“Hi, Roman.”
“Hey, there.” Not only was the man an excellent guard, he was also gorgeous as all get out. Striking black hair. Gray eyes. And the body of an Olympian.
“Everything okay here?” she asked.
“All quiet on the Western front. I noticed the kid on the farm across from you came home.”
“Did he?”
“Will he stay away?”
“I think so.” She held up her sandals. “Is that all? I have to get to work.”
“One more thing. My replacement comes at six. Want to get together tonight?”
She couldn’t even begin to think of being with another man. “No. I told you I can’t see you socially until your stint as one of my guards is over.”
His black brows rose. Then he said, “Whatever you say,” and walked off the porch.
She sighed.
* * *
Juliet was looking forward to her first class of the fall session today, though she’d taught over the summer. She walked into her yoga room to find it almost full. Since this session was for all levels of experience, and she’d seen the forms they submitted, she wasn’t surprised by the number. The woman who’d run out when she discovered the snake a month ago had never registered for her class again. But there was one newbie, a male. The rest were regular attendees.
They all sat, legs crossed, on their own mats; she provided blankets, bolsters, blocks and belts. She dropped down into a full lotus position and smiled at them. “Hello, everyone.”
They greeted her warmly.
One woman said, “I like your new leotard.”
Juliet had splurged on a pretty gold and black leotard which she wore with black tights.
“Thanks, Marci.” To the group she said, “Does everybody have a belt?” What was needed for the day was written on a whiteboard up front that she’d prepared when she came in this morning. When they all nodded, she gave instructions. “Let’s start on our backs today. Lie down in savasana.” She stretched out in what laymen called corpse pose. “Breath in…breathe out.”
She got up to assess them. When two minutes were up, she said, “Time for some stretching. Pick up your belts and put your foot in the looped end.” She waited. “Now raise one leg and gently hold it up. That leg should be doing the work, not the belt.”
She walked around to each person checking to see if anyone was having trouble. The new person, Larry Lincoln, seemed to be struggling to straighten his leg. Men weren’t as flexible as women, but on the sign-up form, he’d said he’d taken one basic course at another studio.
She squatted down and in a low voice said, “Keep your leg bent. You might have to practice this before you can straighten it completely. For now, you can depend on your belt more.”
He gave her a pleasant smile. “Thanks.”
Up close, she noticed the clothes he wore—yoga pants and a matching green T-shirt, both with a designer label; he also had some kind of medallion she’d never seen before around his neck. She pointed to it. “You should tuck that inside your shirt today. Next time, don’t wear jewelry.”
His eyes narrowed. They were amber colored with black rims around the iris. “I’ll make sure you don’t see it again.”
What an odd response. She stood and walked to the front of the room. “All right now, take the belt in one hand and lower your leg to your right side. Hold it. Don’t let your foot hit the floor.” She waited. “Now raise the leg up and bring it over your body to the other side. This will be harder to hold with no support…”
Ater five minutes of stretching, they went through all the traditional poses in yoga. Juliet called them by their Sanskrit names and common jargon… Mountain Pose or Tadasana, Tree Pose or Vrksasana, Triangle Pose, Trikonasana, Warrior 1 pose, Virabhadrasana, downward-dog or Adho Mukha Savasana. She ended with Corpse Pose which was Savasana.
At the end of class she complimented all of them for their work, then said goodbye as they left. Larry Lincoln had an easy gait bordering on a swagger. “Bye, Ms. Sullivan,” he said even though she’d asked the class to call her Juliet.
“Goodbye, Larry. I hope you come back.”
“Hmm,” was all he said.
What an odd duck, she thought, then dismissed him.
