Chapter 17

"Welcome to US Gymnastics Nationals. I'm Tim Dagget and with me today is Shannon Miller. Now Shannon, the thing everyone wants to talk about is Lydia Jacobs' eleventh hour bid for a spot on the Olympic team. Tell me, what are your thoughts?"

"Well Tim, I wouldn't do it, that's for sure. Of course, very few people have seen her training, so she could surprise us all, but after being out of the sport for nearly four years…I'm not expecting much."

"Should Payson Keeler be worried? Lydia is a former All Around gold medalist."

"I don't think she should be any more worried than she normally would be. She's always going to feel Kelly Parker breathing down her neck, and everyone knows that nothing is for sure in gymnastics. But she's got a pretty comfortable lead in her start values."

"Why do you suppose Lydia chose to train at the Rock?" Tim asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Sasha Belov is the best coach in the world, and he coaches the best gymnasts. Lydia either wanted them to brush off on her, or she wanted to psyche them out," Shannon said.

"Here's the first rotation, and Kaylie Cruz is up on vault. Oh! A huge hop on the landing, but form was pretty good. Let's see what the judges say."

"A 14.91, not terrible, but certainly not what we're used to seeing from Kaylie."

"Up next, Lydia Jacobs. Good form on this vault, and a stuck landing, but its much simpler than we're seeing from most of the competitors today. A Yurchenko one and a half is something most of these girls have had in their repertoires for years," Tim said.

"So has Lydia," Shannon said. "Honestly, we are probably going to see incredibly simple routines from her today. Right now, it's not about winning for Lydia, it's about showing Marta that she should be able to go to the Trials. She can save the big routines for later."

"Next on vault we've got Payson Keeler. Now she's got a Produnova, which is a handspring double front. This vault has an incredibly high start value of 7.1, and Payson does it beautifully. Next to Lydia's vault it looks even more impressive."

"This is the type of vault most of us thought we would never see from Payson Keeler again, not after breaking her back. Her body changed while she healed, her center of gravity changed, and her ability to do power moves changed as well," Shannon said. Tim hummed his agreement.

"True, but she and Coach Belov seem to have found a way to make that work for her, because she far outscores the competition in her DOD on every apparatus."

#

Payson couldn't help but cheer as she jumped from the platform into Sasha's arms. She'd stuck her Produnova, and managed to make Lydia look like a level five in comparison. Sasha hugged her tightly, but released her after the briefest moment.

"That was beautiful, Payson. Spectacular."

She got a double high five from Kelly, and a hug from Kaylie. She ignored Lauren in favor of preparing for the next rotation. Lauren and Lydia were two of a kind as far as she was concerned, and she didn't want anything to do with them.

Bars were next. Kaylie and Kelly presented strong routines and got great scores, both were comfortably on the podium. Payson fastened her grips and chalked up as Lydia stepped up to the bars. Sasha stood nearby, poised to pull the springboard away after her mount. She knew the second Lydia's hands hit the high bar that the routine would be a disaster. She powered through the first few skills easily enough, but wobbled and piked her hips during a handstand. She lost her momentum, and Payson could see the effort it was taking to make it through the routine.

She was nearing the end when she came to a release skill that Payson had seen her do hundreds of times. It was always perfect, but this time her hands slipped. The entire arena went silent as she fell flat onto the mats.

"Oh my God," Payson gasped. She started forward to check on Lydia, but Kelly pulled her back. Sasha was there, helping her to her feet. Payson could see the tears in Lydia's eyes. Sasha said a quiet word to her and stepped back until Lydia nodded. Then he lifted her up to grab the high bar again, set to finish her routine.

"She's out," Kaylie breathed from beside Payson.

"You don't know that," Payson said.

"She's right, PK. No way Marta gives her a pass to trials now, not when we've got such a strong team already," Kelly said.

Lydia finished the routine with a shaky dismount, but she managed to stay on her feet. Payson couldn't stand the way Lydia had flirted with Sasha and she didn't like the girl much at all, but she cheered anyway and when Lydia came off the platform, Payson was the first person to hug her.

"I'm sorry," Lydia sobbed. Payson hugged her again.

"Shhh, it's fine. It doesn't matter."

Lydia pulled herself from Payson's arms and dashed for the tunnel to the locker rooms. Payson shook her head. No one deserved to go out that way.

#

"It's been an eventful weekend here, Shannon, but we're finally at the end. Our new National Champion is, no surprises here, Payson Keeler. Kelly Parker takes the silver, and Kaylie Cruz the bronze."

"These three were certainly no surprise, but we did get a couple of unexpected twists this weekend. First was Lydia Jacobs' disastrous run. After falling from the bars she spent a long time in the locker room composing herself. She made it back in time for beam, her specialty, but fell twice. Marta can be seen consoling her now."

"And the other twist?" Tim asked.

"The other twist is Lauren Tanner's dismal ranking. Usually in the top four, Lauren fell to seventh this weekend. She'll be lucky to make the Olympic Team as an alternate, Tim, which is a shame because she's such a powerhouse on the beam."

"Never a dull day when gymnastics is involved. I'm Tim Dagget with Shannon Miller. Thank you for tuning in."

