Balance (Off Balance 1)

I laughed at her sarcastic response. Avery was hardly ever serious. “Sooooooo, I have something to tell you. And before I do, you have to swear on our friendship that you won’t tell a soul. No one, Avery. Not even if your life depended on it.”

“Oh, this has to be juicy! Let me grab my cup so you can fill it right up.”

I rolled my eyes and stifled a laugh. “I’m serious, Ave. You can’t tell anyone.”

Avery scoffed. “I can’t believe you would ask me this. You know I’d never betray you,” she said dejectedly. “You can trust me.”

“I know, but this is a big deal. You know we say it to be sure.”

“True. Now, spill.”

I swallowed hard. “How would I know if I had an orgasm? I think I did...but I don’t know.”

“Whoa. Hold. The. Phone. I was not expecting that! With whom?”

I had a feeling she’d perk up. “Just answer my question.”

“You answer my question,” she retorted in a high pitch.

“Ave, I can’t say,” I said regrettably. “I can’t.”

“Really? You’re not going to tell your best friend?” Avery was hurt, and I immediately felt bad. We told each other everything, we never held back. The fact that I was for the first time didn’t sit well with me. But this was different.

So I lied. Again. “I didn’t want to say, but have I told you about my library friend?”

She clucked her tongue. “It seems you’re holding out on me.”

“I’m not holding out on you. It’s just, he’s older and I don’t want to get into any trouble.”

“How old?”

I bit my lip nervously. “I don’t know, I haven’t asked.”

“Can you at least gauge it? Ten, fifteen, twenty?”

I grimaced. “Years? Twenty years older? Ave, that’s gross.”

“That’s why I said give me an idea.”

“Okay...so he’s about twenty-ish years old?”

“Keep going.”

“So library guy...We kind of hooked up.”

“Define kind of.”

“I just need to know if it’s legal.”

“Define kind of,” she repeated stubbornly.

I gave Avery all the details, but instead of Kova, I used the name Ethan, and instead of the gym, I said the library. I told her how he’d been there when I was studying, how our eyes locked and we couldn’t stop looking at each other. Real mushy shit.

“But how did it happen?” she asked, perplexed.

“I needed help reaching for a book. There was no one at the desk and when I turned around, he was behind me. He saw the annoyed look on my face and asked me what was wrong. I told him I was studying and couldn’t do my work without this book. He said he’d help me.”

&nb