Chapter 5

"What would you think about a round off Arabian walkover mount?" Payson asked as she watched Kelly work through her beam routine.

"Seriously?" Kelly asked, arching an eyebrow at Payson.

"Why not? It's a D skill, you could get it in no time," Payson said. Kelly jumped down from the beam and planted her hands on her hips, staring at Payson as she considered it. After a moment she shrugged.

"Let's try it," she said. Payson helped her pull over the springboard and then stood by the end of the beam to spot her. Kelly took a few steps back and then readied herself, giving her body a shake like a dog shaking off water, and then rose to the balls of her feet.

She launched herself into a powerful run for just a few steps before throwing her body into a round off. Her feet hit the springboard, lifting her high into the air as she twisted her body so that her hands landed on the beam.

Her momentum was too much and it pushed her forward until she lost her balance, twisting herself off the beam and landing on her feet like a cat.

"That was closer than a lot of people could get on a first try," Payson offered. Kelly huffed out a breath but nodded.

"I'll get it. Your turn," she said, waving at the beam. Payson did a simple forward roll mount and then began moving through her routine. "Your mount is so boring."

Payson laughed and performed a solid double flic-flac, linking together two back handsprings and a layout, before jumping into a complicated switch split ring leap, seeming to float on the air.

"My DOD is half a point higher than yours, even with the Arabian, so you can keep the cool mount," Payson teased with a wink. Kelly rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile tugging at her lips.

"Ladies," Austin said, sauntering up to Kelly's side and watching Payson finish her beam routine. She did another split leap, transitioning into a sissone, and then steadied herself for her dismount. She pushed herself into another double back handspring and then used the speed and momentum to launch off the end of the beam and into a double pike. Her feet hit the mats with just the tiniest wobble.

"Your extensions were crap," Kelly said. Payson just shook her head, but Austin nodded.

"She's not wrong, they weren't up to your normal standard," he said. Payson smacked him in the arm.

"What are you even doing over here? Shouldn't you be focusing on your own routines?" Payson teased. Austin threw his arms around Kelly and Payson, pulling them in close and ruffling their hair.

"I just came by to see how you two are doing. I'm still waiting for the spell to wear off and for you to be at each other's throats again," he said.

"Nah. I think we're stuck now," Kelly said. "Friends forever, or some crap like that."

"Aw, KP, you love me," Payson cooed.

"When's your next PR weekend? Mine's in two weeks," Austin said. Kelly and Payson nodded.

"Ours too," Payson said.

"I think MJ scheduled it so we'd always be together," Kelly agreed.

"Yeah, otherwise she'd never get me to go," Payson huffed. She still wasn't happy about having to devote a long weekend every month to sponsors, but MJ had insisted. And it could have been worse, Payson knew gymnasts like Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin who had so many sponsors they were forced to devote a lot more time than four days a month.

"Hey guys," Kaylie said, bouncing up to them. Payson looked at the floor and shifted out from under Austin's arm. Even with Lauren gone, things were still tense between the two of them. Payson couldn't just forget that Kaylie had chosen Lauren.

"Hey," Austin said with a bright smile. Kelly gave her a tight smile, firmly on Payson's side.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Our next PR weekend. MJ has us all on the same schedule," Austin explained, reaching out and tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ears. Payson thought she saw a blush rise in Kaylie's cheeks. She thought it was weird; Kaylie had been the first of them with a boyfriend and yet she still seemed the most innocent and naive. She blushed all the time around Austin. Although Payson knew she would blush a lot too if she let herself think about Sasha too much.

"Hey! Why are you lot just standing about?" Sasha called from the top of the stairs. The four of them jumped and spread out; Kaylie taking her spot at the beam, Kelly and Payson heading for the vault, and Austin back towards the rings.

Sasha watched them closely and then descended the stairs, heading over to the vault with Payson and Kelly. He stood next to Payson, Kelly had moved to the end of the run, and brushed his fingers against hers. She smiled and just like Kaylie less than a minute ago, she felt heat spread over her cheeks.

"You're blushing," Sasha said with a self satisfied smile. She elbowed him lightly.

"Don't get too full of yourself. It's only because there are so many people around," Payson said. Sasha just nodded like he didn't believe her.

"Nice Kelly. Again, and try to finish twisting a little faster," Sasha instructed. Kelly nodded and moved back to the end of the run without a word. Payson could tell she was in her focused zone. Since the two of them were competing All Around, they only had one chance on vault. It had to be perfect.

