Execution (Off Balance 2)

"If you took classes, you could learn contractions so you don't sound like a robot."

Kova squinted his eyes in my direction. "That is the last thing on my mind. If that is what you are thinking about right now, then I am not doing my job correctly." His eyes flared with new ideas.

I flattened my lips.

He huffed. "Okay. I will accompany you when you go to tutoring. Happy now?"

"No."

Sitting back on his knees, Kova huffed out a breath and pointed a finger at me. "Do not break, do you hear me? You will lose it all at the slightest fracture."

"What?"

"Do not break," he repeated slowly, like I should've understood what he meant the first time. "I can see it in your face. Focus on the big picture. Let the words roll off your back and forget them." Kova lowered his voice and his eyes softened as he said, "Remember, when we are inside these walls, I am not here to be your friend, I am not here to be nice. I am here for one reason, and one reason only. Eventually, you will thank me, but only if you just listen to what I say."

"With how mean you can be, I really can't see that ever happening." I truly couldn't see myself thanking him. "What? Thank you for being an egotistical, hard-ass dickhead? Highly doubtful."

His eyes twinkled with mirth and I felt the corners of my mouth tugging up.

"You will see," he retorted, smirking. "Just remember what I said."

Slipping a hand under my lower back, his palm was warm. "Lift," he ordered. "Feet flat on the floor, shoulders flat, chin up."

Once I elevated my hips, he placed a hand on my pelvis again and signaled for me to breathe. His palm spread across my abdomen the way a wildfire spread over grassland. Each finger grazed my skin with heat, igniting a scorching trail in its wake. Intensity blazed inside of me and I released a soft breath. I kept my eyes focused on the ceiling. They didn't deter in his direction like they had in the past that had only led to terribly wonderful things.

"Bring your hips down for three seconds, then raise them again."

We did this at least eighty more times in silence, maybe more. I stopped counting, and by the time we finished, I was surprisingly out of breath. My pelvis was tight. I finally looked at him, but Kova was already staring at me hard, unabashed, leaving a path of hunger as his eyes danced down my body. Small droplets of sweat trickled down my temples. He could look if he wanted to. In fact, I hoped he did.

Kova picked up an ankle and extended my leg. Then he took my bent knee and crossed it over my stretched leg and leaned down. I grunted while he applied pressure, flattening my lips as I grimaced.

"Why, after all this time, does it still hurt to stretch out?"

Kova studied my face. He was so close I could see the thin black webs against his lime green irises. Hypnotic. I thought his lips were his best feature, but his eyes captivated me on a whole other level.

"Muscles go through constant stress during exercise. At the rate you are going, yours will bear much more stress than normal. The beauty behind stretching out is"—he stood up and used his hands to talk—"yes, you are lengthening the muscle, and yes, you are manipulating it, but you are also helping it relieve the pressure by gently warming it down and breaking down the buildup. Since you have been off for holiday, once the soreness hits, you will be in more pain than usual. Keep Motrin on hand. Cooling down like we are now after a workout will help but will not alleviate it completely. If you want, come see me every night before you go home this week and I will stretch you out," Kova offered, then added, "Remember what I told you about training your brain to think a certain way?"

"Yes, and it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard at the time." An airy laugh left my lungs. "It made sense though."

Kova slowly brought his hands down to his sides and closed his mouth. Lowering his voice, he spoke each word like he wanted to sink his teeth into my skin and rip it off. "Do not mock me, Adrianna. Nothing I teach is ridiculous, it all has a purpose. You know, my patience is running thin. Everything I do for you, to your body, has a reason. Sometimes I think you are too naive to see it right now."

I sat up. I tried not to take offense to that because he didn't take me in jest when I meant it that way. "No, I'm not. You misund—"

"Just shut up, take what I give you." His voice was angry and brash. "And fucking say thank you when I am done."

My jaw dropped. "I do t

ake it," I bit out. "When do I not?"

The energy in the room shifted, and the aggravated energy emitting off him could be felt within a five-mile radius.

"Have you ever once said thank you to me? After all the times you have demanded from me, have you ever once said thank you?"

I pulled back and mused over his words. My forehead creased as I struggled to think. Moments flashed through my head like a camera taking pictures. Conversations, practices, moments when we were alone. Realization dawned on me. I swallowed, ashamed I'd never thanked him.

"That is what I thought. Instead you mock my training methods." He let out a harsh laugh. "Guess what, sweetheart? I got my medals already. I have traveled to international meets. I have been World Champion, and I have been to the Olympics. I have accomplished everything I wanted to—with the help from a coach ten times worse than me. You, however, have none of that. And the road you keep traveling down, you never will."

Kova looked down at his hands and brushed off the excess chalk. His head bobbed with an arrogant, puckered mouth.