Page 52 of Bonus Daddy
As if on cue, she walked out of the back room, wearing light blue leggings and a matching sports bra with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a headset.
I couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her. She was strong and curvy in all the right places. Her body had changed since college, but my reaction to her hadn’t. Just looking at her made my already warm blood heat.
“Namaste,” she said, putting her hands together and bowing her head. “And welcome, new friends.”
I shifted in my cross-legged position, my Metros T-shirt already sticking to my back.
She walked softly around the room as candles flickered and soft piano music played. “Just as a reminder,” she said in a calming tone, “yoga is an exploration of the self. I’ll be offering modifications and alternatives throughout the practice. Go at your own pace and ease into it.”
The breathing exercises felt great, and before long, my body adjusted to the heat of the room. Mostly, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Jess.
She was glowing, focused and 100 percent in her element. “Now,” she said, her breath gusting over the microphone just a little, “shift into child’s pose.”
I followed Cal’s and Lo’s lead, reaching forward. This wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I could see how this could be relaxing after a hard day.
Jess moved us into some seated twists, and before long, my muscles were loose.
“Okay,” she said. “Now that we’ve finished our warmup, it’s time to move into sun salutations, some standing postures, and then arm balances. If you do not have some of these poses in your practice right now or you’d like a break, you can move into child’s pose at any time.”
Eyes darting from her to the mirror to Cal and Lo, I worked to keep pace with all the poses she called.
Warrior one, humble warrior, chair, swan dive, tabletop. What the hell was happening?
When we moved to a plank and then some kind of pushup, sweat dripped from my face onto the mat below me. Fuck.
Jess stepped onto her mat, which was bright pink, and brought her arms out and up. “Now reach to the sky.”
We followed. While her head was tilted back, I checked my watch and nearly scoffed. How had it only been eight minutes? Sweat still poured down my face and back and chest, and already, mymat was slippery. My heart thudded against my chest with so much force I worried I’d explode.
Jess started the grouping of poses over again, calling them out. This time, though, she walked around the studio, correcting the posture of her students and giving gentle encouragement. Here and there, she’d wander back to her mat and do the sequences, being sure to show us modifications, which, naturally, I refused to do.
To make things worse? Every minute or two, she’d focus on me, giving me encouraging looks.
God, this was embarrassing.
How many more times would she make us do that swoopy thing from a plank to upward dog and into a downward dog? The move had a name. Chatter-something…
“And Chaturanga,” she said, as if reading my mind.
The people around me moved smoothly through the postures. Beside me, Cal had stripped off his shirt. The fucker looked like a professional yogi, his body flowing gracefully as I attempted not to face-plant on the floor.
On my other side, Sully was contorted into an unnatural position, his face a mask of pure pain.
“You are all so locked in tonight,” Jess said, her voice full of delight. “Let’s take an extra set of breaths in downward dog.” While we all stood with our hands flat on the ground and our asses in the air, she said, “Now sway your hips and regulate your breathing.”
After a handful of breaths, she released us from the position and guided us to stand with our feet shoulder-width apart.
“Now I’d like to have some fun.”
I sighed in relief. This sounded promising.
“We’re going to do some arm balances.”
Cal let out a little cheer that made me want to knock him over. Cocky bastard.
But arms? I could do arms. Not to brag, but my upper body was pretty strong.
“Widen your stance and sink into a deep yogi squat. Use your elbows to push your knees wider and tuck your pelvis.”