#

The post-Nationals party was in full swing when Payson and Kelly arrived. Kelly had insisted that they take extra care in their outfits. Kelly picked her dress, a red, white, and blue halter dress with a plunging neckline and sky high navy heels. Kelly wore a short, sparkly blue dress. When every eye in the place turned towards them, Payson knew that Kelly had made the right choices.

"Sasha's eyes are bugging out of his head," Kelly whispered as they made their way towards MJ and Austin.

"I know," Payson said with a smirk. It felt like it had been weeks since they'd had any time together, and she couldn't wait to get home and have her way with him.

"Girls," MJ said. "This is Yvonne Hartman, she works with Ralph Lauren. They'd like the two of you to do a joint campaign for their fall line."

Payson raised an eyebrow at Kelly. Ralph Lauren was a big deal. "Wow."

"We're offering a multi-million dollar contract," Yvonne said. "The two of you were made to be in front of a camera, and the rivalry turned friendship is a huge draw."

"We're honored, Ms. Hartman," Kelly said, answering for both of them.

"If you'd like, we can step out to sign the papers now," MJ said. She was never one to let a deal walk away. Payson sighed, her eyes darting around the room until she found Sasha at the bar with Austin. He was watching her, his eyes dark and hungry. She felt herself flush. The faster she could sign the papers, the faster she could get back to him.

"I'm game if Kelly is," she said.

It took half an hour to go over the contract and sign the papers, and by the time Payson and Kelly returned to the ballroom, Sasha was nowhere to be found.

"He's on the balcony," Austin whispered as he led Kelly to the floor for a dance. Payson grabbed a flute of champagne and wandered to the double doors, hoping she didn't look too eager.

Sasha was leaning against the railing, his forearms braced on the cold metal as he swirled Scotch in a tumbler. He'd shucked his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. Payson loved it when he did that.

"Hi," she said. He straightened and turned towards her, offering a sultry smile as his eyes trailed over her from head to toe. Payson's skin burned in each place his eyes touched.

"Hello. You look…ravishing."

Payson shivered, wishing for the millionth time that they were alone.

"Fancy a dance?" Sasha asked, holding his hand out to her. Payson grinned, her eyes sliding sideways to the doors, and the people milling about beyond them.

"We're not supposed to dance in public," she said. Sasha snorted.

"We're not in public."

"Public enough. It would look even worse if we got caught dancing out here than if we were in there. And MJ's here. She'll have a fit," Payson warned. Why was she trying to talk him out of dancing with her? All she'd wanted the entire night was to be wrapped in his arms, and he was offering her that chance. Why was she fighting it?

"I don't bloody care what MJ thinks," Sasha growled.

Payson shifted on her feet as unease settled in her stomach. Sasha wasn't drunk, but he wasn't exactly sober either, and she was high on victory and champagne. It was a recipe for disaster. She tried to think of a middle ground, but came up short.

"Get us a room," she whispered. Sasha blinked.

"What?"

"Get us a room, text me the number, and I'll meet you there in ten minutes," she said. Desire flared anew in Sasha's eyes and Payson nearly melted. It was a terrible idea, but Payson couldn't be bothered to care. She knew what it was like to be with him now, truly be with him, and she couldn't get enough.

"Don't be long," Sasha said, his voice a low rumble that made Payson shiver. She waited a minute or two after Sasha left the balcony, and then slipped back into the ballroom. Her first stop was MJ.

"MJ, I'm exhausted, and I'm starting to get a migraine. I'm going to head up to bed. If you need me for anymore sponsorship stuff, it will have to wait," Payson said, hoping that MJ wouldn't fight her on it. She didn't, but she did level an unimpressed stare at her.

"Do you truly have a migraine or are you sneaking off to do something I'll have to fix later?" MJ asked, disapproval clear in her tone. Payson huffed. She was legally an adult, she didn't have to explain herself to anyone.

"Migraine." Payson didn't stick around to argue about it. Instead she sought out Kelly and Austin, who were huddled together in a corner. She had to admit, they looked great together.

"Hey PK," Kelly said when she noticed Payson coming towards them. "I thought for sure you and you-know-who would have snuck off already."

"He's already snuck off, I'm about to go join him," Payson admitted, feeling a blush heat her cheeks. "I told MJ I'm leaving, but would you cover for me if anyone else comes looking?"

"Anytime. Have fun."

"Be safe, make good choices!" Austin called out as she walked away. Payson ducked at the volume, she didn't need him calling attention to her get away. She cast a quick glance around, but other than some no name reporter looking between them with amusement, no one seemed to be paying attention.

Payson checked her phone, noting the room number, and then made her way quickly through the lobby. She took the stairs, she didn't want to get stuck on the elevator with anyone, and tried not to race down the fifth floor hallway. Glancing quickly in both directions, she knocked.

Sasha appeared, leaning casually in the doorway. His dress shirt was already unbuttoned and untucked, offering a glorious view of his chest and stomach. Payson reached out to trace the lines of his abs and grinned as he drew a shuddering breath.

"Are you going to make me stand out her all night? Or are you going to take me to bed?"

Sasha grinned, and pulled her in for a kiss.

A/N: Chapter 16 was super short, and honestly not my favorite, so you get TWO chapters today! Enjoy! Let me know what you think!