Needing to cool off, I walk the room, readjusting people where necessary until I’m distracted by the sound of giggling behind me. I turn around to find Grace, her head upside down as she arcs into position.
“What are you doing here, troublemaker?” I whisper and pretend to be affronted, but I can’t ever be mad at Gracie. Her happiness and good nature are infectious.
“Wanted a front-row seat for the show.” She chuckles and sits up, smiling, and then nods her chin in Honor’s direction.
“Class, sit up, close your eyes, and take five full breaths in, allowing the air to completely fill your lungs, and then exhale until there is no air left.” I glare at my sister while the class follows through on my command. She stares me down, not backing off. I roll my eyes and address the class in a huff. “Once completed, turn to your side and go into half-moon, allowing the silks to hold your ribcage while you ease into it. Gracie here will show you how it’s done. Won’t you, Grace?”
Grace sticks her tongue out and goes right into the pose, her body alignment perfect. I’ve taught her well. A bushel of pride fills my heart as I watch the class mimic her position.
“This pose is also known as Ardha Candrasana in Sanskrit. It’s an excellent hip and chest opener. If turning to the side is too much for you at this phase in your practice, shift the silks to your abdomen and stretch your arms out in front of you, going into Warrior Three. The impact is less, but you will still get a good lengthening throughout the sides of the body.”
I make sure everyone in class has the position before I head back to the front. Bad idea. Honor is facing my hammock, arms stretched out forward as if she’s reaching for me. It takes everything I have not to touch her fingertips, making even the smallest physical contact. I know myself too well. Once I touch her, it will be over. Instead, I hold back, wondering why I asked her to come to class in the first place. Probably because I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but having her here, close enough to touch and not being able to, irks me to no end.
For the rest of the hour, I put the class through their paces and finish with Savasana or deep relaxation, this time with them lying on the floor instead of in the hammock. It’s not my usual modus operandi, but change is necessary. At least that’s what I’ve been taught over the past decade.
I left everything I knew when I entered the army. Change.
Exiting the army, I came home not knowing what was up or down. Change.
Wandering endlessly around a Berkeley neighborhood and coming across a gym for sale. Change.
A beautiful woman with sad eyes enters my life. Change.
Life is full of changes. It’s what we do with those changes that makes all the difference.
When I bring everyone back from their relaxation, my entire focus is on Honor. Her movements are sluggish, relaxed, more so than I’ve seen before. As if the stars and the moon and the universe itself have smiled down on me, everyone leaves before my dove is finished with settling her belongings. Easing the door shut, I pad across the wood floors and capture her from behind, bringing her back flush against my front.
Her lovely gasp sounds throaty and loud in the otherwise empty room. All that’s left is us and a Chopin piece playing over the studio speakers. I turn my goddess around, grab her waist, and lift her back into the silks hanging behind her. Her butt hits the hammock, and before she can protest, I’ve got the silk protecting her back. She opens those long legs of hers wide so I can fit my body between them. In a second flat, I’ve got my mouth on hers.
She moans into our first kiss, sending jolts of pleasure down my spine to lie heavily at the base. She tastes better than I imagined. Like vanilla and mint mixed together. Her tongue is tentative as I explore her, but her arms and legs are not, wrapping around my form like a lust-drunk teen. I love every second of her eager need to be closer. I wrap my hands around her body, lean her back into the silks, and drink from her mouth like I’ve been dying of thirst. Her lower half rubs against my iron-like erection, and I growl my pleasure into her mouth. I suck her bottom lip and then her top. She mimics each move with one of her own. A nibble here, more suction there, until I’m completely lost in her. I could spend the rest of my days with only these lips to kiss, and I’d be a happy man. I pull away far enough so we both can catch our breath.
In that moment, her eyes blaze a silvery gray I’ll never forget for as long as I live. My heart pounds, and my skin sizzles with heat as I stare at the stunning woman before me. Energy flickers and pops off my form like sparks from a welding iron as my fate becomes sealed.
One kiss was all it took.
One kiss and I’ll give her everything.
One kiss and I’ll lay down my life.
One kiss and I know she is meant to be mine.
One kiss and I have seen my forever in her eyes.
My voice is scratchy and rough when I speak. I need to know. Need to hear that I’m not the only one.
“Tell me you feel this? It’s crazy. Wild. Untamed. I can’t begin to understand it or explain it. All I know is, I don’t ever want to let it go. Let you go.”
“Then don’t,” she whispers, her eyes glued to mine, timid and
