Page 24 of How to Love a Rockstar

“Good morning,” he greets as he settles himself on the mat next to me.

I sniff and return my attention to the front of the room. I’ll ignore him for the class. Dylan? Dylan who? I’ve found my new motto.

“If everyone is where they want to be,” Olivia says and winks at Dylan. “We can begin.”

“Sit in an easy pose in the center of your mat and allow your eyes to close. Begin to pay attention to the muscles in your face, relax your eyebrows, unclench your jaw, and soften your shoulders. Rid your body of tension and inhale a deep breath.”

I try to pay attention as Olivia takes us through the breathing exercises. But how can I relax when with every breath I inhale, I smell Dylan’s scent? It’s clean and fresh. It reminds me of how laundry smells when you dry it outside in the spring. I want to wrap it around me before rolling in it.

I scowl at the thought and force myself to focus on what Olivia is saying. “Bring your arms up above your head and allow your palms to meet at the top, slowly bring them down in front of your sternum and rest in a seated Pranamasana.”

“Seated what?” Dylan leans close to ask.

I glare at him until he leans back.

“Have you not had any coffee yet this morning?”

What part of my glare is he misunderstanding? This glare does not say ‘speak to me’. It says, ‘leave me the heck alone’.

“We’ll grab some at the bakery on the way home.”

“You’re delusional,” I hiss.

“I’ll go for coffee with him,” a woman in the row in front of us says.

“Sorry, darling. I’m a one woman man,” Dylan says and she sighs.

“Let’s stand and begin with the warrior pose,” Olivia says before I can remind Dylan of how delusional he is.

“Left leg in front and bend your knee. Make sure your hips are turned forward and raise your arms in the air.”

I follow the directions. This isn’t bad. I thought yoga would be more difficult.

“Hold the pose. This asana will help strengthen your lower body, especially your hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps,” Olivia explains as she wanders through the room correcting people’s poses.

She taps my hip. “Good job, bestie.”

“What about me, teacher? How am I doing?” Dylan asks.

“Your hips should be forward facing. May I touch you?” At his nod, she places her hands on his hips and twists until they’re turned toward the front. “There you go. Hold this pose.”

She releases him to continue walking around the classroom.

“This doesn’t feel natural,” Dylan complains.

I notice his arms are trembling. My brow furrows. “Don’t you have arm strength from playing the guitar?”

“I meant my legs.”

Before I have a chance to respond, he wobbles to the side and tips over. I try to scooch out of the way but I’m not quick enough. He falls on me and we land on my mat in a mess of arms and legs.

“Shit. Virginia, are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

His hands run over my body checking for injuries. His fingers are calloused from playing the guitar. I’ve only ever been with men who have smooth hands before. But his calloused fingers roaming over my body feel better than anything I’ve felt with a smooth handed man before.

I should push him off of me. Any second now I’m going to push him off. Just as soon as I catch my breath. Considering his hands on me are causing me to lose my breath, it may be a while.

“You okay? Virginia?”

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