Balance (Off Balance Book 1) (30 page)

“I hate you.” I skipped the pleasantries.

“Fuck you, no you don’t. You love me.”

I grimaced. Avery was right. I could never really hate her.

“Now what’s going on that you had to blow my phone up while I was blowing my man?”

“Ugh, Ave! I did not need to hear that!” She began laughing. “Wait, you stopped to text me in the middle of it?”

“You didn’t get the hint when I sent you to voicemail—twice!”

“Ah, yeah. You’re not allowed to hit the fuck you button on me, just like I never would with you. Next time you don’t answer for me, I’ll know why.”

She chuckled. “All right, what’s going on that you’re making me call you at midnight?”

I had to be careful with my words. “Let me ask you something, this mystery guy of yours you refuse to tell me about, which I secretly hate you for by the way, is nineteen and you’re sixteen. Isn’t that, like, illegal since he’s over eighteen?”

Avery sighed into the phone as if she couldn’t believe I asked her that. “You have so much to learn, bestie...”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Seriously?”

“Of course I looked it up, Google is my second best friend and my father would murder me if he found out. I did my homework and it’s not actually illegal because of the age gap. The law is really weird. Regardless, my mom is the one who introduced us, so she only has herself to blame. Plus, we’re just having some fun.”

“She didn’t introduce you for the sole purpose of having sex!” I laughed.

“Well...” she trailed off. “She didn’t deliberately introduce us. We met at an event my family put on. Our family met his...you know how it goes.”

“Yeah, I do. So he lives on the Island?” The island was fairly small. I’d figure out who it was eventually.

“His family does. He goes to college at UF, but was in town to see me. Enough about my amazingly wonderful love life. So why do you wanna know about the ages and what’s legal?”

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.”

“Can you just speed up and get to the orgasm? This part is boring me to death.”

I laughed. “No, I can’t. You have to listen. When we got to the aisle, he pressed up against me and reached for the book. I looked over my shoulder and his face was right there.”

She groaned, unimpressed. “Keep going...”

My eyes scattered around my room as I thought of how I could continue this lie. “He leaned down and kissed me. One thing led to another, and his hands were all over me and it happened quickly. It was completely unexpected. He touched me, I touched him...he said some really hot, dirty things to me...someone almost caught us...”

“He did not! Who? Where? You have to tell me everything!” Now Avery was too eager for her own good.

“That’s all really irrelevant. I told you what you needed to know.”

“Adrianna Francesca Rossi! I’m your best friend, practically your sister! You have to tell me! I demand that you do. How often do you see him?”

“You are such a pain in my ass.” Quickly, I conjured a lie and kept my voice steady. “It’s just on and off when we see each other, I guess a little while after I started tutoring.”

“A couple of months this has been going on and I hardly know a thing,” she stated.

“I’ve been busy trying to be an elite gymnast, you know.”

“A quick text would’ve been sufficient.”

“I could say the same about this mystery beau of yours. You barely tell me anything.”

She became quiet. “I’m just not ready yet...please don’t be mad at me. I want to know more about what happened between you guys.”

My voice softened. “He calls me Ria. No one has ever called me anything other than Adrianna or Ana. You know how much I hate Ana, so I kind of love this.”

“Awe, that’s nauseatingly sweet. Let me grab my detective cap while my computer is starting up. I need his real age,
Ria.
” She mocked. “And don’t guess. I know you know.” I laughed and decided I needed to write all my lies down so I could keep track.

“He’s in his late twenties. He took a long time off before going to law school.”

“How old, Ria,” she insisted. “You’re hiding something, I know it.”

“Ave, haven’t you ever heard someone say, the less you know, the better?”

“Psh. That doesn’t apply to your bestie. Like, ever.”

I heaved a loud sigh at her response. She had a point. “Thirty-two.”

“Thirty-two.”

“Thirty-two.”

“That is
not
late twenties. That’s not ten, fifteen, or twenty. That’s old! You sneaky thing, you. I’ll be right back, I need to alert
Fox News
over this Breaking News before I can comprehend anything further.”

“Avery, please do not tell a soul—I’m begging you.” My heart was in my throat at my own admission, regret soaring through me. I was beginning to sweat. Maybe this was a mistake.

“I’m just playing with you. I swear on my trust fund I won’t ever say a word.”

Avery loved money, so I believed her. “Promise?”

“You can’t see it, but I’m crossing my heart.”

I smiled to myself. I knew she would never open her mouth, but I still had to ask it. It was a girl thing. She’d do the same to me.

