Page 50 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Sunday

Alina

"So what are the odds that my family saw the full video?" I asked. Kristen and I had just pulled into my neighborhood. We were on the way to my house for my welcome home dinner, and I was getting more nervous with every second that passed.

"I don't know," said Kristen. "They had to have been watching the tiebreaker, right?"

"Not necessarily. Everyone thought it was going to be you dancing until a few minutes before. But let's assume they were watching. What would they have seen?"

"Okay, so they definitely saw that your backup dancers got naked and that you took your bra off, but that was all censored. I think the broadcast cut out before you started giving head. And then it didn't come back on until Owen Harris gave you the towel."

"Hmm...so they heard what the judges said to me." I tried to recall exactly what the judges had said to me, but I couldn't remember for sure. "I think that French lady said the most. Do you remember if she specifically mentioned that I gave blowjobs?"

Kristen shrugged as she turned into my parents' driveway. "I don't know, Alina. It'll probably be pretty obvious if they know or not. And if it isn't, I'll help you figure it out."

I took a deep breath and we walked to the front door.

"Don't be nervous," said Kristen. "Your parents will still love you no matter how much of it they saw."

Oh God.

My mom answered the door. "Alina." She pulled me into a hug. "Sweetie, we've been so worried about you. Where on earth have you been?" She released me from her hug but kept both hands on my shoulders.

"I just needed some time to myself," I said.

She nodded. "Right. I know how upset you were about the final. But silver is nothing to be ashamed of. That's a huge accomplishment."

Does she really not know about what happened? Or is she just pretending like she doesn't? I glanced at Kristen and she gave me a subtle thumbs up.

"So what's for dinner?" asked Kristen.

"I cooked up a big turkey dinner. I hope that's okay. In fact, I need to go take it out of the oven. Why don't you go put your things upstairs and then join us in the dining room."

My mom disappeared down the hall and left Kristen and me at the door.

"I think she's oblivious," said Kristen.

"I don't know. She was acting kinda weird. And why didn't my dad or grandma come to greet us?"

"They're probably just already at the table. Come on, go put your stuff upstairs and come eat. I'm hungry."

I walked upstairs and dropped my duffel bag on the floor of my room.

There was a picture of Chris and me on my nightstand.

I walked over and picked it up. Chris had his arm around me, his hand resting on my ass.

I always thought his physical affection was a good thing.

I had been too blind to realize that it was the only thing that was important to him.

I opened up the drawer in my nightstand and tossed the picture inside.

Screw Chris. Bryce was who I really cared about.

But just like Chris had fucked things up with me, I had fucked things up with Bryce.

Even though Kristen had cheered me up a little, the thought of Bryce still brought tears to my eyes.

I tried to cheer myself up by looking at the other picture on my nightstand, a picture of Grandma and me in front of Nona's Bakery when I was young.

But that picture didn't cheer me up either.

It just made me think about how I still had to convince my dad to give me more time to come up with the money to fix up the bakery.

And convincing him that the money was coming involved admitting that I had participated in the tiebreaker and won gold and that the US ITA Committee was withholding my winnings until a review of my behavior was completed.

Shit.

I turned away from the picture and went downstairs.

Kirsten, Mom, Dad, and Grandma were all seated at the table already.

"Alina!" my grandmother said. "My beautiful, Alina." She was smiling brightly. It was questionable if my mom knew or not, but it definitely seemed like my grandma was in the dark. Thank God.

"Hi, Grandma," I said and gave her a hug before sitting down.

"Welcome home, honey," said my dad. He glanced up at me and then turned his attention to carving the turkey.

I looked over at Kristen to see if she had figured out if they knew, but she just shrugged.

We all served ourselves and began eating. With each second that passed in silence, I began to think that my family had seen the video. Usually we had such free-flowing conversation during our family dinners, especially after not seeing each other for three weeks.

"So, girls," said my mom finally. "We want to hear all about the games."

"They were a lot of fun," I said. I wanted to avoid giving any details at all costs.

"What was Brazil like?"

"Hot. Really hot," I said. "You know, in a temperature way." I ate a big spoonful of mashed potatoes and hoped no one picked up on the innuendo.

