Page 44 of I Choose You
“Scarlett,” Maeve hissed, throwing a pillow at her. We were all laughing now, the alcohol making everything that much funnier.
“Just told him. With my words,” I said pointedly.
Scarlett pouted dramatically. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
The conversation moved on to other topics, with Maeve talking about the circus that was teaching at a high school. Even Juliet was chuckling. At one point, I had told them that I was into yoga and meditation, and I found out that Juliet was as well, so we decided to do an impromptu yoga class in Maeve’s living room.
I found my favorite meditation soundtrack on streaming on-demand, and Maeve gathered towels to use in place of yoga mats. We lined up facing the television, Juliet, me, Scarlett, then Maeve. Usually, I liked to start with thirty minutes of meditation before I started the yoga stretches, but I decided to forego the meditation portion tonight.
I led them through a Palm Tree pose and Sun Salutation, coaching them on their breathing, making sure their inhales and exhales were controlled and deliberate. Juliet didn’t need any correcting, but Maeve and Scarlett were definitely new to this.
Now that the warm-up was done and everyone’s limbs were nice and loose, I directed them to the Intense Leg Stretch pose. We all separated our legs apart and lowered our front toward the floor, just as the door to Maeve’s house opened.
“Fuck, doll. I could come home to this every day,” Wyattteased, his eyes twinkling and his mouth pulled up into a smirk. The way he looked at Maeve made my heart melt. “Don’t stop just because we walked in. Keep it up,” he told her with wink, Jane asleep in his arm.
He wasn’t alone though. It looked like their guys’ night out had migrated to Wyatt and Maeve’s house. I caught Reid standing behind him, along with Luke and Sebastian. Our eyes met. Suddenly, it was a bit warm inside. It was probably all the additional body heat from the guys showing up.
I pulled the ladies’ attention back to me. Like Wyatt said, no reason to stop just because we had some company. Everyone got back into position for the Intense Leg Stretch pose. I took two steps back so I could see their form.
“Maeve, can you move your feet apart a little more? You really want to feel this in your muscles. You want to get deep.”
The laughter behind me was barely contained. Wyatt put Jane down in her playpen and came up behind Maeve. He wrapped his hands around her hips and kicked her feet out wider. “Go deep with me, doll. I’ve got you.”
She groaned, and I felt like I was witnessing something that was intended for closed doors. “Oh, yes. That feels so good,” she moaned.
“Jeez. I want a stretch like that,” Juliet said, laughter in her voice.
“Don’t you worry, beautiful. I’ll help you out.” Seb stepped up behind Juliet, mimicking Wyatt’s position without kicking her legs apart.
Luke growled and strode over to us from the kitchen. “Get your hands off my wife.”
Seb pulled away with a wide smile on his face, his hands held high in surrender. “Scarlett, baby, why don’t I help youout instead. This oaf thinks he’s a caveman over here.”
Luke had his hands on Juliet’s hips. “Not like that, Luke,” she complained. “I do this all the time. You know what, I’ve got it.”
Scarlett’s eyes flicked to Luke quickly before she responded to Sebastian. “Yeah, sure. You can help me stretch.”
Luke’s nostrils flared. “Better?” he asked, adjusting his hold on Juliet to a light touch.
“Whatever,” she said.
“Okay, is everyone in position now?” I asked. “Just bend forward, keep your hands behind your back, squeeze between your shoulder blades. Get as low—”
“Wait,” Seb shouted, cutting me off. “Reid, you got to get in on this. You take Claire from behind so she can get a good stretch in too.”
I nearly choked on air with Sebastian’s choice of words. Not that I thought that was accidental. I barely knew the man, and I felt confident he was looking to get a rise out of Reid.
“I’m good,” Reid deadpanned, not falling for the bait.
“You want to watch,” Seb said, nodding with approval. “That makes sense.”
Dear God. My body temperature was through the roof. I had taken my sweater off earlier—drinking tended to make me run hot—and was only in a tank top now. I could feel my face getting warmer. I just hoped no one else noticed.
“Look, now she’s embarrassed that she doesn’t have a partner. You’re such a grumpy bastard for someone so young, you know that? Scarlett, baby, unfortunately, you’re going to have to share me.”
Sebastian moved to stand behind me, acting like he wasgoing to help me get into position. Reid grunted and stalked over to me. His eyes held a fire in them that held me captive. He turned his gaze to Sebastian for a moment, that fire trying to set him alight. Seb moved back to Scarlett, his grin even wider than earlier.
“Okay, now you can start.”
