Release (Off Balance 3)

"She applied to the University of Alabama, but she hasn’t heard back. It's the only school she applied to and it’s been her dream to go there since we were kids. I think she just likes the colors." He laughed. "I thought you knew?"

I shook my head and averted my gaze to my plate. I'd been so involved with myself that I hadn't spoken to my friends much lately. I'd become a bit of a loner, and man, did I feel like a shitty person because of it.

"Michigan is offering me a full ride and a spot on the men's team." I stopped mid-chew and gaped at him. "I could also get a degree in engineering there," he added, "which is something I've been thinking about."

I swallowed. "That's incredible, Hayden. Tell me you're going to take it." I shouted a little too loud and looked around to see if anyone had picked up on it.

Hayden wiped his mouth with a napkin, then crumpled it in his hand. He looked at me, the flat line of his mouth creased with indecision. "Honestly, Aid, I don't know what I want to do. I'm leaning toward Florida, but at the same time, I don’t know if I'm ready to say goodbye to gymnastics either."

The tone in his voice surprised me and I took no effort to hide my reaction. To me, the choice was an obvious no-brainer. Being offered an academic scholarship and going after the career one wanted was a rare thing, and it seemed he’d been offered the best of both worlds.

"What's holding you back? Why wouldn't you want to go to Michigan?"

"A few things. For one, I love Florida. I love the beach. This is my home, where I grew up. I'm not sure I'd want to live in constant cold weather. Plus, I'd be closer to Holly if she needed me."

"Your sister would only be a plane ride away. I feel like your choice is an obvious one."

Hayden took another slice of pizza.

"Have you considered your future?" he asked me.

"I've given it a little thought, but my main goal right now is focusing on the Olympics. I feel like everyone is probably sick of hearing it, but the way I feel about it…it's hard to explain. It's all I think about, day in and day out. I want it so bad I can taste it, and if that means deferring school for a little while, then I will. I admire you for knowing what you want, though."

"Any idea where you may want to go?"

"Honestly, no. I haven't really looked into schools, but I should probably start."

"So you've never thought about it at all?"

"I mean, I have." I paused. "Kova was the one who brought it up to me and said I needed to think about universities with Division One gymnastics teams. Aside from that, I haven't given it much thought since I have a one-track mind right now."

"Kova brought it up to you?" he asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

I nodded, taking another bite and thinking back to that day in my condo when Kova had talked to me while I took an ice bath.

"Yeah, he wanted to prepare me for any monetary awards I might be offered, and said if I decided to go pro, I would be waiving my chances of competing in college. I'd never given it any thought until he said something. I remember thinking how naïve I'd been for not knowing what could have happened if I'd have accepted money without knowing the consequences. I'm glad he did because I didn't know about any of that. Being awarded cash would be cool, but I don't really need it, you know?"

"Wow. Kova thinking about someone other than himself for a change." I glared at Hayden and he threw his hands up. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist. I'm just surprised is all."

Needing to get the focus off me, I asked, "When do you have to make a decision?"

"The end of the week."

My brows shot up again. At this rate, I was going to have wrinkles by the time we were done with dinner.

"What did your parents say?"

"What do you think they said? Of course they want me to take the scholarship, but they said they’d support whatever decision I made."

A relaxed smile spread across my face. "You're lucky to have such a supportive f

amily."

"I am."

"If you want my input, I'll give it to you, but I'm sure you already know what I'm going to say. You should take the scholarship. The answer’s obvious. I know how you feel about gymnastics, so what if you give Michigan one year? If you aren't happy when that first year is over, transfer to Florida and retire from gymnastics. That way you can say you gave it a shot and you won't have any regrets."

Hayden stared at me quietly for a moment. "I hadn't thought of that. See, this is why I wanted to talk to you. Problem solved.”