A/N: Smut at the end proudly contributed by Jordon!
"Yes, yes... PUSH!"
With a THWACK, JJ landed hard on the crash mat at the end of the tumble track, her feet securely beneath her as she carried her arms straight up above her head to finish it off.
What she had just landed was a double twisting double back tuck – an incredibly difficult skill that she had never imagined herself doing. But under Nick's constant guidance (and Aimee's helpful input at camps), she had mastered it with plenty of time to include it for Jesolo team consideration.
The previous year, her tumbles had consisted of a double layout, a piked double Arabian, a tucked double Arabian, and a full in double back tuck. But Nick, ever confident that JJ was capable of much more, had laid out a strong plan to upgrade her routine according to the foundation she already had.
As a result, she now had a much more difficult routine. Her opening pass was still a double layout, but her successive passes were now a double double, a tucked double Arabian, with a full in double tuck to close. She was pushing her own limits, and it felt good to have a complete change up; it made coming to the gym feel refreshing again.
"You are getting scarily good, you know that? That's almost ready to go to a competition surface," Nick said, clearly impressed. "Just make sure you open it up in time for landing so you minimise the deductions for having your chest down"
JJ nodded, smiling as she pulled herself back up onto the track.
"While you have a little break... there's something I want to talk to you about," Nick said quietly, hopping up onto a stack of crash mats to take a seat.
Giving him her full attention, JJ sat down and started gently stretching out her legs on the track.
"I'm going to be hiring an elite assistant coach sometime in the next couple of months," Nick started. "Before you get worried, I'm not palming you off to someone else. I'll still be your primary coach, but whoever I end up hiring will have a heavy hand in your training and will be here primarily to help us get you through the next two seasons. It'll also allow me to start working a little more with the level tens, because no doubt some of them will be qualifying elite soon, and I need to be working with them more often"
JJ nodded understandingly.
"I'm also going to be switching up the training groups. You train pretty much on your own all the time, and while it works for us, it's a little lonely. I have two younger kids who have just started homeschooling because they want to qualify elite by next year, so I'm going to put the three of you in a training group two days a week. That way, they'll get to see how you and I work together, and you'll have some company"
"Is one of them Kate?" JJ asked.
Nick grinned. "One of them is Kate. The other one is Clem"
JJ nodded; she knew both of the girls. Kate Albridge was JJ's little sidekick in the gym. She was a pretty little thing with long blonde hair and a fair complexion that had earned her the moniker of 'JJ 2.0'. Kate was outgoing enough for every girl in the gym; a trait that had become clear when she'd met JJ at age four and had decided they were going to be best buddies. The fiery almost twelve year old was a strong competitor with a head for competition that reminded JJ of Aly. She had her sights set on the 2019 World Championships, and then, and only then, would she decide if she was going to shoot for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She had a mature outlook on her gymnastics, but a fierce determination that brewed inside her every waking hour of the day.
Clementine Avrett, or Clem, was a year younger than Kate, and so her sights were already fixed firmly on the Tokyo Olympics. Having moved to Pennsylvania at the end of the 2012 with her family, she had been a new enrolment for 2013. At first, she had been a little starstruck to be training in the same gym as JJ, but she had quite quickly taken it in her stride. She was a gorgeous girl with a shiny crop of fiery red hair whose elegant lines and balletic style belied the power she was capable of. JJ was looking forward to training with the girls and being able to mentor them as they started their difficult journey through the elite ranks.
"Because you'll be working the most with the new coach out of anyone, I want you to be a part of the interviewing process, because I don't want to hire someone you're not going to get along with," Nick said, breaking JJ from her thoughts.
"Will the new coach come to competitions?" JJ asked.
Nick shook his head. "Not at this stage. I'll still be the one on the floor with you, and then when you get sent away for assignments, they'll be staying here to run the level ten and elite programs while I'm gone"
JJ nodded. "Ok, that makes enough sense"
"All ok with you?"
JJ nodded again. "Sounds good to me"
Nick broke into a relaxed smile. "Good. A lot of things will change, but I think it's all for the good"
Getting to her feet, JJ smiled at her coach. "Well, I'm looking forward to it"
"Alright kiddo, we'll finish up for today, go enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you on Monday"
"How does someone who's only ever lived with their parents accumulate so much stuff?" JJ mused as she lifted an old picture frame from the cardboard box. Will chuckled, looking up from where he was sorting through the last box of his clothes on the coffee table. He had moved into his new apartment a couple of days earlier, and after being cut loose from training, JJ had come over to help him unpack and finish sorting through all his things.
"You can put that one over by the TV," he said, watching as she turned to place the photograph down on the wall unit.
"You look so cute in this photo," she giggled, her eyes lingering on it for a moment before she turned back to face him. "What next?"