"I enjoyed dinner with your family last week," Sasha said. Payson felt herself blush again when she thought about how he had kissed her on the back patio, pressing her up against the side of her house and slipping his hand up her shirt, and how exhilarating it had felt knowing her parents could walk out at any second.

"My mom loves you," she said. She caught the way Sasha's face tensed out of the corner of her eye and she frowned.

"She wouldn't if she knew about us," Sasha said darkly. Payson nudged him with her elbow. Really, she wanted to take his hand, but that was out of the question.

"What about us? There's nothing going on, remember?" Payson said, echoing all the times he'd said nothing was all that different between them. He smiled just a little and then pushed her towards the vault as Kelly landed.

"Much better, Kelly. Payson, remember, I want it to look easy."

She turned, walking backwards for a few steps as she gave him a salute. "Yes sir."

#

Kim hummed a little as she worked, moving freely around the office. She loved sharing a space with Sasha, but she liked it best when he was out on the floor with the gymnasts. When he was at his desk, she always felt like she had to be careful, mindful of what he was doing and whether or not she might be disturbing him.

Not at that moment though. He was working with Kelly and Payson at the vault, so Kim was free to hum and dance and be a little silly. There was no one to disturb but herself. Smiling, she looked out at the floor.

Payson completed what looked like an incredible, flawless vault. Of course, Sasha and Payson would find flaw with it, but Kim sure couldn't. To her it looked like her eldest daughter was weightless, floating like a feather tossed by the wind. She saw Payson stand in front of Sasha, hands on her hips. Sasha's hands covered her shoulders as he stooped a little so that he was at eye-level.

She blinked. Had she imagined it, or had Sasha's thumbs been stroking gently across her daughter's collarbone? No, she had imagined it, because on second look Sasha's thumbs were still and his hands were dropping from Payson's shoulders.

Kim lost herself watching the girls, alternating between Payson and Kelly. Sasha seemed more at ease coaching the two of them than any of the others; he touched them freely and seemed to hardly have to finish his sentences before the girls were taking the words right out of his mouth. The three of them were a special team.

Before she knew it, Sasha was sending the girls over to the uneven bars. He turned to watch them go, facing towards the office, and Kim frowned. They way he watched Payson, and only Payson, move took her breath away. It wasn't lewd, there was nothing sexual about it; his eyes didn't travel her body or follow the sway of her hips. In fact, he was staring at the back of her head. What made her heart beat harder was the pure adoration, dare she say love, in his eyes. She'd never seen his gaze so soft before, missing his trademark arrogant spark.

Was Sasha in love with her daughter? Was it her business? Of course it was her business, Payson was her daughter, but Sasha didn't seem to be pushing her or making any inappropriate advances. And would it be so terrible if he was? Granted, she didn't want anything to happen between them for years, if it ever did, not until Payson was grown and maybe even done with college, but Sasha was a good man. No, he was a great man. Would it be so bad for someone like him to be in love with her daughter?

"Kim?"

She nearly hit the ceiling when Sasha said her name. She hadn't noticed him cross the gym and duck back inside the office.

"Huh?" Kim asked, her heart in her throat.

"I asked if you were okay, you seem a little pale," Sasha said, eyeing her carefully. Kim swallowed. Up close, Kim could see the tiny lines around Sasha's eyes, the ones that reminded her just how much older than Payson he actually was.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," Kim promised. But she wasn't. What was she thinking? There would never come a time when it was okay for Sasha and Payson to be together, no matter what kind of man he was, because he is, and always would be, her coach.

Kim needed a way to gently urge Sasha away from her daughter. Even if Payson shared his feelings, feelings beyond the little crush everyone knew she had, and even if Sasha really and truly loved her daughter, Kim knew that the sooner she set him on a different course, the better off they would all be.

"Sasha, are you seeing anyone?" she asked. Sasha laughed and shook his head.

"No, but I think Mark would object to us having an affair," he teased. Kim laughed, but it sounded forced; strained and high pitched even to her own ears.

"I meant…well I was wondering if I could set you up with someone. I know things didn't work out well with Summer, but you shouldn't be alone," she said, trying to make it sound like she was solely concerned with his happiness instead of his feelings for her daughter.

"Thank you, Kim, for your concern," Sasha said with that bashful smile that always made him look younger. "But I'm not ready to jump back into the dating pool just yet."

