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Last night, in the dark, when his gaze became too intense, I could close my eyes and forget where I was and who I was with. Get lost in the physical aspect of it. Enjoy the moment without thinking of the consequences. Just feel good for once, without guilt, without regret, without worrying about what comes next. But this morning, the universe is forcing me to confront all my bad decisions.
No, “bad” isn’t the right word. “Dangerous” is.
A light touch on my elbow distracts me. “Are you having trouble with the pose?” Miranda asks.
“No, why?” I turn to her, then look around the cabana. Everyone else has lifted off the floor and is perched on their partners’ legs like parrots. But I got so lost staring into Archie’s eyes, I didn’t even hear Miranda utter the next round of instructions. “Sorry,” I say. “I was just—”
“No need to apologize,” Miranda interrupts me. “Take all the time you need. Whenever you’re ready, fold your arms into your base’s feet and slowly lift off the ground.”
I nod and assume the pose. Then make the mistake of looking at Archie again. No wink this time, but that doesn’t save me from having butterflies exploding in my belly all over again.
How long do we have to stay in this position?
As if on cue, Miranda answers my prayers. “And, flyers, please slide back to the floor. Wonderful job, class, we’ve earned a few minutes of relaxation in corpse pose, yeah?”
I flee to the safety of my mat, lie down, and close my eyes, ready to disappear into a quiet spot in my mind with no Archibald Hills in it.
Easier said than done.
I try to follow Miranda’s meditating instructions, but every fiber of my body is still hyper-aware of the man lying beside me. No amount of closing my eyes, opening my mind, letting my breath occur naturally, and allowing my body to feel heavy on the ground works.
Instead, my body feels light like a feather and… tingly.
“Work from the soles of your feet up to the crown of your head,” Miranda says. “Consciously release every body part, organ, and cell.”
Ah. All I can think about is how Archie’s hands followed the same path last night, starting literally from the soles of my feet to end up tangled in my hair.
“Relax your face. Let your eyes drop deep into their sockets. Invite peace and silence into your mind, body, and soul.”
Peace and silence, huh? I fear I’ve invited thedevilinto my mind, body, and soul.
8
ARCHIE
“Okay, class, it’s now time to come out of Savasana.” The yoga instructor’s voice makes me jump alert.
With barely two hours of sleep under my belt, I was already dozing off. I hope I wasn’t snoring.
“To exit the pose…” Miranda’s soothing voice keeps rolling instructions I don’t want to follow. All I want to do is curl up on my side and sleep. “Deepen your breath. Inhale and exhale. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Wonderful.” She leaves us a few instants to breathe before continuing. “Now, bring gentle movement and awareness back to your body; you can start by wiggling your fingers and toes. When you’re ready, roll to your side. Rest for a moment before slowly pressing into a comfortable sitting position. Inhale as you unfold your body, letting your head be the last thing to come into place. And exhale.”
Once we’re all up and ready to go, Miranda bows and says, “Try to carry the peace and stillness of Savasana with you throughout the rest of your day. I hope I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
The class bows in return, most looking relaxed. Not Summer. She’s still on the pissy side. She’s been glaring at me the entire time we’ve been doing practice together. The scowls mixed with copious blushing.
The woman is such a mystery. Last night, she surprised me by coming to my room. Heck, after her first response at the bar I thought I’d blown it, but not thirty minutes later and she was knocking on my door to give me one of the wildest nights of my life. The whole experience was surprising, to say the least. The way our bodies seemed to just fit together, the explosive chemistry between us, the way I couldn’t stop looking into her eyes as we moved together. The way Ididn’twant to stop looking at her.
Which is… ah… something I shouldn’t think about while wearing yoga pants.
Right. I meet Summer’s evil eye and smile. With her skintight leggings, the high ponytail, and mixed-signal dirty looks, she has enough of a prim-but-shy cheerleader vibe to make me want to carry her back to my bed and sex the attitude out of her.
Something else I shouldn’t think about while wearing yoga pants.
Speaking of dos and don’ts, she also said we should act like total strangers during the day. But I know women: what they say and what they mean are not necessarily the same. For example, “Pretend you don’t know me” would probably translate to, “You can’t just ignore me. Be nice and acknowledge we had sex, that it was fantastic, and that you can’t wait to do it again, but do it in such a way no one but me will notice.”
Easy, right?
So, before hitting the breakfast buffet, I act as any decent yoga partner would: I walk two steps toward her, nod, and say, “Great practice.” I throw in a quick hug and a wink.
