Page 91 of Love Unavoidable
Sadie laughs. So I do too. She crawls over to make sure I’m okay, looking so beautiful with no makeup or adornments. Fresh faced with her hair back in a messy bun. I want to kiss her. I lean forward slightly, ensnared in the trap that is my attraction to her.
She shakes her head and clears her throat, looking away from me. Then bounces up, so she is standing again and tells us about the next exercise we will be doing. I watch her as she shows the dance move she wants us to mimic and pause in as a pose. Her body moves so fluidly, making everything look easy. I can already tell there is nothing about this next pose that will be easy.
She walks us through step by step, and I end up as her guinea pig again. I make it in to position: arms up, toes pointed, body curved.
I’ve got this.
She walks through the two rows making small adjustments here and there, and then makes it back to the front of the room where I am.
“Okay, everyone except Ethan can release.”
“Wait, why?” I ask.
She ignores my question. “Okay, class, do you see here how Ethan isn’t arching in the middle. You always want to make sure your muscles are stretching up and out, not over and down.” She repositions my body.
“Jesus Christ.” I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. “I don’t like this,” I grunt.
“Just hold for ten seconds,” she says. She looks at me, her eyes sparkle with mischief.
Mischief and evil.
“Okay, Ethan, release.” She lets me relax and I crumple to the floor. Again, I don’t see where my co-workers are suffering the same fate as me. Or, at least, this isn’t affecting them the same way.
“How are you guys all fine with this?” I ask my colleagues.
A few of the guys shrug, but no one answers verbally.
We finish up the class with more basic things I know how to do even if I’m not very good at them. I can’t help feeling like the universe is playing one big practical joke on me right now. She dismisses us as a class and the chief tells us to gather out front to jog back to the station.
“I’ll be right there, Chief,” I tell him.
“Don’t dawdle, Stone,” he says.
“No, sir,” I reply. Sadie is straightening some things against the far wall. “So, that was cool, seeing you in your element like that,” I tell her.
“Thanks,” she says, without turning around to face me.
“Are you going to look at me?” I ask.
She spins around. “There, I’m looking at you. Happy?”
“Yeah. Hi.” I want to caress her cheek, see if it’s as soft as it looks.
“Hi.” She blushes.
“Dude, let’s go,” Brad yells from the doorway.
“I gotta go,” I tell her. “I’ll, um, see you later?”
“Bye.”
I follow Brad out to the front of the building, and we jog with our squad back to the station. I think of Sadie the entire time.
* * *
I go home to take a nap after the team building dance fiasco and don’t wake until an hour before my shift is supposed to start. I take a quick shower and head to the kitchen to grab a snack. I can hear Sadie is in the shower and I don’t know if I will see her before I leave. I grab a pen and paper,
Hey, Gorgeous,
