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Jesus Christ, my heart. My back stiffened, feet rooted in place as Katja stormed out of the office. The door slammed into the wall behind her and bounced off. She halted to a standstill in her high heels when she saw me.
Our eyes locked. She looked downright murderous. My heart rate escalated to an unhealthy rate, pounding so viciously I could hear it in my ears. Her stunning, ethereal face contorted into a fury of abhorrence, twisting into something I never expected her to look like. She scowled down her nose at me before spewing something in Russian and marching off.
It all happened so fast.
I tried to replay the words in my head so I could look them up later, but my brain couldn't process them at the rate she had said them. Shed spoken too quickly. I don’t think she even took a breath. It was like one giant run-on squeaky Russian sentence.
I watched in silence as she stormed out of the building. A muffled sound behind me drew my attention, and I glanced over my shoulder.
Kova stood stretching his jaw, cupping one side while he rubbed it. I caught sight of the red handprint on his skin.
Our eyes met and I was caught off guard by his reaction. He looked…sad, and it confused me. I felt pity looking at him when he didn’t deserve pity.
Without thinking, I walked over to where he stood and gently dragged my knuckles down the side she’d slapped.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
His eyes softened. I thought he’d be angry that I heard and saw what I had, but he didn’t appear that way at all.
Kova reached for my hand, his warm fingers pressing into my cold palm. My stomach dipped as he pulled me closer until we were just a few inches apart. He looked deep into my eyes.
For a moment we were suspended in time, forgetting where we were or that anyone could see us. I took note that this wasn’t the first time this had happened. It’d been happening more so lately and neither one of us seemed to care. We were getting too comfortable and becoming reckless.
Kova brought my knuckles to his lips and gently kissed them. I swallowed hard, fighting to tear my gaze from his. My fingers curled around his before he dropped our hands.
“Trouble in paradise?” I asked, my tone good-natured.
And just like that, his shoulders relaxed and he fell into stride next to me.
“I probably deserved it,” he said.
I nodded in agreement, and he chuckled.
Quietly, just for him to hear, I said, “I put the notebook in your desk under a bunch of green folders.”
I looked up waiting for him to respond. Instead, he dipped his head once and I caught the faintest hint of a smile.
“Kova?” I said as we rounded the corner.
“Hmm…”
“Why’d you lie for me?”
Kova paused at the door to the gym and angled his body toward me. "Sometimes, Adrianna, we do things not for ourselves, but out of need for others."
Fifteen
With wide eyes, I looked all around me. There were photographers everywhere and not an empty seat in the house. Chaos and coaches. Gymnasts and anxiety.
Kova squatted in front of me, the black material of his dress pants stretched over his knees. I looked at his opened palm.
"Give it to me," he insisted under his breath. I handed him my sports tape. "What is wrong with you? Why are your hands shaking?"
I glanced at my fingers. I'd been tempted a few times now to skip the medicine, but after being on it for a few weeks, I was too scared of the repercussions I'd face if I did. I didn't want to mess with it, but the trembling had gotten so bad over the last week and it was starting to drive me nuts. My entire body felt like it was on edge, uncontrollable shaking down to the bone. I learned it was a side effect of the steroids and there was nothing I could do about it unless I called my doctor and asked for something else. I hadn't. Instead, I attempted to adapt to it and tried to regulate it the best I could, balancing myself by taking deep breaths, and flexing my hands and making sure I kept moving.
"Answer me," he demanded, his eyes shooting all around us.
"Nothing… I'm just nervous."
