would experience: love. Forbidden love, but love none the less.
"There are lines between a coach and his athlete, and I will not cross this one."
He had drawn the lines, but it was up to her to show him how to cross them. It was up to her to convert these intense and overwhelming feelings into the grace and poise she felt that night. Feeling desired by Sasha gave her an energy she had never felt before. She wanted it, craved it, needed it back.
Author's Note:
I just wanted to thank everyone for the response I've been getting, it has inspired me to keep writing. I'm also posting my story on livejournal if you want to follow it there. My profile has the links.