Will stared back at her for a moment, seemingly unable to find his words. For all of a sudden, the thing he'd been tossing over and over in his mind seemed to come into clarity.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked gently.
"Sure"
He swallowed hard, fighting his heart that seemed to be rapidly increasing in rhythm. "What would you say if I asked you to move in with me?"
JJ felt her heart skip a beat in her chest, her stomach giving an uncomfortable lurch. "What? Why?" she asked quickly.
Will cocked an eyebrow. "Because I want to ask you to move in with me?"
"Why would you do that?" JJ stammered, her eyes suddenly growing wide.
"Because we've been dating for two years and we love each other?" Will replied, standing up and running a hand through his hair. "It's not an unreasonable thing to ask"
"No but… you just… I can't!" JJ exclaimed, taking a few steps back.
"Ok?" Will asked, the frustration evident in his voice. "Care to explain to me why? Do you not love me? Are you tired of this relationship?"
"Don't be stupid, of course I'm not!" JJ exclaimed, her voice rising with each word.
"Really, because you have a funny way of showing it!"
"You were fine just a few minutes ago, but now I've answered something other than yes to one of your suggestions and it's all about you?"
"It is about me JJ, because every time I ask you to make a perfectly reasonable step in this relationship, you act like I'm completely out of line! I want to know what the fuck I'm doing wrong that makes you feel so uneasy!"
"Do you honestly think I would have sex with you if you made me uneasy?"
"That's not the point JJ, I… UGH! Why are you like this? Where the hell do you see this relationship going?" Will yelled. "Actually scratch that, I know why you're like this, it's because I'm dating the queen of commitment issues!"
JJ's expression turned into one of fury. Furious, she threw down the photograph she had since picked up from the box, not even flinching when it shattered on the floor. "Unpack your shit yourself, I'm going home!" she yelled, storming over to the door and grabbing her keys from the end table.
"Fine!" Will yelled after her, throwing himself down on the couch as she wrenched the door open and disappeared out of it, slamming it shut behind her.
When JJ let herself back into the house, she found herself face to face with her mom as she came out of the study with an armful of papers.
"Why are you home so early? I thought you were spending the rest of the day with Will," Sandy said curiously, frowning at her daughter. "You look upset… what happened?"
JJ took a deep breath, closing the door behind her and dropping her keys on the table. "I… I had a fight with Will"
Sandy resisted the urge to groan. "JJ… you barely made up with him after the last spat. What's going on with you lately? You've been flying off the handle at the drop of a hat"
Chewing the inside of her lip, JJ shrugged. Without another word, Sandy put her papers down on the hall table, before putting a hand on JJ's back and guiding her into the kitchen.
"Sit," she said firmly, pointing at the counter stool. Not even seeing the point in arguing, JJ did as she was told, watching as her mom came to stand on the other side of the counter.
"What happened?"
Sighing, JJ dropped her gaze to the counter in front of her. "We were unpacking his stuff and talking and… he asked me if I wanted to move in with him"
Sandy raised her eyebrows. "And then… what, you got mad?"
JJ let out a huff, tipping her head to one side. "No, I… I guess I got defensive. I said I didn't want to, and he wanted to know why, but I… I couldn't give him a straight answer. And then he got upset because he said I have a funny way of showing him that I love him, and we just… started arguing with each other"
Folding her arms across her chest, Sandy let out a long sigh. "JJ… if you're not ready to move out, all you had to say to him was 'I'm not ready'"
"I know," JJ groaned, resting her elbows on the edge of the counter and putting her head in her hands. "I just… I panicked"
"But why? It's Will!"
"It's not Will that scared me, it was the idea of… I don't know. Everything being so real"
Sandy laughed. "JJ, you've been dating for two years. That's not real enough for you? Having sex isn't real? God, you two have been inseparable since you got together, even more than you already were, but somehow that's not real?"
"Of course it's real," JJ said, her voice filled with frustration. She rubbed her face, pushing her hair back as she tried to word what she wanted to say. "It's… it's just hard to explain"
"Ok. I think you need to go back to Will's and talk to him. I know you've got a lot on your plate this year and you're a little strung out, but Will shouldn't have to cop the brunt of it, ok? You need to remember to take a breath before you react, because lately you've been… I hate to say it, but you've been overreacting to a lot of really small things"
"I know," JJ mumbled, finally lifting her face to look at her mom. "I don't know what's wrong with me"
"Nothing's wrong with you, JJ," Sandy said gently, stepping forward and placing her hand over JJ's. "You're a human being experiencing a lot of very human emotions all at once. Add to that that you're also an elite athlete in a very intense sport, and it's understandable that you'll lose it every once in a while. But like I said… you have to talk to us, or Will, or go back and see that therapist you saw after the Olympics. It doesn't do you any good to bottle all this stuff up"
"I know"
"Go back to Will's and sort things out, alright? If there's one thing I've learned in all my years married to your father, it's never to end the day angry at each other. It just makes it so much worse the next day"
A hesitant knock on the heavy wooden door sounded through the apartment, breaking Will out of his thoughts. Reluctantly, he pulled himself up from the couch, walking over to the door and pulling it open.
