Page 57 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

He’s silent for a moment. Probably ready to call me on my bullshit, but we’re playing nice now. “Hurry up. I don’t want us both to be homeless if a fire breaks out.”

I chuckle. “Yep. I’ll be right out.”

I wait to hear his footsteps head back toward the stairs. I put my clothes from today in the dry cleaner bag and head downstairs.

Standing at the top of the stairs, I realize Liam has lit incense, and now there’s a new mix of scents in the air. I inhale and stop breathing for a moment.

Liam’s pushed back the couch and coffee table and placed pillows and blankets in a circle. I might as well tell him where my insurance card is, because if he expects me to do yoga on blankets, I’m going to break my neck.

“Come into the circle.” He waves me in as if he’s the knowledgeable instructor granting me permission.

“What’s going on?”

“Are you ready?”

“For what?”

“Just stay with me.” He grabs my phone out of my hand, puts it on silent, and places it on the kitchen table.

“Whoa. You never said I couldn’t have my phone.”

“You can’t have your phone.” He winks.

“Not sure I would’ve signed up then.”

He ignores my comment, coming back into the pillow circle. “Sit down.”

I sit.

He sits across from me. “Cross your legs.”

I do as he says.

“Put your hands on top of your thighs like this.” He displays a classic meditation pose people use in movies.

I release a breath. Thank goodness, no yoga. “We’re meditating?”

He picks up his phone, scrolling through. “What did you think we were doing?”

“Um… meditating. Yeah.”

He smiles brightly as though he’s trying to show me this plan isn’t bad. “This app has great reviews, so we’re going to go with it. Usually I’d say screw reviews, but I’m a novice here.”

I hide the smile that wants to break out. He did all this work for me? I can’t remember the last time someone put so much thought into something for me.

“So you’ve never meditated before?” I ask politely, because the influx of every scent imaginable says he’s new and bought anything and everything that said it would be good to clear your mind. But I’m not going to complain. It’s a nice gesture.

“Nope. We’re newbies together. Okay. Are you ready?”

I nod.

He presses his screen, and a woman’s sweet voice instructs us to breathe. I peek my eye open to see Liam’s eyes are closed and his back is straight. She talks about anxiety as if we need a definition of it—telling us the repercussions, how it manifests, what causes it. Hello? If you want me to forget about my anxiety, shouldn’t we not talk about it the entire time we’re meditating? It’s more like she’s selling a product than helping me.

“Okay, maybe that’s not the right one for us.” He clicks off, and silence echoes throughout the house. I laugh and he looks at me, smiling as though he enjoys it. “Let’s try this one.”

A new woman’s soothing voice instructs us to breathe once again. She talks about the pressures of life and how people rarely take the time for themselves. Giving us the Cliff’s Notes version of how great meditation is for people.

I bust out laughing, and Liam opens his eyes.

---