Chapter 20
Alisa slipped back into her room to change into clean clothes, because Tora’s things were too big for her, especially around the chest, and the T-shirts hung loosely on her in a way that felt slightly off.
“Good morning!” Alisa said brightly, stepping into the room she shared with Anfisa with a beaming smile, while Anfisa, still half-asleep, opened the door and yawned mid-motion.
As Alisa walked further inside, her eyes immediately flicked toward the bed.
Empty.
“You were alone all night?”
Anfisa glanced around lazily. “Well… can’t you see?”
“Well, yes, obviously alone. There’s no smile on your face, just pure irritation.”
“And you? Did you have a fun night with your girlfriend?” she asked, putting a deliberate emphasis on fun and girlfriend.
“Yes, we had a lot of fun,” Alisa replied casually, glancing back toward the hallway where Tora stood, smiling and slowly shaking her head from side to side.
“I believe you,” Anfisa said dryly, tossing a pillow at Alisa.
Alisa caught it and immediately threw it back.
“You know, I’m sure you weren’t actually alone in here.”
“Oh really? And who exactly was I with?” Anfisa snorted, starting to make the bed.
“I think you spent the whole night fantasizing about your hot hockey player,” Alisa teased, fully aware of the tension between them, something everyone seemed to notice except the two of them.
Anfisa rolled her eyes and hissed, “What? Hermann? That idiot with crooked blades who ruins the ice every time he skates?”
Alisa rolled her eyes right back. “Oh, come on, you obviously have something going on.”
“No, we don’t. And we never will,” Anfisa snapped, already heading into the shower.
Alisa didn’t stop.
“Never say never! It’s one step from love to hate, it works both ways!” she called through the closed door while rummaging through her things.
“Argh!” came the muffled response, followed by the sound of running water.
Alisa burst out laughing.
Tora stepped into the room then and sat down on the bed, watching her with quiet amusement as Alisa continued digging through her suitcase.
“You’re being a bit hard on her,” Tora said with a soft giggle.
“Honestly, it’s time for them to just get it over with,” Alisa replied, grinning as she finally found what she was looking for.
“They have so much tension between them that I’m starting to think that sex is the only thing that will save them…
otherwise one day they’re just going to destroy the arena with those looks alone. ”
She started changing right there without a second thought.
Tora leaned back on her hands slightly, watching her, eyes following every movement with quiet, unmistakable interest.
“Did yesterday’s striptease reach a new level?” Tora giggled, her eyes dancing with mischief.
Alisa rolled her eyes, but a small, helpless smile tugged at her lips. “Yes,” she admitted.
With a playful, lingering gaze, Alisa began to shed the clothes she had worn the previous day.
Piece by piece, she discarded the fabric, her movements very slow, savoring the way Tora watched her every move.
When she was finally naked, Tora extended two fingers, beckoning her closer in a silent, irresistible summons.
Alisa’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson. She licked her lips, her heart hammering against her ribs as she crawled toward Tora.
She pressed her face against Tora’s stomach, her warm breath sending a sudden cascade of goosebumps across her own skin.
Her clitoris throbbed with a renewed ache; she was so close to the edge again that the slightest touch would send her over.
Gently, Alisa ran her hands through Tora’s hair, her fingers massaging the sensitive skin behind her ears.
Tora closed her eyes, a soft sigh escaping her, her breathing slowing and deepening.
She patted Alisa on the back with both hands and then let her go gently, without taking her eyes off her girlfriend.
Alisa still could not believe that they had met each other for real, that they were dating, and that Tora had come to China for her…
Tora was gnawed by this quiet feeling of guilt that Alisa did not know about all the problems unfolding in her life, that Tora herself was worried all the time now, carrying all of it alone, but now was not the time for any of that, not now, not when Alisa had to prepare for the Olympics next fortunately, and Tora too, and in twice the volume as before…
especially after everything she had seen at these qualifiers for quotas.
She understood it clearly that there wasn’t much chance of winning as things stood now…
she would have to prepare harder, push further, and that thought unsettled her, pressed somewhere deep inside, but she didn’t want to put that weight on Alisa, didn’t want to upset her or cloud this moment for her with those thoughts.
She drifted into it too deeply, got lost in her own head while Alisa was changing clothes, so lost that she didn’t even notice how long she had been staring somewhere through space and time—
And Alisa noticed.
