☆ Warning, some sexual content in this chapter. ☆ 

Never before, in my entire life has a win felt this amazing. Nothing feels real, it's like everything's moving in slow motion. Everybody I loved had been here to see it, I almost didn't believe it when my brothers scooped me into a hug. I believed it less when Nate showed up.

I don't think I've even enjoyed a moment like this, kissing Nate after winning my national championship. Every year I've gotten close but I've never actually won. This meant I could really have a shot at the Olympics. 

"What did I tell you?" Nate whispers and I smile. "You knocked it out of the park."

I couldn't believe the fact he was really here, that he'd flown over here with my brothers just to see me. It was a moment that belonged in a Nicholas Sparks film, not in my life.

"Ahem." I hear someone clear their throat and I see Nik and Alex standing close-by. I get out of Nate's arms, feeling mildly embarrassed and walk over to them.

"Way to go, Sash." Alex says quietly and I get a hug from him. Nik then squishes in on the other side, effectively trapping me in a hug-sandwich. It was such a sweet moment I easily forgot I couldn't breathe. I just let them squeeze the life out of me, happy to see them.

"Thanks for making the trip worth-while." Nik teases and I give him a shove.

"Way to ruin the sentimental moment." I whine and he laughs.

Then I make my way back over to properly hug and thank Kate and Johnathan. This had all been thanks to them and I was so happy to have them here.

"Thanks for everything." I tell Kate and she smiles.

"You did it." She reminds me. "You had the routine, the steps and the drive. We just helped."

"You skated wonderfully." Johnathan says and I get a brief hug from him too.

Then I get a nice group hug from everyone, I was so happy everyone could be here. This was a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time.

After the hug dissipates, I notice my parents standing not far away. I didn't quite know how to respond but they were my parents, I needed to say something at least.

I walk up to mom and she smiles, giving me a brief hug.

"Well done, Sasha." She whispers and I smile. "I think you were wonderful."

After she lets me go I walk over to dad, there were so many things we'd left unsaid, so many things we didn't address. I'd barely spoken to him since I agreed to take this offer.

I wait for the scowl or the critique of my routine, dad usually had a way of bursting my bubble. But it doesn't come, he just nods at me and I feel relieved. Then something really unexpected happens, he gives me a hug.

I don't know if I've had a hug from my dad in ten years, of course it doesn't excuse the way he acted towards me. The hitting and the degrading insults, but in speaking to my mom and Jennifer I'd recently started to figure dad out. 

It's a stiff hug, clearly he's not used to hugging anyone, especially not me with all of our problems. But for the first time ever I felt like I had my father's full support, it felt like he cared.

"O moya doch...." He says quietly. "I'm so proud of you."

I feel tears well up in my eyes when he says that, that was the single sentence I'd been after for sixteen years. Not long ago everything I did, I did because I wanted my father to be proud of me.

"Thanks dad." I say quietly. "That means a lot." 

When I look up I see his eyes starting to turn red.

"Are you crying?" I ask quietly and he shakes his head.

"No, of course not." He says and I laugh. "It's very nice to see you skate like that, makes me remember why I wanted you to learn all those years ago."

I smile a bit at that, knowing this was probably a good thing for the two of us. I hoped that when we got home we could try and keep working on this.

"Now come on! Let's celebrate!" He insists, taking mom's hand and I smile as Nate wraps his arms around my shoulders.

>

"You were amazing today Sash!" Kate calls and I smile. She was walking ahead of me in the hallway on her way to our room. Johnathan had branched off not long ago to say goodnight. Mom and dad had decided to stay out, roaming around the city which meant it was now, Nate, my brothers and I.

"Don't forget Carter, get to bed. We've got an early flight out tomorrow." Nik warns and I roll my eyes. "Our rooms are a floor up." He says looking at me and I smile.

"You did a great job today Sash." Alex says with a hug. "We'll probably be up and gone before you're up tomorrow. We've got an early flight back and we can't disappoint anyone."

"No that's alright, I understand." I say, giving him a hug. "Thank you so much for coming, you didn't need to but it means the world to me." 

"I'm glad we could." Nik says, taking another hug. "Good job today Sash, we'll see you at home tomorrow night."

After a few more goodbyes they're heading off and I feel my heart sink. They bent over backwards to come see me today, could I do it for them? I had to hope I could.

"I can't believe you won." Nate says, looping his arms around my waist.

"Me neither." I tell him. "I'm so glad you're here."

"How does it feel to be a champion?" He asks and I laugh.

"It feels like everyday I get to spend with you." I tell him and he smiles.

"You're so cheesy." He mumbles and I nod. "I can't believe you kept this on for dinner." He teases running his hands up over my costume and I laugh.

"I had to bask in the glory a little bit." I tell him. 

I just look up at him for a moment, really taking him in. Seeing his beautiful eyes and his scruffy hair. Nate was really something, he was so tall he made me feel safe. I take his hands in mine and press my thumbs over the backs of them.

"I love you." He says quietly. "I'm so proud of you Sash, I really am."

"I love you too." I whisper, giving his hands a squeeze. "Thank you for today, Nathan I seriously doubt I would have won without you here." I tell him and he smiles. "I was a wreck this morning, I couldn't think I was so worried. But I saw you and....nothing else mattered."

He looks touched by that statement and I smile. It was true, when I was with Nate I had a hard time remembering other people were around. He made me feel like we were the only two people on earth.

"This was your dream, I had to come support you." He says quietly. "I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I couldn't either." I admit.

