Chapter 14

Summer, 2010...

Austin Tucker loved dramatic entrances.

He took a deep breath of satisfaction, stuck his motorcycle helmet under his arm, and strode forward into his new gym. He passed several girls – some with wide eyes and some with open mouths. He could get used to this.

When life got boring – and yes, that even happened to Olympic gold medalists – Austin usually benefited from a change of scenery. If he was lucky, this particular change of scenery might also challenge him as a gymnast. Austin hated to admit it, but he'd been nervous since Nationals. He'd barely hung on to his title with Nicky Russo coming out of nowhere and grabbing the silver. The margin between them was too small for comfort and while Austin kept up an indifferent, I-pull-this-out-of-my-ass attitude for show, inside he was itching to kick-start a new phase in his career.

"Sasha Belov." He said as he walked into the Rock's main office. He took off his sunglasses and extended his hand. "Good to see you."

Sasha smiled and returned the grip. "Austin – I had no idea you'd be here so soon."

"Well, when someone says gymnastics, I come running."

"To Colorado?"

"Apparently." Austin said, taking a seat and folding his arms. The last time he'd seen Sasha Belov he had stars in his eyes. He'd met the former medalist and legend just before the 2008 games. Now, with a gold medal in his back pocket, he felt more like an equal than an adoring fan. "I'm excited to start here, though."

"Good." Sasha said. "I think our elites could use a good example of training and discipline."

Austin Tucker raised his eyebrows. "Me – a good example?"

Sasha sighed. "Austin, I'm not stupid. I know very well how hard you work, even though you desperately try to hide it from the press and your peers in general. No one gets as many titles as you do by skating by and not caring. Your performance has not worked on me."

The younger gymnast shifted in his seat, but his poker face remained intact. "Well, I'm not making any promises. I'm here to train hard, not mentor."

"Oh really?" Sasha said with amusement. "I seem to remember a young Olympian I met a few years ago talking about his coaching aspirations."

Austin laughed. "Ah yes….and I might join your ranks later Sasha, but not this year and not today."

"Well, regardless of your future plans and current attitude, I still expect you to follow the rules of my gym while you're here. You are not an exception."

"Rules?" Austin asked. "The usual I presume? Let me guess – be on time, no dating, sacrifice a goat on your way out…"

Sasha sat back in his seat, hoping desperately that this young man was taking this more seriously than his appearances indicated. "All correct – minus the goat. That's optional."

"Fine." Austin said. "It's not like I was moving here to meet girls. This is Colorado, not California."

"My elite girls are the heart of this gym." Sasha half explained, half warned. "I don't want you to interrupt the delicate balance here. Trust me, there's enough parental forces to disrupt that without romance thrown in to the mix."

Austin was intrigued. "Ah yes, the Rock Rebels…"

"Kaylie Cruz is the new national champion and starting to really step up as a leader. Emily Kmetko has more at stake than ever and has a bad habit of retreating inwards and not being open with me. And Lauren…Lauren is just a piece of work. The last thing they need is a distraction. Understand?"

"Aren't you forgetting Payson Keeler?" Austin asked.

Sasha stopped and stared at Austin. He was used to people discounting and underestimating Payson by now. It was unfortunate, but true. He'd learned to stop grouping her with the term "Rock Rebel." Sasha was half surprised, but half impressed that Austin had noted his exclusion.

"Yes, there is Payson Keeler." Sasha said.

"What? Aren't you worried I might have a bad influence on her too or are you only concerned about your Olympic darlings?"

Sasha sat forward with a smirk. "First of all, Payson will be an Olympian. Second, unlike the other girls I know I don't have to worry about Payson Keeler getting distracted. She is focused, hardworking and more ambitious than ever after her injury. If I were you, I'd be more worried about getting in he way."

"Hmmm." Austin said. "Well, Sasha. I think we see eye to eye on these matters. Anything else before I workout?"

Sasha Belov placed a stack of paperwork in front of him. "No, Austin. Just fill these out and you will be an official Rock athlete."

A few minutes later Austin Tucker was on the floor, basking in the familiar gym sounds. He pretended to ignore all the stares as he chalked up. Everyone seemed to be keeping ten feet away from him at all times – like there was some sort of Austin Tucker force field of intimidation surrounding him. If that wasn't enough, he could practically feel Kaylie Cruz's disapproving gaze bore into the back of his head. Clearly, he would have to deal with some territorial attitudes while he was here.

"Excuse me." a voice said from behind him. "Are you going to use up all of that chalk yourself?"

"Nope." He said without looking up. "Join the party, by all means."

Someone added their hands to the bowl, entering from his right side. He didn't look up until a long strand of blond hair started tickling his cheek.

Payson Keeler was dipping her hands in with purpose – no lingering, no nonsense. Her face was unreadable, but also soft. He couldn't help but smile, especially considering the conversation she's just had with her coach.

"What?" Payson asked him, taking her hands out and looking at him skeptically. "Why are you smiling?"

Austin sighed, pretending to be offended. "You know, a simple "Welcome to the Rock" would've sufficed, Keeler."

"I didn't realize I was a hostess at a restaurant." she said, shrugging. "Fine – Welcome to the Rock. Enjoy the chalk."

With that, she casually stepped away from him and jumped onto the uneven bars, spinning and turning with speed, power, and grace. The last time Austin Tucker had seen this athlete on that apparatus, she was falling from it. He raised an eyebrow with a new found respect.

"Excellent, Payson." He heard Sasha Belov call from the platform outside his office.

