Balance (Off Balance 1)

Hayden walked through my kitchen and looked through my cabinets as if it was a completely natural thing for him to do.

“You look good,” I admitted, slamming my mouth shut.

Hayden glanced over his shoulder with a saccharine smile I’d come to really like seeing. He wore a dark pair of distressed jeans, molded to his butt and thighs, and a solid white shirt that accentuated his biceps. At just seventeen, he was jacked and looked better than any other guy his age.

“Not too bad yourself.” I glanced down at my rolled up shorts and flannel, button-down shirt. My long auburn hair was braided loosely to the side with little pieces sticking out and I was makeup free. I looked ready for a hayride.

I walked over to Hayden and watched as he poured two small drinks. “This shouldn’t really hit you hard, but it should help.”

“Where did you get it from?”

“Snatched it before my mom packed up. She won’t even notice it’s missing”.

“Why are you having it, too?”

“To help with what I’m going to do to you.”

“Oh...” I frowned.

He handed me a glass and asked, “Ready?”

I took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Then we clinked glasses and tipped them back quickly. I wasn’t a fan of vodka, or any other liquor, so I swallowed fast and cringed, shivering hard.

“Gross.” I made a disgusted face and Hayden laughed. “Do you drink often?”

He looked at me like I was dense. “No, Aid, how could I with training?”

I shrugged. “Well, I don’t know! I’m just asking.”

“No, hardly ever. Only when the time calls for it. Go ahead and wash your hands so we can get started.” I did as Hayden requested while he rummaged through his stuff.

“You think Coach is going to go easy on you tomorrow?”

I turned my battered hands over and said, “I don’t think he has a choice, you know? We worked on bars all day—”

“I know. He doesn’t normally do that. You’d think he was purposely torturing you.”

I paused. “What do you mean?”

Hayden turned around and leaned against the countertop right next to the sink, while I rinsed my hands. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’ve been training there for years and I’ve never seen him work an entire day on one event, or push someone the way he does you. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a hard-ass coach and can be a real dick when he wants to be, but he grates on you. You’d think since your dad is friends with him he’d go a little easier, you know?”

I thought about what Hayden said and asked, “Do you think i

t’s because I need a lot of work, more than what he’s used to training?”

He shook his head, unsure. “You’re really not that bad off, so I’m not certain what his issue is. Kova wants perfection, to be the best, better than anyone else. We can all appreciate it because it’s what we want ourselves, but sometimes I think he pushes too much...I don’t know. He can easily make people hate him, that’s for sure. He only coaches the rings for my team, so I’m just analyzing from that, I don’t spend as much time with him as you do.”

I stood there, stunned. The only thing I could come up with was, “He must really hate me.”

Hayden chuckled. “He doesn’t hate you. Has he put you on a special diet yet?”

I eyed him wearily. “No? Do I need to be on one?”

“No, but his diets are ridiculous and we all swear when he reaches the diet level, it means he secretly despises you. Or so we all think. Don’t reach that level. He’s only been that way with a few and let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty.”

Hayden was giving me anxiety. “What do you mean?”

“He follows this insane paleo related diet that only lets you consume under a thousand calories a day. With our workouts and the calories and fat we burn, you know we need more than that, or else it isn’t healthy.”