"Hey," JJ said softly when she met the eyes of her frustrated boyfriend. "Can I come in?"
Will shrugged, stepping aside so she could enter the apartment, before closing the door behind her. "Come to freak out on me some more?" he muttered as he turned back to face her. She narrowed her gaze.
"Please don't do that. I know you're pissed off, but I'm here to apologise, so don't start being a dick or I'm going to walk straight back out that door," she said quietly but firmly.
"Ok… sorry," Will replied, gesturing for her to keep talking.
"I am sorry about how I acted earlier… I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," she said.
"Well, why did you?" Will asked. "If you don't want to move in with me, why couldn't you just say that?"
"Because that wouldn't be entirely true," JJ replied quietly. "I do want to move in with you… just not right now. Right now, I'm… not ready. I just have so much happening that to change it up by moving out of home, I think it would do more harm than good"
"Ok," Will sighed in frustration. "Why couldn't you just tell me that?"
"Because that's completely off brand for me?"
Will cracked the tiniest smile, shaking his head as he took a step towards her. "I need you to be honest with me. All the time. Because this?" he said, gesturing between them. "This is never going to go anywhere if you're going to freak out at every normal progression I try to get us to"
"I know"
"You just… I love you, JJ, I do, but sometimes you drive me crazy, you know that?" he said exasperatedly. "I'm still kinda mad about it"
JJ nodded, her gaze dropping.
And then, Will was in front of her, tipping her chin up towards him and catching her lips in a deep kiss. But almost straight away, JJ could feel the tension in his touch. The hand not sliding to cup her cheek came to rest on her hip, pulling her close. She slid her hands up his chest, looping them behind his neck and pulling him close.
Their tongues fought for dominance as their bodies pressed together. His hand slipped around to roughly palm her ass, grinding into her. Will pulled his lips from hers and kissed along her jaw, making his way to her ear. "God I love you. I love you so much, it's just… fuck!" JJ had slid a hand between them, cupping him through the rough fabric of his jeans.
"I know. I know, I'm sorry." She shoved her hand down the front of his pants and wrapped her hand around him as he quickly hardened.
"Keep…" Will's breath was already beginning to come in gasps, his hips twitching to press further into her hands. His fingers threaded through her hair and pulled her face back to his. He kissed her hard, pulling back to nip at her bottom lip with his teeth.
"I want you," she breathed.
"Are you sure about that?" The words seemed to leave his mouth before he had a chance to think about it. She saw the flash of pain in his eyes. She moved the hand not steadily jacking him off and used it to push his hand down the front of her shorts and underwear. He gave a low groan as his fingers came into contact with the wetness already collecting there.
"I want you. No one else."
He inhaled sharply and pressed a finger deep inside her. Her mouth dropped open and her hand tightened around him.
Will backed her up until she was pinned between him and the living room wall. She pulled her hand out of his jeans and hurriedly began to unfasten them. She pushed his jeans and boxers down and he did the same with her shorts. She kicked them loose of her sneakers then Will's hands were gripping her thighs, lifting her level with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he lined up at her entrance.
With one sharp movement he pushed inside of her, making them both gasp. He immediately set up a frantic pace, fucking into her again and again. She lifted a hand from where she was clutching his shoulders and ran it through his hair, pulling his face to hers so she could capture his lips. She could feel the sweat beginning to form on his skin.
"Yes…" she groaned. "Will… yes, harder."
"You like that?" He shifted his grip on her so that he was pressing even closer. He captured her earlobe and nipped at it, earning a sharp cry.
"Oh fuck… I need to cum."
"Then touch yourself," he growled into her ear. She needed no further encouragement, immediately bringing her right hand to rub between their bodies, urging herself towards the finish.
"Fuck… Fuck, WILL!" It hit her hard, her toes curling and the nails of her left hand digging into Will's shoulder.
"Oh God… fuck!" He followed her over the edge, tucking his face into her neck as he fought his way through his orgasm.
When they came to their senses, they were still pressed against the wall, their faces barely inches apart. JJ brought her hand to his cheek, cupping his face as they both heaved for breath.
"I love you. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you lately... you don't deserve it," she said softly. "You're way too good to me"
Will cracked a smile, catching her lips in a quick kiss.
"You deserve all the love I have to give"