Balance (Off Balance 1)

My eyes widened as Hayden’s mischievous ones flashed back at me. I was instantly red, my cheeks blazing hot. I glanced around and spotted a girl a little older than me behind the counter.

Clearly she got a sneak peak of Hayden’s show. “Lucky girl,” she said and smiled. “What can I get you guys?”

I slapped his side with the back of my hand and called him a jerk, making him chuckle.

“SO DID YOU like the pizza last night?” Hayden asked while I chalked up my hands.

“Yeah, it was really good. Who knew there were so many different kinds? We don’t have that kind of selection back home.”

“Where is back home again?” Reagan chimed in. I was pretty sure I already mentioned this to her.

Glancing down at the chalk bowl, I grabbed the block of chalk and cracked it. Kind of the way I wanted to crack Reagan’s head sometimes.

“Palm Beach County.”

She scowled. “Where in Palm Beach County?”

Squatting down, I looked inside my bag for my grips, but I didn’t spot them anywhere. Shit. The last thing I wanted to do was answer her while I was frantically searching for my gear.

Pushing things around, I pulled out my extra leos and dropped them to the floor. I found the wristbands, but my grips were gone. I couldn’t do bars without them, not again, and if I ripped my hands open it would take forever to heal at the rate I trained.

Gritting my teeth together, I responded. “Palm Beach Island, to be exact. It’s in South—”

“I know where it is. So you’re a rich bitch, then?”

I paused. “Excuse me?”

“Reagan,” Hayden warned.

“What?” she snapped.

“Leave her alone.”

“Why? Are you guys a thing now? Because you know that’s not allowed.”

Giving her the sweetest, most sugary voice I could muster when she looked at me, I answered her. “Yeah, Reagan, I’m a rich bitch. Is that what your problem is with me?”

“I just don’t understand why you would leave there and come here,” she stated. “Your dad couldn’t build a gym for you?”

Was she serious? The urge to roll my eyes was strong at her condescending comment. “If you must know, I wanted a better gym and my dad happened to be friends with Kova, so it worked out perfectly.”

I didn’t like confrontation, but I also didn’t cower away from it when the time called. She had absolutely no reason to feel the way she did about me. Plus, the last thing I needed was for Coach to think I had drama with any of his team girls.

“Seriously, Reagan?” She looked at me. “What’s your problem? You hardly speak to me, yet you clearly can’t stand the sight of me. What did I do to you? Let’s just clear the air now because your attitude is getting old.”

She gnashed her teeth together and stepped to me. “You want to know what my problem is? My problem is Coach pays you more attention than anyone else and I just don’t get it. It’s like his sole focus is on you and it’s not fair. You don’t deserve it.”

Cry me a fucking river. “What are you talking about? He trains with you and all the other girls everyday as usual.”

She shook her head, huffing. “He took time away from working with us so he can work on you more. I mean, God knows you need the extra hours and all, but it’s still not right. And believe me, we’ve all noticed how he looks at you.”

I froze. No. No way could someone see anything at all between us. We were good at hiding the tension, at least I thought we were. Reagan’s words hurt, but I needed to shield my emotions immediately. I pushed away her last comment and planned to deal with it later.

“So you want more attention, then? Is that what it is?”

“I don’t need attention. I need a

coach who puts in as much time with me as he does for every gymnast here. He used to be like that, but once you got here it’s like he completely changed, which can only mean one reason. You.” She lowered her voice and looked down at me. “I work harder than anyone here, and I refuse to have it all taken away. I have goals and dreams, too. Not just you, Adrianna.”