#

Payson was working on the beam, trying to fix those extensions Austin and Kelly had mentioned, when her mom came out of the office, done for the day. Payson could feel her watching, waiting, but she forced herself to concentrate on the moves until she hit the dismount. She stumbled a little on her landing, she hadn't quite gotten all the way around on her double pike.

"Ready to go home, hon?" her mom asked, watching her expectantly. Payson shook her head, lifting herself back onto the beam to work on her dismount some more.

"Not yet. I won't be too long though, home in time for dinner I promise," she said, glancing at the clock. Dinner was at seven, which gave her just over an hour before she had to hit the showers.

She noticed her mom look back over her shoulder at the office, frowning, and Payson's pulse started to race. She'd never balked at Payson staying late before, had something happened? Did she know?

"Okay, sweetie," she finally said with a sigh. "Home by seven."

"I promise." Payson watched her mom leave and then turned her focus back to the beam.

"You're still not hitting the rotation on your double pike just right," Sasha said, coming down the stairs. Payson huffed.

"I know. Did you say something to my mom?"

"About what?" Sasha asked. Payson rolled her eyes.

"About anything? She seemed…weird, when she left." Sasha's brow furrowed.

"I didn't, but she did seem not herself this afternoon."

"Did we slip at all?" Payson asked, wracking her brain for any moment that might have been too obvious. She couldn't remember any.

"Not any more than usual. I'm sure she was just having a bad day," Sasha promised. "If she knew, or even suspected anything, we would have heard about it. I don't think your mom is the type to keep quiet about the issue."

"You're right, I guess," Payson conceded. Sasha smiled, reaching out and smoothing his hands over her face before leaning in and pressing a kiss to hear forehead.

"Fancy a run?" he asked. She smiled.

"Yeah."

#

Kim kept one eye on the clock as she set the table for dinner, trying to keep herself busy until Payson got home. She wasn't sure why she was so on edge; Sasha's feeling certainly couldn't be new, and she had always trusted him with Payson before. Why shouldn't she now? If anything, she should almost trust Sasha more, trust that he would protect Payson from anything, even himself. He was that kind of man. But knowing that Payson was alone in the gym with a man who loved her, who she might love in return, made her itch.

"Hey mom!" Payson said, breezing in the door and heading straight for her room.

"Payson, honey, can I talk to you a minute?" Kim asked, following quickly after her. Payson was unpacking her bag, tossing her leo and sweats into the laundry hamper. Her hair was wet and she wore jeans and a simple tank top, she'd clearly showered and changed before coming home.

"Uh, sure. What's up?" Kim thought she saw apprehension flash in Payson's eyes, but her daughter was a teenager, wasn't it hard wired in them to be apprehensive of parents who wanted to talk? She certainly always had been.

"I just….wanted to check in, see how things are going at the gym. With Sasha," Kim added. Payson frowned.

"What do you mean?" Kim sank down onto Payson's bed, patting the space next to her. Payson sat down too, curling her legs beneath her and kicking off her tennis shoes.

"Well, you guys didn't have much time to work through what happened before he left, and then with the situation with Lauren," Kim stammered, unsure of how to broach the subject. "And you're back working so closely with each other, I just wanted to make sure you're okay with everything. I mean, do you still…have a crush on him?"

Payson's cheeks flamed bright pink and she looked down at her comforter, picked at it.

"No, Mom, I don't have a crush on Sasha. I know you think we didn't have time to work through it before he…left." Kim thought she heard Payson's voice hitch and wondered how much pain Sasha's departure had really caused her. "But we did. There really wasn't a whole lot to work through."

"So you're fine working with him again?" Kim asked. She watched her daughter carefully, trying to find any hint of what may or may not be happening between them.

"More than fine. I promise."

Kim realized she didn't have any choice but to trust her daughter.

A/N: So this chapter is sort of short, but I'm back on a roll! I have the next few chapters outlined so hopefully you won't have to wait too long before the next update.

A huge thank you to Barrel of Monkeys, CuteLikeMomiji, Kissin Concern, flowerchild3286, poppetrussell, Ida-cullen, Abby, JCI, mArTiNaMcBrIdErOx91, madaboutalice123, LauraW89, Tayler Snape13, and brokenangelwings16 for your reviews! You guys are amazing!

Let me know what you thought of this chapter! It will make the next one come that much faster ;) Also, if you haven't yet, go check out the final chapter of When Your Heart Wears Thin!