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"You," he said. My stomach fluttered. "What drives you to push harder?"
"You," I said.
"We are a team—I exhale, you inhale. We fight together. We work together. It is an amazing feeling when you find someone who shares the same passion as you. The possibilities are endless. I am the beast beneath your beauty, pushing you. From here on out, we do it together. You come to me for anything and I will do everything in my power to make it happen."
We stared into each other's eyes without saying another word. We had it all yet didn't have anything.
I'd been incredibly wrong about him. He cared so profoundly it was suffocating. He was untrusting and put on a façade, and I could see why. When he gave, really gave himself, he invaded your personal space to the extreme and took control.
"I know I do not say this often, but you are a great gymnast. You have come a long way this past year, you just need some polishing."
"There is no gymnast who is absolutely perfect, Kova."
Cocking his head, he lifted one side of his mouth ready for a challenge. "I beg to differ. Nadia Comaneci was the first to be deemed perfect. Why? Because she had a coach who was relentless, who fought with her, not against her. He saw her potential, her drive, and pushed. That is how I feel about you. Do not mistake arrogance for confidence. It is not like that. Some days it is not pretty, but nothing is pretty that you do not work for." Kova shifted in his chair and leaned forward, tapping the countertop with his middle finger. "You are an athlete, a business that needs to be promoted, in a sense. You compete with others to get ahead. Use their flaws for your advancement and I promise you it will all fall into place."
I nodded my head, finally understanding his view. "I guess I always had the mentality that I didn't need to compete with others, only with myself to be better than what I was yesterday."
"Today you saw that is not the case." He looked me deep in the eye, and it unnerved me. "Ria, everything I do has a reason. Pulling you from the meet was not such a bad idea because you got a behind the scenes look. Am I right? It will make you better overall."
My jaw dropped. Way to kill the moment. "Kova, I realize now that your intentions were not bad when you took me out of the meet, but it was your delivery that was ultimately harsh and embarrassing. It was wrong and so cruel. You could have gone about it in a different way."
"I am not the asshole you think me to be."
"It was an asshole move, Kova. Therefore, you're an asshole."
He smiled and chuckled, and it pierced my heart. He sat back and strummed his fingers on the table. "You know, I would not let anyone else talk to me like that."
I blushed, trying not to smile. "But you let me."
He shook his head. "And I have no idea why," he said with a deep sigh. Standing up, he took two steps and stood in front of me. Glancing down, he motioned for me to get up. Confused, I did as he requested.
Kova immediately took my seat, then wrapped a strong arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap. My heart rushed into my throat as he held me so warm and securely to him. Turning to face him, I grabbed th
e bill of his hat and flipped it around so his cap was now backwards. His grin hit my core and I squirmed in his lap.
Grabbing my cell phone, he opened the camera app and angled the lens toward us. I watched his thumb press down repeatedly.
"What are you doing," I whispered.
He snapped more.
"I realized earlier when you took a photo that we do not have a picture together."
My heart gave a little patter. "We shouldn't."
He eyed me. "There have been a lot of things we shouldn't have done, Ria."
My face lit up and I started to laugh. "Hey! You used a contraction."
"I know…it felt weird on my tongue." He grinned.
I adjusted in his lap and he helped me get situated. It was cozy and I didn’t want to move. We had a way about each other that was so utterly confusing. In this moment it wasn't black and white, right or wrong. There were no colors, no ages, no blurred lines. I wasn't that girl, and he wasn't that guy. We were just two people who shared the same ambitions and a connection that couldn’t be explained, only felt.
"There is one more thing I want to talk to you about."
The playfulness dropped from my face. "What is it?"
Kova placed my phone facedown the way he always placed his, then gently rubbed my thigh in soothing circles. He was staring tenderly into my eyes for a beat longer than usual and it left me apprehensive.