I felt so free here, it felt like nothing else was wrong in my life. I couldn't be bothered by everything that made my life crazy anymore, I was just so happy to see him.

"How early is your flight?" I ask quietly.

"Nine a.m." He tells me and I sigh. 

"It's late, you probably want to get some rest after today." I tell him, running my hands up his arms. He must be exhausted and he had his last game to play tomorrow.

"I'm not tired." He says quietly, leaning his forehead on mine. "I was hoping you'd....well maybe that we could spend some time together."

"Spend time together how?" I ask, feeling intrigued. 

"However you'd like." He whispers. "My room's upstairs."

"Lead the way." I tell him and he laughs, picking me up and carrying me back down the hallway towards the elevators.

We go up a floor and he sets me down, taking my hand and walking me to the room. He puts his bag over his back and picks me up again, sliding the key into the door.

The room looks exactly like mine, just with one king bed instead of two doubles. He throws his bag on the armchair in the corner and walks us over to the bed. I end up on top of him and he smiles, cupping the side of my face.

"You're so pretty." He whispers and I smile, feeling warm all over. "I've always liked seeing these little costumes up close more." I laugh as his hands move under the skirt, until they meet the attached leotard.

I run my hands down the front of his chest feeling my breathing pick up. I hadn't been in a good enough mood to be into this recently, but right now it feels like the air around me is humming. I feel my breath catch as his hands span my back and I close my eyes.

I quietly lean in and give him a kiss, instantly feeling relieved to be doing this again. Thankful he's really here and I can touch him. I reach up and unzip the jacket he's got on, pulling it back off his shoulders. He helps me and I watch it go flying past my head.

Now I can feel this heat in the pit of my stomach, I feel antsy and on edge. I didn't want to rush anything but I felt right about this.

I push my hands under his shirt and feel sparks explode from touching his bare skin. I then pull up, showing him I want it off. He listens and pulls it off before coming back and pressing his lips against mine.

"This isn't any fair." He whispers against my lips. "I can't take off any of this." He mumbles, hands moving over the sides of my body.

"Be patient." I whisper back and he laughs, pulling me down on top of him.

"We don't have to do anything you know." He whispers, pulling back. "You say the word and we can just pack in and talk." I smile, feeling touched by that but I shake my head.

"Nathan we talk everyday and every night. We don't get to be alone very often....I'm sure." I whisper and he nods. "I missed you so much." I breathe against his cheek and he smiles, rolling me under him now. I giggle and he smiles, moving his hands over my tight-clad legs.

I roll him back over and kiss his cheek once before pulling back off of him and standing on the floor next to the bed. The costume came apart in layers and was mildly confusing, so I figured it would be best to just remove it myself.

He immediately sits up as I kick off my shoes. I toss my own jacket far away in the room and then move to the zipper on the side of the dress. I slowly pull my arms out of the netted sleeves and undo the fabric around the neck. Then I slowly start to step out of it, there was no graceful way about it and the cups inside meant for a large portion of it, I stood completely topless while I shimmied out of the rest of it.

Once it was off I delicately laid it on a chair, then I pulled the tights off and met Nate's eyes. The look he had almost surprised me, he looked completely breathless. It just made my cheeks turn red. He reaches his hand out to me and I take it, stepping between his legs.

"I'm so lucky." He whispers and I smile, as he puts his hands on my hips. His hands slide under the sides of my underwear and I feel my mouth get dry. He then continues the path up, sliding over my stomach, then up to my breasts.

I sigh, taking a deep breath and I close my eyes. I still couldn't believe how comfortable I was with being this naked around Nate. But I really did enjoy being this close, it felt incredible. He seemed overly-impressed by my next-to-nothing chest, but the way he looked at me always made me feel perfect.

I knelt on either side of his legs, straddling him on the bed. He then gave me another kiss before flipping me back under him. He pulled back and took off his pants carefully. I sat up, putting me eye-to-eye with the bulge in his boxers.

Before I could overthink anything I just pulled them down. I felt goosebumps come up all over my body as I wrapped my hand around him. I couldn't keep my heartbeat under control, he looked down at me and then grabbed my chin, willing me to stand up.

Then his lips met mine again and I groaned at the contact. He lifts me up and I sigh feeling him press against me. He then lays me in the bed and then kisses my forehead.

"Just a sec." He whispers. 

He goes through his bag and quickly finds a foil packet, before coming back over to me. He kneels over me and I lick my lips. There wasn't anything like seeing Nate naked, it was a sight I kept in the back of my memories. He slowly rolls it down and I feel my heart beating so loudly I can't hear anything else.

He then hooks his fingers over the waistband of my underwear, pulling them down. He kisses my forehead and I can't think of anything other than Nate right now. I didn't think I'd ever want to do this, but now I couldn't wait.

His hand moves from my hip and comes closer to me, making me hold my breath. I remember how weird this seemed the first time, it still made me squirm, but in the best possible way. I instantly lose my breath as he presses his thumb over me, it made me warm and cold all at the same time.

He withdraws his hand a second later and then comes closer giving me a brief kiss. I'm so on edge I feel like I can't breathe.

"Easy baby." He whispers. "We're going to go slow." 

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod as he holds my hips. It made me smile that he would think about something like that in the midst of this.

He slides in slowly and I gasp, still not entirely used to the feeling. It was still new and still mildly uncomfortable, but it was everything I wanted.

Eventually the pain melted away and it felt amazing. There wasn't anything like this, and after all the tears and hard times, the stressful moments and my own fears, it was worth it.