She had never seen Tora like that before. Not like this, not quiet, distant and almost sad. Alisa stepped closer and waved her hand in front of her face.
“Alisa is calling Tora, over!”
Tora blinked.
Alisa smiled and, without hesitation, climbed onto her lap, wrapping her arms around Tora’s neck.
Tora looked at her and forced her expression back into something softer.
“Welcome back to Earth, where have you been?” Alisa tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she pressed her lips together slightly, waiting for an answer.
Tora sighed and gently shifted, standing up and lowering Alisa back onto the floor.
“Just thinking about the upcoming training sessions and competitions… I’m getting tired… and the flight didn’t really help, you know… jet lag and all that…”
Alisa felt it immediately, that something was left unsaid, that this wasn’t the whole truth.
But she didn’t push.
Not now.
Because at that moment, Anfisa stepped out of the shower, already dressed for breakfast, and the moment slipped away. So the three of them went downstairs to the hotel restaurant together.
They caught the eyes of a few other athletes who were also eating in pairs or small groups, exchanged brief looks of recognition, and then moved to a nearby table with trays already filled.
For breakfast, Alisa chose simply, her favorite boiled eggs, bread with butter and jam, a handful of cucumbers, and a slice of cheese that she placed neatly on top of the bread…
and then her attention was caught by a thick, fatty sausage, and she took it too, licking her lips almost absentmindedly, along with a cappuccino.
Today, she allowed herself that.
Today, she could celebrate and eat whatever she wanted, without counting calories, without thinking about restrictions.
Two days off a strict diet wouldn’t ruin anything.
She deserved something delicious.
* * *
After breakfast, Tora invited Alisa on a date to walk around the city, to see different places, to finally be alone, and Anfisa, understanding everything without needing to ask, let her go off on her little adventure with her girlfriend.
The streets of Beijing were flooded with sunlight, the air warm and soft, and Tora took Alisa’s hand as they walked through the park.
The trees were still green, but in places the leaves had already begun to turn yellow, quietly announcing the arrival of autumn, it was slowly settling in, gaining its strength, its rightful place… and soon it would be cold again.
Alisa felt good just walking hand in hand with Tora in a park somewhere in China, where no one knew them, where no one looked twice, and it felt so easy to just exist together without fear and judgment…
because in Russia, things would have been different, she knew that far too well, she had seen enough videos, enough stories online where people being shouted at, mocked, even attacked, and that thought alone still sat somewhere inside her.
But here, everything felt… safe. Or at least safer.
Tora suddenly slowed down, noticing a small flower stall by the path, and with a smile tugged Alisa gently toward it.
“Where are you going? Why?” Alisa squinted at her, confused, but Tora only laughed and pulled her along more insistently.
“Which ones do you like?” Tora asked pointing toward the bouquets displayed behind the glass.
They were all beautiful, bright and carefully arranged, but Alisa’s eyes lingered on one, it was a bouquet of pink and blue chrysanthemums. Something about them caught her attention immediately. They were… so soft.
So pretty…
Tora noticed it right away, of course she did.
Without asking again, she pointed at the exact bouquet Alisa had been staring at, and Alisa nodded a little awkwardly, almost shyly.
They exchanged a few quiet gestures with the flower seller, Tora pulled out her phone, scanned the QR code, paid, and within seconds the saleswoman handed the bouquet directly into Alisa’s hands, adding a small chocolate bar with a kind smile.
Alisa thanked her in Chinese and the woman replied warmly, they exchanged those simple pleasantries. And then Tora took her hand again.
Now Alisa held the bouquet in her other hand, the scent of the flowers so satisfying to her senses, she felt something inside her bloom, just like those same flowers had somehow taken root in her chest, warmed by the sun.
No one had ever bought her flowers before.
No one had given her that kind of attention.
And it made her blush deeply in a way she couldn’t quite hide.
She turned to Tora, who had been watching her for who knows how long, and finally asked the question that had been sitting somewhere in the back of her mind.
“Did you really tell your parents about us? Is that true?” Alisa raised her eyebrows slightly, feeling Tora’s hand tighten around hers as she swung their joined hands between them playfully.
“Yes,” Tora said simply. “They know we’re dating.”