Chapter 6
There was nothing Allie liked more than a
good work-out. Between going over her routines and doing some push-ups, Allie
was feeling very sweaty. And, for some reason, that seemed to perk her up.
"I'm still not sure which routine to do for floor exercise."
Allie said, looking at Jules from where she lay on the mat. Her sweat covered
tank top had been shed by now, tossed by her gym bag. She was currently using
her towel as a pillow where she lay.
"Svetlana will probably be doing one that's very graceful and
artistic." Jules said.
"Carly Patterson is usually good for an athletic one." Allie
said, slowly sitting up and adjusting the straps of her sports bra that was
serving as her top at the moment.
"If we do a mixture of both…" Jules started.
"Would it possibly be seen as bland? Seeing as how there will
be plenty from both extremes." Allie said.
"Who else is going for floor exercise?" Jules asked.
"I never know. I know Carly was saying something about
all-around." Allie replied.
"You know what all you're for?" Jules said.
"Individual balance beam, individual floor exercise, team
all-around and individual all-around." Allie replied.
"It seems to me like you should know your competition. It's
been settled since Trials." Jules said.
"Trials wasn't a good time for me. I had how many interviews
my parents set up?" Allie asked.
"I know." Jules said, walking around. Allie laid back down,
not wanting to dwell on those memories.
"Can we go over that fast beat routine of mine for the beam?
It's killing me to not be doing something." Allie asked.
"Hop on up and I'll count." Jules said, smiling.
As Allie stepped up on the beam, Jules started counting. And
slowly, everything else just started fading away. The fact she had spilled some
personal information to a guy she barely knew just that morning, the fights
between her and her parents, her worried over why she was still a gymnast, it
all slowly faded away. Any sound other than Jules' soothing tone counting to
her. She was in her own world, and loving every minute of it.
"Good job." Jules said when Allie finished.
"Think I've got it down pat?" Allie asked from her perch on
the beam.
"It looked to me like you did." Aaron's voice said, causing
Allie to lose her balance for a second. She quickly regained it, trying to
remember if she saw him come in.
She turned to where his voice was coming from, seeing Aaron
sitting in the very first row of seats. "What are you doing here?" Allie quickly
asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing. You were at the pool
yesterday." Aaron said, as Jules raised an eyebrow at Allie, who just shook it
off.
"But, I did leave when you guys arrived. So, technically, I
don't have to answer your question." Allie said, crossing her arms over her
chest, not remembering the fact she was standing there in a sports bra and mesh
shorts.
"So, due to the fact you left and didn't interject anything
into our team meeting, you don't have to answer me?" Aaron asked.
"Yes." Allie said.
"But, what if I asked you why you were wandering around the
hallways this morning?" Aaron asked.
"You were too." Allie reminded him.
"But I told you why. I was going to the balcony to read,
remember?" Aaron said.
"Yeah." Allie said, sounding dejected.
"So, are you two just going to stand there, or are you going
to do more work?" Jules spoke up, seeming very interested in Allie's answer.
"I think I'm going to go for a jog." Allie said.
"Mind if I join you?" Aaron asked.
"You want to?" Allie asked.
"Why not? It might do me some good." Aaron replied.
Allie carefully stepped down from the balance beam and
grabbed her t-shirt off her gym bag. She slipped it on and then pulled on her
hoodie. Last step was pulling on her tennis shoes. "You ready?" Allie asked.
Aaron smiled, as the two started walking out of the
gymnastics hall. "I meant to say I'm sorry, for just unloading all my deals and
problems on you earlier." Allie said.
"It's okay." Aaron said.
"Is speed walking okay? I'm afraid if we jog that we may drop
dead from the heat." Allie said.
"Works for me." Aaron said, as the two started off.
They staid silent for a bit as they walked along the trails
over the Village. Whenever Allie spotted reporters, she sped up a little. Aaron
kept up with her, and he quickly decided not to ask why she was avoiding the
press. He didn't want to possibly open up some wounds or something else horrible
for her.
"You must be wondering why I'm not stopping to get chatty
with the reporters." Allie's voice spoke up.
"I figured it was your business." Aaron said.
"That didn't stop me from spilling it all to you this
morning." Allie replied.
"I decided that it was better to be your ear instead of
running off scared." Aaron said.
"Why did I ever think you were cocky?" Aaron asked.
"You thought I was cocky?" Aaron asked.
"I never said that." Allie said, as her pace started slowing
down.
"Yeah you did. You just did." Aaron said.
"I did?" Allie said. This time, her tone was more of worry.
She couldn't believe that she had let that slip out.
"It's okay. I thought you were a heartless bitch." Aaron
replied.
"And what made you think that?" Allie asked, interested where
he may have gotten that opinion.
"A Sports Illustrated interview." Aaron replied.
"Oh, I know the one you're talking about. I really did not
want to do that interview." Allie said, as she and Aaron's pace slowed down
considerably.
"Parents?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah, it was. They even had Jules talk to me about the
interview, in hopes of talking me into it." Allie replied, chuckling a little.
"Why are your parents so media hungry?" Aaron asked, as they
somehow arrived at the pool. Allie stayed silent as they climbed into the stands
and leaned onto the metal railing.
"Both my parents loved gymnastics. But, they never made it to
the Olympics. In the end, my Dad became a rich and powerful lawyer, and Mom
became a rich ad agent. As they started having kids, they saw a new way to live
out their dream. But James, Logan, Lily and Morgan were never that into
gymnastics. I was, and I became their little project. Every medal I won was a
new step up for them. When I won first place, I got a full page in the newspaper
saying congratulations. In middle school, they even started setting up
interviews for me." Allie said.
"Quite interesting." Aaron said.
"I guess I became their way of showing off. Everything I did
was something good they did. Every medal I won was a medal they won. Hell, I
could have been named mayor for a day, and people probably would have acted as
if my parents were chosen." Allie said.
"No wonder you hate interviews." Aaron said, moving closer to
Allie.
"I hate every damn one. But, at the same time, I love the
attention." Allie said. "I've always poured myself into training so that I never
had to worry about dating or partying or having a social life. I've hidden away,
and each interview makes me feel like all that training is accomplishing
something."
"You have accomplished something. I mean, you're at the
Olympics." Aaron said.
"You know, I'm almost 21, and I've never been kissed?" Allie
said, turning to face Aaron.
His blue eyes stood out, making Allie gasp a little. Had she
always noticed how blue Aaron's eyes were? Or, after the last revelation, was
she noticing him all over again.
Like how she wanted to just down in his eyes. She vaguely
remembered a feeling sort of like this when they had chatted at the airport. But
now, they had a level of report that they didn't have then.
Aaron started leaning closer, as Allie wanted to squeal. Was
it happening? Was she about to kiss a guy? And not just any guy, but Aaron
Peirsol? She closed her eyes and leaned towards him.
Their lips softly met, both of them unsure of what to do. It
was Allie's first real kiss, so she had no clue what to do. Aaron seemed to know
that she didn't know what to do, and didn't seem to want to rush, hurt or even
possibly scare her.
When they pulled apart, both slowly opened their eyes and
looked at each other. Neither knew what to say, or what to do. This was
something, something weird. They had only been talking for two days. And now,
they had kissed, a kiss that left both wondering where they would go from there.