"Good. Those are point two each time. So now we are at point eight in deductions in just that alone. While she stuck her dismount, she had a heavy balance check. The bigger the wobble, the bigger the deduction. With those two mistakes alone, she now has more deducted than the girl with the fall. Her body posture was terrible, and her toes turned in badly. I would say at least another point three, point four for just that. Now imagine you are sitting as close as the judges." He gave me a knowing look.
It was easy to forget how quickly deductions added up. And unless you had a trained eye for the sport, those mistakes were not easy to spot.
"Some judges curve the scores." He paused. "By the way, the girl with the fall, that is Sloane Maxwell. She is one of the top elites in the country right now. Everyone is after her. Did you watch her eyes when she was competing? She is a fighter that one. Falls happen to everyone. I do not care how incredible you are, it is almost impossible to correct your center of mass when flipping over a piece of wood that is only ten centimeters wide. In the end, it is your difficulty, but more so execution, that makes the difference. That is why when she got back on, she rocked it. That is why you practice until you cannot get it wrong. You forget what is happening around you and you only focus on what you are doing at that moment and nothing else. You leave everything else at the door."
I saw Kova in a completely different light. I was at odds with myself for wanting more of him. I hungered for his knowledge. His uncanny ability to see what I needed to succeed and to bring out the elite gymnast in me without a second thought. No one got me the way he did. His training was harsh at times, and he rode me hard in the gym, but it was because he had a bird's eye for precision. I knew it from the beginning, but to see this approach made me feel different toward him. It made me admire him more than I allowed my heart to, and that worried me.
I promised myself I would try my hardest to not look at him in that light anymore. Promised myself I would stay away, but when Kova took the time to look me in the eyes and break it down and feed me what I needed to thrive, I found him sexy as hell. Addicting. Kova had a potent hold over me and I wondered if he even knew his power.
A lot could be said about the man standing next to me, probably more negative than positive, but there was one thing I knew for certain—today showed he cared about my success in the sport. He did have my best interests at heart. Kova wasn't a man who divulged much about himself, but today said more about him than he knew.
Once the meet ended, I stood awkwardly off to the side as gymnasts were congratulated on their hard work and effort. Reagan was knocked down to bronze, a tenth of a deduction separated her from placing fourth. Holly held silver. The men's team would compete after us.
The team, parents, and coaches all had dinner together—and thankfully a fast one. Now I was back in my room alone while the girls had gone to stay in a hotel near the airport with their parents. Holly offered to stay with me, but I politely declined and reminded her that I lived alone and liked it.
Today had been overwhelming and I needed the solitude more than anything to relax.
I'd been so angry with Kova for forcing me to attend the meet he so ruthlessly pulled me from. I thought it was a cruel game he was playing and didn't want any part of it.
Turns out, I was naive. Kova wasn't as despicable as I thought he was.
My heart still burned with vengeance because of what he did, but now I realized I misjudged his intentions and the fire raging inside me slowly dimmed.
I had everything packed for the early flight home tomorrow and now I had a bath running. My goal was to clear my mind. I was insanely eager to get back in the gym with the newfound information I had. The strange thing was, I'd