“Yes. That’s me. What’s your name?”
My face heated up. He stuck out his hand, and all the breathing methods I’d committed to memory disappeared from my mind. One two in? Three four five out? Hold? Pass out?
Goddess, he was beautiful up close.
Chapter Seven
Foster
I didn’t plan to sign up for the class, much less actually attend, but from the moment I walked into the studio, I wanted to figure out a way to spend more time with this omega. In our herd, the omegas were house-hubbies, filling traditional roles like cleaning, cooking, and tending the young and the kitchen garden. None would ever be encouraged to start their own business. It would be completely out of the culture. Bears must have different rules.
And, technically, I hadn’t signed up for anything. I’d been invited. My mind churned, muscles as tight as they had ever been, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to hold out for the whole class. How long had it said the class went? Did it have any time limits…I remembered seeing start times and a few hours between most of them. I’d assumed they were an hour or less when I judged him for not filling in all the time. Gods…was this going to be two or three hours long?
“Welcome to breath work.” The bear, his name was Briar on the flyer, settled on a mat at the front of the room. Legs crossed the ordinary way, arms resting on his knees. The picture of ease. “If this is your first time, don’t worry. It doesn’t involve any of the pretzel moves of advanced yoga. Sit comfortably. Lotus if you like, cross-legged is also good, or you can even lie down. The main thing is, be comfortable.”
Everyone looked around, and the bear chuckled. “Your neighbor doesn’t know what your most comfortable position is. This is all for you.” In the end, about half the class settled flat on their backs in a position the instructor called corpse pose. Uneasy laughter followed his remark before most of the others moved their legs into a less twisted cross. I consideredlying back. It sounded wonderful to rest for a while, but then I couldn’t keep my eyes on Briar, my whole purpose for being here. “Okay, everyone, close your eyes.”
There went watching the omega. I could be lying down…but I’d already made my decision and with everyone sitting so quietly, I didn’t want to make a spectacle of myself. So, I closed my eyes.
“Look inside. Find the places that are tight, or ache. The sharp pains you’ve been avoiding. While we do this part, I want you to just breathe in and out slowly. Nothing fancy. In. Out. You know how to breathe. Be aware of your breathing, but don’t try to alter it.”
I would have said I was fine, a little tense maybe, but as Briar spoke in a low, even tone, he mapped out our bodies. “Your toes. Wiggle them. Are they tight? Tense?”
Toes? But as long as I was there, I wiggled, then moved to my feet and ankles, calves, knees, thighs. Pelvis… I heard some soft groans around me as Briar guided us through all the individual body parts, instructing us to wriggle or stretch in some way to loosen tight muscles or ease aches. Finally, when we got to the tops of our heads, he fell silent for a few minutes.
Every body part he’d mentioned had hurt in some way. And now that we’d done the stretches, I wasn’t sure they felt any better. Maybe I should have just let things be, tense in a way I could live with instead of this raw pain left behind by moving everything in unfamiliar ways.
Finally, Briar said, “Now, we start the breath work. Open your eyes for a moment please. If you’ve done this before, raise your hand?”
I could see a half dozen going up.
“Anyone do it anywhere besides here?”
No hands.
“Good, then we can do it my way.”
A soft laugh circled the room.
“Now, everyone…ready? For this, I’d like everyone to lie down, unless that makes you uncomfortable. You can close your eyes again and picture yourself on a tropical beach. We’re all baking in the sun, and listening to the sound of the waves rolling up on the sand. The wind is ruffling the palm fronds, we don’t have a care in the world.”
The omega was very good. He had me actually hearing the sounds he described…really hearing them.
All those muscles he’d had us stretch out and try to loosen finally did. At least for me. His voice rolled over me like the waves he described, and I was starting to give in to the process. But then I remembered that I didn’t like any of this. I didn’t have time to sit around and breathe to a count as the omega instructed, and I opened my eyes and lay still, breathing normally, until the class finally ended. Look how fast the least bit of tension undid the hypnotic effect. Not something that could work for me no matter what the healer thought.
One good thing came of it, though. The omega came over to chat with me after all the rest left, and I asked him out.
I had no expectations…but he said yes.
Chapter Eight
Briar
“Morning,” Foster said when I opened the door the next day. I’d been up a long time and had my sunrise class but spent most of the meditation excited and happy about our upcoming date. He looked me up and down, a growing smile revealing sweet dimples in both cheeks. Huh.
The man really needed to spend more time smiling.
“Morning.”
