thought as ridiculous, but now… I was going to be thirty in a couple of months and, if anything, I was more infatuated with her today than I had been when I was a teenager.
My phone buzzed and Mr. Rogers leaned over to me. “No phones in class.”
I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was a text from Luciana saying we should talk. She didn’t ask how I was, or even where I was, just that we should talk. I’d seen several paparazzi photos of her with a new mystery man, so I figured she was just calling to let me know that it was serious with him, a conversation that didn’t need to happen. I knew we were over.
After I turned my phone to silent, the door opened, and I looked up to see Olivia walk in. Within seconds my palms grew damp, my throat closed, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I wondered if she would ever enter a room and I wouldn’t go into anaphylactic shock.
As always, she looked absolutely breathtaking. Her hair was in two braids, just like she used to wear it when we were kids, and she had on black leggings, a loose-fitting white tank top, and a pink sports bra that gave her a peek-a-boo of cleavage. I couldn’t believe she was taking the class. It seemed beneath what I knew her skill level was thanks to my early morning peep show.
The hum of conversation quieted as she walked to the front of the room and faced everyone. That’s when I realized she wasn’t taking the class, she was teaching it.
“Good afternoon, everybo—” she stopped speaking when our eyes met.
She stared at me with her mouth hanging open. It was obvious that she was just as, if not more surprised to see me than I was to see her.
“Holden Reed is taking the class today,” Mrs. Nelson explained.
“His physical therapist recommended it,” Mrs. Scoggs added.
“Oh…” Olivia nodded and pasted a smile on her face. “Okay…good…I mean it’s good to have you.”
She then blinked twice and continued on with her spiel, explaining what we could expect in the class. As she spoke, I noticed that she didn’t look in my direction again, which was fine by me.
I was going to have to avoid looking at her when she was demonstrating poses because I was scared that it might trigger X-rated images of her morning yoga sessions and I’d become…excited. A few weeks ago, I’d been worried that I might not ever get a boner again, now I was worried I might pop one during a class filled with senior citizens. One day I might appreciate the irony in that, today I just wanted to get through the next hour without embarrassing myself.
Chapter 12
Olivia
“To heal a wound, ya need to stop touching it.”
~ Maggie Calhoun
“Reach forward, scooping your tailbone.” I weaved my way through the class, making sure that everyone’s form was correct.
Well, almost everyone. I’d barely glanced at Holden. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Holden Reed was actually in my class. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d fantasized about him showing up. But, in all the fantasies I’d had, it had never been because he was actually taking it.
I tried not to let his presence affect me, but I’d failed miserably.
Thankfully, I’d been teaching this class for so long that I could basically do it in my sleep. Which is the only way I’d gotten through it. I’d been on autopilot; it was a nervous tick I’d developed when I was a kid.
Growing up, I’d been painfully, debilitatingly shy. To combat my shyness, my mom had me compete in ballroom dance competitions. I’d have so much anxiety leading up to events, that I’d be sure I was going to be sick or pass out. But once I got out on the dance floor and the song started, a switch would flip in my brain and I would perform without even thinking about it.
That was what happened today. I’d taught the entire class without thinking about it because Holden’s presence had knocked the wind right out of me. Literally, when I’d seen him, all of my breath left, just like the time I fell out of my brother’s tree fort.
“Make sure you keep your shoulders relaxed,” I instructed as I walked by Mrs. Higgins, who had a tendency to tense up. “Just melt into the mat. Inhale to lengthen, and on your exhale surrender