Execution (Off Balance 2)

"Ana, much better," she said proudly, her eyes glittering. "Please make an appointment with Sasha to have your hair and makeup done for both the gala and New Year's Eve party. You two can go together," she said, waving her fingers between me and Avery. "I don't know if you’ve made any friends back in Cape Coral, but if you'd like to invite them, you're more than welcome to. They can stay in our guest house if it's okay with their parents."

"I have a few friends I could invite and I'm sure their parents wouldn't mind if they come here, seeing as they live alone." She gave me a perplexed look and I answered her question. "It's Holly and Hayden, they’re twins. I think I'll invite them since we’ve all became pretty good friends. Thanks, Mom." I smiled cheerfully, thinking back to the time Hayden said he wanted to come visit.

"Why don't you invite your coach too," Avery suggested brightly.

This bitch. I glared at her, counting all the ways I could rip out each strand of hair on her head. I cleared my throat and said, "I don't think—"

Dad appeared in the threshold, leaning casually against the door frame. "I've actually spoken to Konstantin already and invited them. He said he had to speak to Katja and check their schedules. I'll follow up with him today." He took a sip of his amber liquid.

"I'm sure he and Katja already have plans," Mom said.

"Mom's probably right," I quickly added. Anxiety crowded my stomach. Please, dear God, let them have plans. The last thing I wanted was Kova and Katja here.

Dad shook his head. "I'll give him a call now. They can stay in our other guest house, and if anything, Ana's friends can stay in a guest room."

Mom sucked in a breath the same time I did. This was a terrible idea and I needed to have this plan overthrown.

"I'll need a final head count for the caterers by the end of the week, Frank," Mom said tightly. "You know, so we can prepare for any extra friends you might want to invite."

Dad dipped his chin in agreement. For whatever reason, Mom wasn't happy about this. She was downright seething and I had no idea why.

"Well, we'll see you later. We're going shopping," I nearly choked out to my parents, then turned to leave. They lowered their voices to just above a whisper as we walked away, a sharpness to each word Mom spit out stung, and I knew they were about to argue. I ignored it, I'd grown used to it by now.

Grabbing Avery's arm as we walked out the front door, I leaned into her ear and said, "I'm going to fucking murder you, Avery."

She laughed…and so did I.

Chapter Nine

It may have been the spirit of the holidays, but I found myself grinning from ear to ear when I picked out the perfect evening dress for the gala. Thankfully I found a gown so Mom wouldn't have to make a call to have an assortment delivered. That would require her to critically assess my body, which was never fun. I typically hated shopping for these kinds of events for that reason alone, but I knew I couldn't go wrong with an Elie Saab floor length chiffon dress with a high slit up one thigh. The strapless gown's pleated black top showed off my sharp collarbone—which would please my mom immensely—and the vivacious array of purple, gold, and pink ombre colors on the skirt bled into each other. I paired it with nude, strappy heels.

"You know, I'm patiently waiting for new deets here," Avery said, as she looked through a rack of dresses, eyeing each one as if she was talking to the clothes and not me.

"Deets?"

"Yeah, Ria, deets."

I tensed, flattening my lips. I knew it was coming. "I was kind of hoping you'd forgotten about all that."

She held a black dress against her body and looked down. "About fish lips? Never." She shoved it back on the rack.

"What makes you think I'd want to tell you anything after suggesting my coach and his girlfriend come to my house? I almost strangled you!"

Avery burst out laughing. As much as I wanted to tell her every blissful—and despicable—detail that had occurred since the last time, I was nervous about it after the way Hayden reacted. I didn't want her to look at me the way he did, especially since she practically insisted I not have sex with Kova. The situation was sticky, and even though I could trust her explicitly, I was still uneasy about the whole thing. She didn't know about the sex, about the morning after pill, or that we hadn't used condoms. She knew nothing.

Instead, I deflected by ignoring her and continued shopping to buy time, piling a variety of items in my hands I didn't truly need.

I picked up an adorable onyx Chanel flap bag purse and flipped it over to look at the price. Avery eyed the high-end accessories as she strolled closer and I got a little nervous, so I pretended to need jewelry to go with my dress. I quickly made my way over to the glass counter and asked to see a bangle styled bracelet.

"What are you hiding? Whatever it is, it must be juicy," Avery said as I studied the rose gold band designed of ivy leaves.

My heart was racing, and if I kept evading Avery's question, I was going to rack up a hefty bill.

I eyed a pair of black stiletto heels I'd probably break my neck in and asked the jewelry clerk to have someone get me a size six. They would go fantastic with any gown.

"Okay. You have about twenty thousand dollars' worth of shit in your hands. What aren't you telling me? You're hiding something."

My eyes fell to my hands. She was right. I did have about twenty grand worth of merchandise, and coupled with the cost of the dress that was on route to my home, along with the bags of clothes I’d already purchased, I was close to forty at this point.