Page 97 of The Sidekick

His voice is low, quiet, and firm. He names poses, and I’m expected to follow just like everyone else. It’s so nice to have clear directions from a man for once, even if it is just a class to him. I don’t have to think too hard about what comes next because he already has it all planned out.

The names for the poses are a little harder for the ladies in front of me. They learned the English version. I feel bad for them like I did something wrong, but they’re making it and doing really well. Watching him move up there is like being led in a dance that only we know the moves to, which makes me more giddy than it should.

I find that if I just stare at his blue shirt, I can get over the fact that a hot guy is whispering for me to breathe in and then breathe out. It feels more intimate than it should, and it’s embarrassing how my body is reacting to it. Maybe the ladies up front know what they’re doing with all the giggling.

I shouldn’t have been negative about their reactions to him. That was mean. Especially since I’m the same way. I’m a hypocrite.

Time goes too fast for me. Before I know it, we’re finishing. I don’t want it to end, this little connection I have with a complete stranger who’s innocently up there teaching a class. I’m being a pervert, and for once, I don’t feel bad about it. He’ll never know if I keep quiet.

“Seiza,” the soft masculine voice says, and I sink to my knees automatically, keeping my back straight and closing my eyes to start meditating. There’s a bit of shuffling and whispering in front of me, but I let it fade out as I drift into peaceful darkness. I get into that headspace where everything is sunny and bright, welcoming it with a smile. I could do this forever. If only I didn’t have to come out of it.

“Open your eyes.”

I feel like he’s whispering right in my ear, and I shiver as I open them. I blink several times, convinced I’m seeing things.

Nope, he’s crouched down right in front of me, staring at my face. I reflexively drop my eyes and stare at the floor between his bare feet. He has tattoos on them as well. Brightly colored flowers blooming across the tops, ending just before his toes. I bet that hurt a lot.

He rises smoothly and turns around, pacing back up to the platform, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. My pulse is throbbing, and my nipples are peaked. I’m shaky and sweating as he tells us to rise and says Namaste, placing his hands together over his chest and bowing as we do the same.

As the noise level goes up, I rush to roll my mat and slide on my shoes before racing out of the door like my butt is on fire. It’s not my butt that I’m worried about, though.

Babygirl,

I’m thinking about having the couch bronzed. That way, we can keep it forever, and no one else will sit on it but us. Fuck that’s a leap. Why would you ever want to come back here?

Chapter Thirty-Six

Asher

I don’t know if I should strangle Max or thank him, and it pisses me off.

I can’t stop thinking about her.

Tera Evans is apparently shy. I could barely see her with the lights dimmed down. She was too far away. I need to get my contacts refilled.

I expected her to need correction or direction on how to do the poses. Maybe try to gain my attention like the other women in the class, but she surprised me. Every time I called out a pose, she slid into it naturally, knowing each one before I could demonstrate.

She didn’t do the normal complaints I get or even talk at all. She just stood in the back and actually enjoyed the class. Like an idiot, I decided to take a closer look at Max’s girl, and now I’m fucked.

I called out the kneeling position just to see if she knew it, too. The way she flowed to her knees almost made me swallow my tongue. It was perfect, smooth, and beautiful. She didn’t fidget or act uncomfortable like everyone else. There’s a reason I don’t teach that pose. It’s my weakness. I screwed myself by letting it happen.

When I stood over her, I was expecting the meditation to be fake, but she was really in it. She had the softest smile, like she could spend all day like that without a complaint. I had to crouch down to hide my sudden erection.

Even that close to her, she didn’t notice me, and it pissed me off. I wanted her to see me, which is definitely not my usual feeling around an attractive woman. I blame it on the fact that I had the recipe for the perfect submissive kneeling in front of me like a gift. She obeyed every single command I gave like a dance between us that I had complete control of.

When I broke and told her to open her eyes, she obeyed without pause. When she realized I was right in front of her, practically panting and drooling on the floor, she dropped her eyes, and that was it. I was a goner.

Fuck my life, and fuck Max too. Maybe he hasn’t told her anything about me, and she thinks she’s simply taking a yoga class.

She left before I had a chance to speak to her, which pisses me off too. I feel like she should have felt that same connection to me, which is totally irrational and downright psychotic.

“How’d she do?”

The question interrupts the repetitive movement of the kick. I’m not even paying attention to the class. Fuck, I haven’t ever had it this bad for someone. Especially this quickly. I’m usually a lot more cautious than this. Fucking Max is going to pay for this shit on Friday. Screw texting, I’m dealing with him in person.

“What?” I ask in confusion. It’s one of the twins. He’s next to me, continuing the exercise while he watches my face.

“How’d she do in yoga class?”

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