My thigh muscles were tight, burning from jumping rope so long. Like tiny fire ants creeping up my calves and into my legs. I wanted to stop and take a small break, but I knew if I did I'd only regret it. Instead, I focused my eyes ahead on the wall and endured it. I took long, calm breaths and I kept going until I hit three hundred jumps. I stopped on the last one and exhaled loudly, my back slouching over. That was way harder than I expected.

"Nope. No way. Do another set."

"What? Why?" I shrieked, glaring down at him. Coach Kova was back and he was insane. No, he was certifiable. I already knew this. Gone was sentimental Kova, and in his place was Coach Dick. I just completed two hundred more jumps than he asked for and he wanted another set.

"You do not finish with showing exhaustion," he yelled at me with fire in his eyes. "You finish as if it cost you nothing. Like it was a walk on the beach. Not like you are a dying cat. Suck it up and do it again."

A dying cat. Kova could kick rocks. I swallowed back my words, it wasn't easy, but I managed and did as he ordered like it was no sweat off my back. After all, I promised not to talk back.

"Toes!"

He muttered in Russian under his breath. "Remember to breathe properly."

A cramp resonated in the arch of my foot. I chewed the inside of my lip and held my breath, blinded by the discomfort. It throbbed wildly, and I wanted to stop for a second to flex my foot. The spasm rippled, tightening and contracting into a hard ball. I gritted my teeth to ignore the pain and made a mental note to drink more water. By the end of another set, a fiery burn vibrated in every indentation of my abs. Gymnastics was all core strength, so no matter which drill I completed, I had to use my stomach to balance my center and keep my body tight.

"See? Was that so difficult?" Kova asked. "Jump down."

"I had a cramp in my foot."

He looked down at me, baffled. "And? What would you like me to do for a cramp? Baby you? Drink more water and watch your diet. Toughen up." Before I could bite back, he said, "Turn around and face the beam. Curl your toes under and bend your knees."

Nothing but orders from this man. It wouldn't kill him to be polite every once in a while.

I did as he requested and held the beam to steady myself. Kova came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed down against my body. My thighs hardened and flexed to hold myself up, just bouncing slightly. He used the ball of his foot to press on my heel and push it forward to extend the arch and stretch it out. He did this repeatedly on both feet. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt at all. The pull felt good. I was one of those weird athletes who liked stretching and conditioning.

"Good. Stand up and turn sideways. I want you to place your hands around your foot and extend it up. Hold it there." Once my knee was flat to my chest, he stepped closer. "Eventually we will do this on beam, but for now we will work it on the floor. Lock your knee then relevé. We want your hips squared but relaxed. We do not want any tightness. You would be surprised to hear how many gymnasts have weak hips, how their leaps and jumps are not one eighty. As you know, points are deducted for anything less than one eighty. This will help with that."

Holding this position was much harder than I thought. Unless he was up on the beam with me, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do this. It took complete control. I swayed to the side but Kova caught me. He slapped my thigh, silently advising me to tighten up, and pressed his fingers into my skin to hold me steady. Leaning into me so his body was flush against mine, he reached around to press on my glute to open my hip, then he angled me forward, still holding on.

He counted to five before we switched legs. Then we completed the drills again, this time in an arabesque with my leg extended behind me and my chest forward, and then with my leg to my side nearly meeting my ear. Once I did all three positions, Kova had me work them in order with him directing me the entire time. He made sure my hips were in and my legs locked. Each pull and stretch improved my range of motion and flexibility. By the time we finished those, I felt fantastic.

"Good. Now get on the low beam and raise your arms." Kova moved behind me and kept one foot on each side of the beam. The low beam was the perfect apparatus to test new skills as it was only raised off the floor by a few inches.

"You are going to do a stretch jump. The key to the jump is to stay firm and straight because I am going to twist your body around fast. If you are loose, you will swing out and hit me, and seeing as I am going out of my way to help you today, I would really like to avoid that. I am not going to tell you which way I am turning you, just stay tight and try to land on the beam."

I nodded.

Kova's hands found my bare waist and gave a little squeeze. His fingers gently pressed into my skin and his breath danced across the back of my neck. Memories from the last time I’d worn only shorts and a sports bra to the gym flashed in my mind. It had been a Sunday then too and no one was here; I had the place to myself. I was in the dance room lost to the music when he had showed up. My body temperature rose as I continued to think back on that night. What started out as Kova insisting everything I did was wrong, as was typical then, led to one of the most unexpected and erotic nights of my life that opened the forbidden door.

He had kissed me in places I'd never been kissed. He had touched me with skill and brought me pleasure so intense I had to question if it was normal. Wetness formed between my thighs as my thoughts scattered. It would be easy for him to slide his hands toward my pelvis and slip his fingers into my shorts. I'd lean back into him where he'd nuzzle my neck and dust my jaw with wet kisses. Then I'd reach behind me and stroke his cock until he was rock hard. I exhaled a silent sigh as the throb continued to grow while I pictured him bending me over the balance beam. I loved his hands on me. The way he was precise with every touch, every graze, meticulous about where his hands went.

A slap on my ass made me jump. I dropped my arms and turned around to face Kova.

"What the hell was that for?" I said.

He snapped his fingers repeatedly in front of my face. "I have been calling your name, but you were ignoring me. You were in la-la land and that was the only way to get your attention."

I flattened my lips and tried not to laugh. "La-la land, Kova? You did not just say that."

"Okay, fine. You were daydreaming."

"So you thought the only way to get my attention was to hit me?"

Kova gave me a droll stare. "Do not exaggerate. I did not hit you, I merely tapped you. Your attention was elsewhere when it should be focused on me, what I am telling you to do. Nothing else. Why must I constantly remind you? Am I wasting my time?"

I was certain my face turned ten shades of red by how hot I was. Little did he know he had my full attention, just not in the way he expected.

"My attention was on you, I swear. It won't happen again."

The silence between us thickened while Kova watched me. He was an intuitive man and sometimes that worried me. He saw too much.

"You are a terrible liar."

I moved to stand in front of him again, giving him my back. "I'm not lying, but whatever you say."

"I am sure that muttering of yours came with a classic eye roll."

He replaced his hands on my waist, and I raised my arms again so they were close to my ears. Just before I sprung up, I said, "Kind of like when you speak in Russian. I guess you'll never know what I was thinking, just like I won't ever know what you're saying." The moment the words left my lips, he spun me around so fast and stopped me right in front of him to complete a half-turn. His hand landed on my stomach to balance me. I exhaled a huff of air into Kova's face. My toes curled around the four-inch beam tightly so I wouldn't wobble.

I flattened my lips. The back of his hand tapped my stomach and I flexed. His attention shifted to my arms and he slapped my bicep. I hadn't realized I let go when he spun me. I straightened my loose arm and hardened my stomach. He was in the zone, and I loved when he was like this. He wasn't thinking of illicit thoughts like I was. He was doing his job and doing it well.