"Yeah, I saw on the news how hot it was there," replied my mom.

Please be talking about the temperature. "Yup. High 90s and very humid."

"What I want to know is what it was like to be surrounded by all those athletes," said my grandma.

"Intimidating," said Kristen. "And a little overwhelming. But I thought Alina handled it really well."

I kicked Kristen under the table. What the hell is she doing!?

"What about that boy you were telling me about?" asked my mom. "Are you two still together despite the tie..." She coughed into her napkin. "...Time difference? You said he lives in Pasadena, right?"

Shit, was she about to say tiebreaker? I looked down at my plate and tried to hold back the mix of tears about Bryce and embarrassment that my mom almost mentioned the tiebreaker. I was pretty sure she knew all about it and was just pretending like she didn't.

"I'm not sure they've talked since the games," said Kristen.

"Can we talk about something else?" I asked.

Kristen nodded. "Can someone pass the white meat? I wanted to get my hands on it before Alina shoves it all in her mouth."

My dad choked on whatever he was eating and my grandma giggled. My mom pretended to ignore it completely.

Oh fuck. They definitely know.

"So uh...what'd I miss in Delaware?" I said, changing the topic as quickly as possible.

"We sold the bakery," said my dad matter-of-factly.

"What?" I asked. "No. You said you wouldn't until I got back..."

"It's done," said my dad. "End of discussion."

I looked to my grandma for help. "Grandma? Are you going to let him do this?"

She looked down at her plate.

I turned back to my dad. "But I'm going to get the money. Just give me a few days."

He slammed his fist on the table, making everyone at the table jump. "What are you going to do? Host a charity strip show to get the money you need to fix the place up? Or maybe you could go do some more porn."

I swallowed hard. I had never been more ashamed in my life. Or more embarrassed. But it wasn't just that. I was mad. I was so mad. "Dad, I made one mistake."

He scoffed. "That's not what I heard."

I winced. It wasn't just one mistake. There had been two guys I had blown.

I looked over at my grandmother. She was looking everywhere except for at me.

Before she had started getting sick, she loved putting my father in his place, making him feel like the son she still viewed him as.

But not even Grandma was on my side this time.

Had she really heard about it too? Why were they talking about that in an old folks home?

Her lack of support hurt the most. It was her dream to pass the bakery on to me.

"Bill, please..." said my mom.

"God damn it. I can't just sit here and pretend like nothing happening." My dad turned to me. The disappointment in his eyes was heartbreaking. "We heard all about what you did, Alina. You didn't deserve that bakery, not after that. I sold it to the highest bidder."

"She won gold," said Kristen. "You should be proud of her, not slut shaming her."

My dad shook his head. "We didn't raise you that way, Alina."

"What do you mean you didn't raise me that way? You're who I got my competitiveness from. You always told me to do whatever it takes to win. You always said..."

My dad stood up. The chair squeaked across the floor. "To be a prostitute? I can't even look at you!"

I bit my lip. I didn't want to start crying again. "It was a mistake."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Then give me more time. Dad, please, I'm begging you."

He finally made eye contact with me. "It's too late. The sale is final. I need some air."

I closed my eyes and squeezed them harder when I heard the front door slam. "I'm gonna go to bed."

"You barely touched your food," my mother said. She put her hand on top of mine.

I opened my eyes. "Did you know?"

"Yes. I saw the video on Twitter..."

Oh my God. The thought of my mom watching that video made me want to vomit.

"I think she meant about the bakery," said Kristen.

My mom cleared her throat. "Oh, right. No, I didn't know.

I would have told him not to do it, but I don't think that would have helped.

Someone came in with a last minute bid that was way higher than the price he had been negotiating with the developer.

Either way, my opinion didn't matter. It wasn't mine to sell. "

"It wasn't his either. It was Grandma's."

Grandma continued to stare at something that no one else saw. Clearly she didn't want me to have the bakery either.

"I'm already beating myself up over what happened enough," I said. "I don't need anyone else against me." I stood up.

"Sweetie..." but my mom's voice died away as I ran up the stairs. It felt like I was a kid again, being reprimanded. Only what I had done was nothing like what a child would do.