Page 28 of Clean Point

He grunted a simple response, his gaze focusing on the space between us. Frustration started getting the better of me, and on his next stretch forward, I pulled tightly, forcing him to deepen his stretch. Nico looked up at me, his brows furrowed together as he tried to figure out if I did it intentionally or not.

‘You’re ignoring me,’ I stated plainly.

‘That’s no—’

‘Let’s do some stretches,’ the instructor suggested, cutting off whatever bullshit excuse was about to come out of Nico’s mouth. ‘One of you, please lie on your back.’ I looked around uneasily, but a quick glance at Nico told me clearly that it wouldn’t be him.

‘Are you going to lie down?’ He asked, his tone agitated, and I was unsure why he was so uncomfortable with this instruction. Pressing my lips together, and swallowing my anxiety, I laid down on the mat, my arms stretched down my body, pressing into the ground.

The next instruction came as I shimmied into position. ‘Now, extend your legs straight out. This is where your partner will come in and help you lengthen your legs over your chest as you inhale and exhale.’ We both froze, watching the others as they did as instructed, realizing what this entailed. When I turned to Nico, he was on his knees, his jaw clenched, and eyebrows pushed together.

‘What do I do now?’ he asked, clearly not paying much attention.

‘Grasp her ankles with your hands,’ the instructor began, ‘and with one leg at a time, stretch it up and over her body until she’s doubled over.’ Judging by how wide his eyes grew, his throat bobbing again with another nervous swallow, he finally realized what position we were supposed to get into.

He’d looked down at me, wild panic stretched across his features. I stared at him blankly, unsure what he wanted me to do now that he had made me lie down.

Eventually I caved, ‘Look, the sooner we do it, the sooner we get this over with.’

Nico took a deep breath, like he was trying to collect himself and build the will to touch me. Was he really so repulsed by me? I flinched when he finally gripped my ankles.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, his eyes flickering up from my legs to my face. ‘Is this alright?’

‘Yes, it wasn’t you … I’m ticklish.’

A grin stretched across his lips for a moment as he grabbed my legs again, lifting them up. It was awkward, but gradually, he pulled them over my body, my lower back rising up off the mat, leaving only my arms and shoulders to make contact with the ground.

The aching stretch in my lower back was easily forgotten by his focused eyes meeting mine, wisps of his dark curled hair falling into his face, and the compromising position he had pulled me into. I’d been in less compromising positions with one-night stands, let alone my mixed partner.

He cleared his throat before speaking again. ‘Are you sure this is okay?’

I nodded, not quite able to form a string of tangible words. The feel of his hands against my ankles. The upward view of his face and strong arms stretching me. I shouldn’t have been distracted by the ripple of muscle. But I was.

Whose bad idea was it for him to join this class, again?

‘Why do you keep avoiding me?’ The question slipped out of me of its own accord. After all, I knew my reason for avoiding him, but what did he have against me? I was a delight to be around.

His face creased with denial. ‘What are you talking about? I’m literally holding your feet over your head.’

I kept my voice hushed. ‘This is the longest conversation we’ve had since Monday.’

I’d foolishly thought we were getting somewhere when I’d tried to help his knee, like he was finally trusting me, even slightly. I suppose it hadn’t helped that I was keeping things from him in return. Was it worse if he knew I’d failed the test or that I’d kept the results from him?

He bit his lip, looking uncomfortable in the face of my accusation, but he didn’t deny it.

I took a deep breath, before admitting on a whisper, ‘It’s like you can’t bear to be around me’

‘Believe me, Scottie,’ he whispered back. ‘That’s not the problem here.’

I was frozen, staring wide eyed in confusion at Nico, all the while his gaze burning down right back at me with something else entirely. The already small space between us felt claustrophobic and tight, like I hadn’t realized how close our bodies were until it was too late.

With a camera flash, the world came tumbling around us. We’d been so lost in the moment we didn’t notice Sarah’s arrival.

She stood there, camera in hand, looking down at the screen, a grin wide on her face. Nico’s hands released me, and in a split second he was so far away, it almost felt like it never happened.

‘Did you just take a photo?’ I asked, my tone wavering with doubt.

Sarah grinned. ‘This is perfect for the campaign. When I heard Nico was joining the class, I knew we’d get some tasty shots.’

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