Page 13 of The Love Position

Wow. This god of a man hadn’t had sex for over a decade? Whereas Marcus had been whoring it up with whoever he could get his hands on.

‘So, in today’s class, think about how you can bring ahimsa, satya, and brahmacharya into your practice. Okay, let’s start with parvatasana. Interlock your fingers, press the palms away and inhale, bringing your arms above your head.’

Isaac demonstrated every posture, pointing at his various muscles to explain each pose, and Sophia copied him, her mind reeling. She tried to keep her thoughts academic, however she’d never been invited or encouraged to stare at a man so intently before, and there was a party going on in her pants.

As Isaac did a perfect headstand, the bottom of his vest top came untucked from his shorts, falling down to reveal a six-pack dusted with dark brown hair.

Oh. My. God.

Estelle leaned over. ‘See what I mean?’ she murmured.

Sophia nodded. Isaac Hayward was off-the-scale hot. ‘But I can’t do a headstand,’ she whispered.

‘It’s okay, he’ll help you.’

Isaac lowered his legs to the floor as if they defied gravity. ‘Okay everyone, come up into headstand. Remember to use any props you need, as well as the wall. Sophia, we’re going to look at the foundations of the pose.’

Estelle winked at her as Isaac brought his mat over and showed Sophia how to position her arms and head.

‘Now, you have a go.’

Feeling awkward and ungainly, she tucked her t-shirt into her joggers, then put her head on the mat with her hands interlocked behind it.

‘That’s great. Lift your shoulders away from your ears, putting weight through your forearms. Now tuck your toes under and walk your feet closer in.’

Upside down, blood rushed to her head. Everything felt too heavy.

‘Do you want me to kick up?’

‘No, not this time. Just get used to the feeling.’

Of what? You standing next to me?

Lowering to the floor, she rested, her pulse pounding as Isaac returned to the front of the room.

‘Why didn’t he give you a hand?’ Estelle whispered as she came back to Sophia’s side.

‘Huh?’

‘He always asks first, but he usually helps people get up into headstand if they’ve never done it before.’

Oh.

‘You’ve done brilliantly, by the way,’ Estelle continued, ‘and your reward is almost here.’

‘Reward?’

‘Yoga bedtime stories and sleep.’

Isaac cleared his throat. ‘So, moving onto sarvangasana, also known as shoulder stand…’

After a few more postures, Sophia lay on her mat and Isaac talked them through a breathing exercise. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t close her eyes and her heart raced. Emotion squeezed her throat, and she blinked back tears.

You cannot cry!

Estelle reached across and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. The connection helped calm Sophia, and her eyelids finally closed.

‘Bringing your awareness now to your right-hand thumb, index finger, middle finger…’

---