“Okay, back to your original question,” she said. “I’m not sure how to describe it other than you’ll just know when it happens. Like, you’ll know. An orgasm is an indescribable feeling, one that rocks through your whole being, and once it starts, it only builds higher and higher until an explosion goes off inside of you, and you see stars. It’s the best feeling ever.” She paused. “Wait. Was this your first time having one?”

“No, but it just never felt this good before. It was incredible.”

“When were the other times it happened?”

“With my stupid ex...and myself.”

I didn’t want to tell her I just used my hand, and thankfully she didn’t probe.

“Some orgasms just feel different. That’s all. Your hand isn’t going to feel as good as the hand of the guy you like. It’s just how it is.”

I felt bad for lying and like a total jackass for not realizing the difference. It was just so much more intense, and if I was being honest with myself, I wanted it to happen again.

I could hear Avery typing away on her computer. “All right...It looks like the legal age of consent in Florida is sixteen. However, if the person is older than the age of consent, they can only be four years older when they have sex with the minor. Obviously that doesn’t apply to your situation since you kissed the old man with saggy balls—”

She was back to this. “He’s not old and his balls are not—”

She ignored me and kept going. “However, statutory rape is a factor since you’re still fifteen. This is why it’s legal for me—I’m sixteen.” She stopped short. “Wait. Wait. Wait.” The line got silent for a second. “Did you say his balls aren’t saggy? How would you know that?”

I groaned inwardly. “Fuck.”

“Oh, my God!” she yelled, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “You saw his balls! Did you touch them! What else happened, you lying sack of shit!”

I chuckled at her odd enthusiasm and said, “I didn’t see or touch anything. I’m just saying they’re not saggy because he’s not old. They’re firm, I assume.”

“Lies, all lies!”

I couldn’t stop laughing at her playful tone. “I’m not lying. Just get back to what you were saying.”

“Yeah, okay. Whatever. If I find out you lied to me, there’s going to be hell to pay.” Avery cleared her throat. “So what you did is illegal, and since he’s in law school, I’m pretty sure he knew he was fucking up majorly. Just don’t have sex with him. Oh wait—”

“What is it?”

“Florida has got some fucked up laws. Listen to this—As long as the adult is not a teacher then you’re okay once you’re sixteen. If they are, then you’re really screwed regardless of the four year difference. Actually, I think you’re screwed either way.”

“What do you mean?” She was scaring the shit out of me and making my head spin. I needed to write down what she was saying next to my list of lies.

“I take that back. He’s a student so it doesn’t count. How weird is that. He can’t be a teacher, but he can be, like a chef. As if they wouldn’t know the difference based on their profession.”

I blew out a breath. I was having trouble keeping up with her.

“You didn’t have sex so the kiss was actually okay. You didn’t break any laws...yet. As long as there is no penetration with the old man, you’re good to go. But if you consented, I think you’re fine anyway. Consent is consent.”

“Did you just say penetration?” I couldn’t help laugh, it sounded so comical coming from her.

“Yes, because that’s what old people say when they’re having sexual relations,
Ria
.” Sarcasm laced her tone and it caused me to smile. Avery was hysterically funny tonight. She didn’t judge, only teased me. “They don’t say fuck.”

“I didn’t know you were an expert.”

“Wait—you don’t think your tutor is hot, do you? What about Alfred? Because that would be breaking the law since he’s like eighty-seven years old. Not to mention, really fucking gross, Ria. I would have to reconsider this friendship based on your horrid taste.”

“Now, those would be some saggy balls,” I laughed into the phone. “No, I’m not attracted to any of them.”

“Oh, good. And yes, penetration is sex and no sex is allowed, remember?” I was pretty sure I was never going to have sex with my coach, so I was good to go.

“Speaking of penetration, we should give the balance beam a name,” Avery suggested flippantly.

Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “What do you mean a name, Ave?”

“Well, you know how my mom named her car, Bradley Cooper?”

I chuckled, thinking back to the day Avery’s mom came waltzing through the front door, saying she fell madly in love with Bradley Cooper because he gave her a ride like no other. Her mom was a riot.

“And you know how she named her Kindle?”

“I do. Isn’t it like Mikko or something?”

“Mikko? What the fuck kind of name is that? Not even close. His name is Cole, and Cole brings her more pleasure than any other man ever could. He’s up all night with her and never talks back. She can cry ugly tears and he never makes fun of her.”

I groaned. “Avery, your mom is crazy. I can’t believe she tells you those things. Mine would never say something like that to me.”