Austin sat on the steps of Sasha's office after the press conference, his head clouded with questions and thoughts. No one had noticed him duck away from the crowd and steal a minute away for himself. Everyone else was in the middle of the gym now, crowded around the woman of the hour and gushing over the press conference afterglow. Most media outlets were in a consensus during their live coverage – Payson Keeler was no longer an embarrassing sports icon, but a brave single mother trying to get by. The crisis was officially averted.

"Austin."

He jumped out the sound of his name, especially since it came from the mouth of Sasha Belov.

"Calm down," the man said, taking a seat next to him civilly. "I don't plan on punching you again."

Austin remained silent, eyes shifting back and forth between Payson on the floor and Sasha next to him.

"I wouldn't blame you, actually…." Austin confessed.

Sasha did a double take with interest. "Really?"

Austin shrugged. "This is all my fault, isn't it? This all could've gone a different way if I had just stepped up a few years ago. There would've been no secrets and no scandal."

"Well…" Sasha started. "I think you're forgetting that Payson Keeler has free will. That wasn't just your decision. It was hers too."

Austin's eyes were glued on Payson. She was glowing among her family and friends, obviously elated that her burdens had been lifted. She was smiling – really smiling. He had just watched her defend her life and their child in front of millions of people. The image was really shaking him up.

"It's just starting to hit me." He said, more to himself than to Sasha.

"What?"

"How little I really know her." Austin answered.

Sasha paused, looking back and forth between Payson and Austin. Watching him stare at her, defend her, and silently stand by her during that short media event opened so many undesired, untapped thoughts. Insecurity – a feeling Olympians like Sasha were not used to – was starting to boil inside him. Sasha suddenly felt naïve for assuming he was the only man is Payson's life.

"Sasha! Austin!" Kaylie ran over to them and urged them towards the small, celebrating crowd. The men reluctantly followed her.

Lauren Tanner grabbed dixie cups from the gym cooler and brought out a bottle of champagne from her purse. She caught her former coach rolling his eyes at her antics, but she just responded, "What, Sasha? You think we only drank water out of these things?"

Everyone laughed while she uncorked it in the middle of the gym floor and passes around the cups.

"To Payson Keeler for defeating the media with class and dignity." Kaylie raised her tiny cup over her head and led the toast. Her subject blushed furiously, but didn't protest.

"To Payson." Everyone repeated, downing the small portions of bubbly that Lauren had given them. Emily's, however, remained untouched.

"What's the matter?" Lauren asked with skepticism. "Not your favorite brand? I promise, it's delicious."

"Um no." Emily said, suppressing a smile. "I'm not drinking, actually."

"Not drinking?" Lauren asked, not understand the sub meaning. "That's lame…"

"Oh my gosh!" Payson shrieked in a very unPayson way. She jumped up excitedly and embraced her friend. "Emily Kmetko! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!"

"Wait – what's going on?" Lauren asked in frustration.

"Emily's pregnant!" Payson cried happily.

"…and sort of terrified." Emily admitted, but there was still a huge smile plastered across her face. The girls bore down on her with hugs and giddiness.

"Oh my god, they're really grown up, aren't they?" Mr. Cruz muttered to Sasha in disbelief as his daughter and her friends continued to jump up and down with their arms around each other. Sasha couldn't agree more. Then again, he'd picked up on that key fact about three seconds into his first kiss with Payson Keeler. Apparently Mr. Cruz was having a harder time accepting it.

Sasha put his hand on his shoulder. "Alex, change is good."

Payson Keeler was craving normalcy and routine. Unfortunately, the past few days of her life had not offered her these comforts. She woke up the day after her press conference with a zeal for coaching. Nothing sounded better than driving to her usual spot in the Rock parking lot, going through training with the girls, and dealing with day-to-day problems that didn't involve the intimate details of her personal life. She was eager to see Nina and Jessica again.

Apparently those feelings were mutual. The second Payson walked through the doors of the Rock Nina bounded forward like she was about to vault. Instead of flying through the air, however, she grabbed Payson round her middle and gave her a big hug.

"Wow." was all Payson could say at that greeting.

"Thank God you're here!" the girl cried.

Payson looked up and saw Jessica standing a few feet away smiling warmly. She wasn't exactly the hugging type, but her expression sent a clear message: "Welcome back."

"Well," Payson said, clearing her throat and collecting her emotions. "What are you two waiting for? I need to see some beam. Warm up now and I'll see your routines in a few minutes with Sasha."

The pair of them hurried away diligently. Payson sighed in contentment and walked up the familiar route to Sasha Belov's office.

"Come in." he said when she knocked.

"Hi."

He looked up from his desk at the sound of her voice. Jumping up, he walked across the room and swept her up into a giant hug. Payson buried her face into the crook of his neck and breathed in the scent of him – pine, cotton, and something special she couldn't identify.

"I hope you had a relaxing weekend." He joked. Payson punched his arm lightly.

"Very funny…"

"Tell you what – why don't I cook you dinner this week at my apartment?"

Payson bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh. "Since when do you cook…anything?"

"I've picked up some skills." He defended himself. "I've invested in cable this year. Do you know how many cooking shows are on American television, by the way? It's astounding…"

Payson wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, I won't be coming for the food anyways…"

She leaned in slowly with her eyes locked on his. Sasha was like play dough in her very skilled and capable hands. Then, just millimeters from contact, she smiled coyly and turned away abruptly. Before Sasha could even recover form the build up, she was outside his office again, calling out an order to a gymnast on the floor.

He groaned, frozen in his expectant position.

"Good lord, that woman is going to kill me."

A/N: More very soon! Keep reading and let me know what you think