Execution (Off Balance, #2)

by Lucia Franco

He exhaled as I inhaled,

"Lyubov' ne to, chto vy mozhete ponyat', eto to, chto vy chuvstvuyete v svoyem serdtse. Net slov, eto prosto tak."

Kova was my strength, but I was his weakness.

A weakness he worked on to improve and make resilient. A strength that I drew from.

"What inspires you?" "You," I said softly. "Ask me what inspires me." I asked him. "You," he said. My stomach fluttered. "What drives you to push harder?" "You," I said.

"We are a team—I exhale, you inhale.

We fight together. We wor...

"There have been a lot of things we shouldn't have done, Ria." My face lit up and I started to laugh. "Hey! You used a contraction." "I know…it felt weird on my tongue." He grinned.

I am serious, Adrianna. I do not play games like that. Hurt what is mine and there will be consequences."

"I always know when you are around. I can smell you."

"Feel that between us? That chemistry, that fire. The harmony of two people who are so wrong for each other but somehow come together, throwing everything off balance to the point

that nothing makes sense but it feels right. That is us. That is trust. You do not let someone into your body you do not trust.

"I…cannot…stop… You are mine and only mine."

"Only you, Ria," he groaned, "only you. I cannot live without you or this feeling you bring me. I want to be in you every day, all day, for the rest of my life. I want to wake up next to you, make you only mine, and do this every fucking day. This is heaven. You are my everything."

All I know is that I am hooked on all of you. Hooked on your body, hooked on your smile, hooked on your personality, hooked on your ambition, hooked on you. I can only hope you feel the same way."

This was his vulnerable side, a side of him I was not often privy to. Only when the layers peeled back, and I got to the core of him, was I rewarded with juicy little seeds I coveted for myself.

"I would never put my time and effort into someone who was mediocre. I know God given talent when I see it, and Adrianna has it." Kova turned defensive. "She is brilliant, artistic, and imaginative. There is nothing even remotely mediocre about her. Mark my words, she is a rare pearl that is about to shine in the gymnastics world."

You are braver and stronger than you know. You are a fire that burns.

Go out there and be defiant. Refuse to lose.

I love cotton candy. I have a bad sweet tooth and have bags hidden in my house

I will always be by your side, that is, if you will have me.

I bet he was regretting his actions now. You get what you give. Asshole.