Intertwined - Tangled series (Overprotective famous brothers)

Winter Challenge

Alisha

I hugged Arbaaz and Sohail in the car, both of them kissing me on my forehead. Thinking of it, I had so many guys in my life, no wonder narrow minded people ended up thinking of me as a slut. But all the males in my life knew how to treat girls, including Nick and Aryan. Turns out, I had been freaking out for nothing. After slamming a 3 million dollar lawsuit on the tabloid, they were back to normal, as if nothing happened. At least my life was alright now.

“Take care, and call me if you need anything.” Sohail ruffled my hair as Tyson got my luggage out of the trunk of the Land Rover.

“Yes, I will.” I replied and Arbaaz took my hand in his.

“We’ll cheer for you.”

“I know.” I reassured them. Both of them seemed unsure to let me go, but I finally got down of the car. The three paparazzi clicked photos as I waved them goodbye and entered the airport terminal. Lauren and Dimitri were waiting for me there, with their luggage by their feet.

“Ready to hand some gymnasts their asses?” Lauren asked and I laughed, pounding her closed fist. It was her first meet after the Mason controversy, media was eager to see how she’d cope with the pressure. Many had tagged me as a ‘lucky winner’ of the World Championship, and this meet could shut their mouths once and for all. We had to win this.

Winter challenge was a meet between the best seven teams in the world- USA, China, Russia, Germany, Australia and Great Britain. It was held in Sydney this year, and that was exactly where team USA was headed. We were supposed to meet there instead of travelling together, it would save us all a day or two of missed training time.

Customs and security check was fast, and within an hour we were sitting in our seats ready for takeoff. I had always loved night flights, the city lights never failed to amaze me from the sky. Sooner than later, I was fast asleep on the bed, and trust me it was more comfortable than most people thought it was.

I woke up again, and it seemed only minutes since I had fallen asleep. But the map on the screen said otherwise, since we were close to Sydney. I realized I had woken up to the voice of the air hostess asking the passengers to wear seat belts and get ready for landing. Once my bed was back into a seat, I looked out to see the sapphire blue beaches along the coast while closing in on the airport.

“The rest of the team has reached too, they’re checking in right now.” Dimitri announced as we got our luggage. Tyson had accompanied me, even though I begged my brothers to let me be alone for once. I assured them I could fend for myself, that I had my entire team, the team staff and Dimitri with me. But he would take none of it, and sent Tyson on his own cost.

“Yay, beaches. Hot guys.” Lauren smirked, eyeing a guy walk out with his backpack.

“Gymnastics.” Dimitri stated and I chuckled while Lauren grumbled something under her breath. Wrapping his hand around her shoulder, he guided us out the arrival terminal. USA gymnastics had sent a car to receive us and drop us off to the hotel we were staying at. He opened the door for us and we slipped in, though Tyson had to rent a car to follow me around. The team would not pay his costs from our limited funds, and that was understandable.

“Samantha!” I hugged her, seeing her at the reception. There was paparazzi standing outside, but they gave me my personal space which I appreciated.

“Lizzie!” she hugged me back, and then hugged Lauren. The USA gymnastics team wasn’t made of friends, it was made of sisters. We all could not survive without each other, not for long. Except Kayla, she seemed distant. I couldn’t see her around, and I didn’t know how she was keeping up after Mason was arrested.