The teacher said, “Practice your focus technique over the next two days, and we’ll have a short meditation after we finish postures on Friday. Remember, don’t strain, just relax into your poses.” He placed his palms together and bowed. “Namaste.”
The students got to their feet and repeated the gesture to their teacher. “Namaste.”
Quentin grinned. Mary Beth looked like a seasoned veteran even though she’d only been in the class a few weeks. She glanced back, and he waved. Smiling, she gathered up her mat, turned, and then exchanged a few words with a man standing beside her. She gazed up at the tall, white-haired gentleman. Interesting. She laughed and then threaded her way through the mats and people to Quentin’s side.
He gave her a one-armed hug. “You look very serene and meditative, ma’am.”
She gave a little curtsey that looked cute in her baggy cotton pants. “Thank you, kind sir.”
“And who is your handsome friend?”
“Oh, that’s George. He’s helping me catch up on some of the postures they learned before I joined the class.” Nonchalant, but he swore she blushed a little.
Quentin looked up at the instructor, who was gazing toward them intently. “You like your teacher?”
Mary Beth gave the yoga teacher a nod and a little wave, then said sotto voce, “He’s staring at you because you’re so good-looking. He seems to have diverse tastes.”
“Oh, how so?”
“Currently I’ve see him with an older woman who is also one of his students, but I used to see him with a good-looking man.”
“He must know a lot of people, dear.”
She raised her eyebrows. “In this case I think ‘know’ in the biblical sense might be more accurate. Anyway, he’s a good teacher and knows a lot about instructing beginners like me. He just weirds me out a little.”
Quentin bleated a laugh, then slapped a hand over his mouth. “I do not believe you just said that. You must be hanging out in questionable company, young lady.”
She gave him a sassy glance. “The nice thing about being a lady is you can get away with so much.”
Laughing, he guided her out to the car and helped her in. “So, shall we go to lunch before I take you home?”
“That would be lovely. But first, I’m dying to know about your call. I don’t want to pry at all if it’s personal. But I must admit to being a mite curious.”
He knew she meant it about not prying. Sadly, his whole life was personal. “Not much to tell. The call was from a man I met at that party. We seemed to have a lot in common, and he asked if I wanted to get together, like, for a beer or something.”
“I didn’t know you drank beer.”
He smiled as he pulled away from the curb. “I don’t, but I imagine I can have wine or a cocktail. It’s just a man’s excuse for having a chat.” Even if one of the men was in drag and they planned to have sex later.
“I see. How nice.” She put a hand on his arm. “I want you to have friends here. After moving all the way from South Carolina to California for me, I want this to be a good place for you.”
He glanced at her big blue eyes, so like his own. “Thank you. But I wanted to come here as much as you did. It’s better for you to be away from all that humidity.”
“And all that judgment.”
He stared at her and quickly looked back at the road. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing, really. I just got tired of everyone thinking and doing and living the same way. I think Laguna Beach will be a lot more exciting, don’t you?”
She was a wonder. She’d said she wanted to move to California for her health. Away from the moisture and mold that plagued the low country of the southeast. He’d thought it odd that she didn’t pick Arizona or someplace equally arid, but she insisted that the southwestern states were too dry. She wanted the nice balance of Southern California. He’d never heard this other reason before. “So we came here for excitement, is that it?” He grinned.
“Ab-so-tooten-lutely.”
He practically wrecked the car, he was laughing so hard.
WHY THE hell was he doing this? Micah looked again at the menu. Everything on it was cooked! He dropped it on the bar and sipped his grapefruit juice. Fresh squeezed. Not bad at all.
Maybe Queen wouldn’t come. Damn, half of him would be relieved and the other half—clearly the lower half—might commit suicide. He should have chosen a vegan restaurant, but everyone around Micah kept telling him what an asshole he was lately. They didn’t care if Micah had their best interests at heart; they wanted him to lighten up. Well, this is how that looked. Him ready to foot a big bill and get nothing to eat. Maybe he should… holy crap.
Queen stood in the doorway between the indoor restaurant and the outdoor patio. Both venues were crowded with people, but Queen looked like he was alone on a catwalk or something. “Queen” was clearly the correct title. His pale blond hair hung around his shoulders, decorating the lacy blouse that opened over delicate collarbones and the slight swell of his imaginary breasts. That face. Wow. He wore maybe a little mascara and a touch of pink lipstick, but that was all. Amazing. Even without the eyeliner and brilliant red lips, the illusion of Queen’s femininity was complete.
Micah stood. It was only a few steps to the door. “Hi.”
Queen moved gracefully down to the floor level. His black skirt swirled around those lean legs. Hard not to think of how the red dress’s skirt had flipped so handily up to expose Queen’s beautiful butt.
“Hi.” Queen extended his left hand, and Micah took it. Not a handshake in any
