Chapter 17
Seventeen
"A ll right, ladies, the Parkettes meet is in five days, which means we have four days to make sure your routines are solid and tight and there is no room for error. Yes?"
I nodded to myself, staring at my chalk covered fingers as I tightened my wristbands.
"Prepare to be pushed this week. Prepare to be disciplined and meet the demands your coaches ask of you. Suffer now and tomorrow you will reap what others cannot. It puts you one step closer to your goal, and goals should never be easy to obtain."
As much as I didn't want to agree with him, Kova was right.
He was always right. He had a sixth sense about gymnastics that made me forget every strife in my life that could set me back.
It's what made him a better coach above the rest. His words hit right where I needed them—in my gut—and lit a fire in my veins.
They gave me hope and inspiration and changed my entire outlook.
I glanced at each one of my teammates. Eyes glued to him as they soaked in his motivational speech. They felt it like I did.
"If you cannot feel your muscles screaming in pain, then you are not working hard enough. Your mind will tell you to stop, that you had enough. Only then should you push harder and give it more than you thought possible. Trust me. You will surprise yourself."
This practice was the first one since returning from the holidays, and I knew it was going to be grueling.
Any practice before and after any break was usually the hardest, yet I was eager for the workout today.
I needed the release, the conditioning only an asshole of a coach could give my body.
While I'd exercised back home, a regular workout at the gym didn't cut it.
"Your only limit is yourself."
I took a deep breath and inhaled the dusty powder into my lungs. It revived me. It gave me life. God, I loved being at practice and I couldn't wait to start. His words were an elixir. They smoothly poured through my veins as I flexed and pointed my toes, rolling my ankles around.
"Okay, let us break." Just as I turned to walk way, Kova said, "Adrianna?"
I glanced over my shoulder. "Yes?"
"You have tutoring today and then therapy on your Achilles, correct?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "I have a full schedule today."
"Tonight, after practice is over, we will continue with your stretching therapy for an hour before you leave."
I groaned in the back of my throat and walked over to floor with the rest of the girls. That I was not looking forward to.
"Not sure why you're practicing with us today since you're not going to the meet, Ana," Reagan said with her nose stuck up in the air as classical floor music began to play in the background.
"I still have to practice regardless, Reagan. And, I am going to the meet."
Her brows shot up. "Since when?"
I grinned from ear to ear, happy the news threw her off. "Since Kova suggested it at my dad's New Year's Eve party. Ask Holly, she was there. Even Hayden. I'll be there cheering you on."
Reagan's nose scrunched up. She scowled and rolled her toes to crack them, then snapped her neck from side to side, all while glaring at me.
"Ladies, get moving!" Kova yelled.
We formed a straight line and walked along the edge of the floor.
I stood behind Holly, swinging my arms up and around and front to back to loosen my joints.
I lightly jogged with my knees high to my chest before transitioning into sashays.
I shot a quick glance at Kova, I was curious to see the mood he was in, but he paid me no attention.
With enough space between each gymnast and my arms out to my sides, I stepped into a front kick—leg straight in the forward kick—until my leg came down and I shifted into back kicks—this time with my knee bent and head thrown back.
We completed a variation of different warm-up skills, numerous ballet inspired ones, which went on for thirty minutes.
Static stretching was important and helped prevent pulled muscles. And in my case, sprained Achilles.
"Ladies, drag the folded mats out. One on each. Jump on, jump off, legs straight and toes pointed . Kick up to a handstand on the mat, then snap back down into a back tuck."
Sounded easy enough, but executing it was another story.
"Whip those toes down!"
"Faster!"
"Tighter. Lock those knees and set!"
My abs were tight, blazing with burning heat.
I knew my body—I needed more spring in my jump and for my knees not to wobble.
I had to be tight, so I worked on all three at the same time.
I took steady, measured breaths, and tried to be fast, but I knew if I wasn't breathing correctly that I'd wear myself out a lot faster than I should.
Everything had to be timed and properly executed—even when conditioning and warming up.
Otherwise I'd only be working against myself.
Luckily, I made the change quickly. Gymnastics wasn't just physical, it was mental too.
