Chapter 27

Falling

"Are you going to lecture me?" Alexander asked gesturing with the pack of ice he was supposed to hold on his bruised eye.

"Don't you deserve it?" Igor asked. "And put that on your eye" he added, then proceeded to examine Alexander's fingers. Two of his knuckles were scratched. Charlie's teeth, he remembered.

"He was picking on her again" Alexander justified himself angrily. "She didn't do anything to him. She never does or says anything. She just tries to ignore him and he's picking on her every chance he gets. He deserved it! Ouch!" he concluded just as Igor put something on his knuckle. "That hurt!"

"Sorry" Igor shrugged, then spoke "Okay, I agree that he picks on her without reason and yes, he did deserve it. But if you want to get that citizenship you have to stop doing that. This kind of behavior doesn't look good."

"But he ..." Alexander started.

"Sasha, he's American, you're not. They could kick you out of the team in the blink of an eye. You, not him. No matter whose fault it is." Igor explained bitterly.

"Fine" Alexander agreed reluctantly. "But if he does so much as get close to her again, I swear ..."

"One more thing, Sasha" Igor interrupted. "I want you to promise me that you and Kathy won't get ... romantically involved."

"Huh?!" Alexander uttered with raised eyebrows.

"I saw the way you look after her. You hold hands on and off ice, you spend a lot of time together ..."
It was Alexander's turn to interrupt his coach.

"Of course I look after her, she's a cute tiny little girl and ... she's sad all the time and ... holding hands is just a habit and I spend time with her, we're partners, a team. She's my friend ..." he explained.

Igor smiled.

"First, she is not a cute little girl, she is a beautiful young woman. And second, you might not realize it just yet, but I think you are falling for her. And I don't blame you. As I said, she is beautiful and she is also smart and funny and everything a guy could dream about in a woman. But I need you to keep this the way it is, a nice friendship between dance partners, nothing more ..."

"Okay, I get that ... I think. But what if I really fall in love? Couldn't we give it a chance? Maybe we would be happy together ... I'm not saying I will but ... what if I do?" Alexander asked.

"There's no 'maybe'. Champions work with yes or no. What if you two do fall in love and it doesn't work? Will you be able to keep it outside the skating rink? Will you be able to remain friends? Can you guarantee that your skating won't suffer?" Igor answered his questions with other more.

"She needs you, Sasha. What she doesn't need, however, is more complications. You see, Katherine Winston has the potential to become a great ice dancer. I've been watching her since she was twelve and let me tell you that she is the most talented and artistic young dancer I've seen in years. She clearly has some issues now and she seems to have lost faith in her skating abilities and that is why we must help her. We can't give up on her, because she's worth helping. She's worth it, Sasha!"

Alexander had been training with Igor since he was seven but he had never heard him speak so passionately about anyone before.

"Yeah, I think she's worth it, too ..." he said eventually, not sure weather he was talking about her skating or just ... her.

Was he really falling for his partner?