After a set of twenty, Kova said, "Now start on to the mat. Punch down to a front tuck, then turn around and punch to another front tuck to land back on the mat."
This drill was difficult. It required me to keep my body in a tight form and steady my balance, hips raised and not dropped low. If not, the mat would slide, and I'd slip and fall.
"Adrianna, do not drop those hips. Any lower and they will be kissing the floor."
I often wondered if his choice of words were due to English not being his native language. Maybe he could teach me Russian and I could teach him how to use correct words…and contractions.
"Same for you, Reagan."
Laying on my back with my arms extended above my head, it was ab time.
Breathing in through my rib cage, I lifted my chest and raised my straightened legs so they met halfway and were flat to my body.
I tapped my toes, then lowered my legs to a straddle position and balanced on my butt.
Then back to tap my toes again, never once touching the floor.
If I wasn't firm, I'd fall over. It sounded easier than it was.
Ten of these drills were completed in a row before I laid back and rolled onto my stomach, then back to my back to complete another set of ten.
No one spoke during this time—not that we could. It was focus, focus, focus.
"Do not stop until I say," Kova ordered, standing off to the side with his arms crossed in front of his chest speaking with Madeline. They spoke behind their hands as they took turns looking in our direction. Madeline nodded her head, agreeing to whatever Kova suggested, then they split up.
"Keep going," he ordered. I shot a glance in his direction. His sleeves were three sizes too small compared to the rest of his shirt, but they hugged his biceps nicely.
Kova walked toward us. He looked at every one of my teammates, purposely skimming over me.
"Line up along the edge of the floor. Front aerials, back handsprings, pirouettes. Five minutes. Go."
When it came to conditioning, five minutes never felt like five minutes.
It felt like fifteen minutes, even twenty minutes, like it was never actually timed and ran longer.
Once finished and warmed up well, I tightened my ponytail and got in line behind Reagan.
It was tumbling time, my absolute favorite.
"Why was Kova at your house?" Reagan asked right as Holly took off tumbling.
"My dad and Kova are friends, you already know this. He invited Kova and Katja to our New Year's Eve party."
"And Holly and Hayden were there too," she stated more than questioned. The resentment in her voice evident. I should've felt bad about not inviting her, but she'd treated me like garbage this past year, so it was only fair I felt nothing for her.
"Yes, I invited them."
Reagan huffed under her breath before it was her turn. Within seconds, she finished her pass and I was going. Taking only a few steps, because it was a deduction if I ran too far, I hurdled long and low to build speed into a round-off back handspring, whip back, right into a double back tuck.
"A little lower on that whip back, Adrianna," Kova said. I glanced at him, but he was already looking in another direction.
"I bet you guys had loads of fun," Reagan said sarcastically once we were back in line.
"You know, if you weren't such a bitch, maybe I would've invited you too." Her back straightened and I kept going. "Maybe not."
I completed one more tumbling pass before it was time to begin the next phase – seven hours of back-breaking practice.
"Why are you making me go to the meet with you?" I asked, lying down on a therapy table in the back room. Today kicked my ass. I was past the brink of exhaustion. "I know what happens at them, I've been to plenty."
"You kissed Hayden." He seethed. Kova's mood took a drastic turn. We hadn't spoken about what happened at the New Year’s Eve party.
Kova walked over and lifted my ankle. Pressing my knee down to my chest with his hand on my upper thigh, he got close to my face.
Déjà vu hit, and I catapulted back to when we first started private lessons and how our relationship began.
I grunted, feeling a pull in my hip. Only his touch could push my body to the extreme.
"First you pull me from the meet because of Hayden, then you tell me it's actually because of you and the ravenous desire you have for me, now you're making me go because of him? You make no sense, Kova. None at all. You're more frustrating to figure out than a female."
Kova pulled back, a smirk tipping his lips. " Ravenous desire ? No."
"Then what is it?"
He shrugged. "I want you to see it through my eyes. What you are up against. I thought it would be a good idea, truthfully."
"But I know what I'm up against," I retorted. It seemed pointless to go to the meet.
"Have you ever been just a spectator and not a competitor?"
I shook my head. "No, I actually haven't."