Chapter 11 Levi
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Levi
My body hated me for getting up this early.
After a couple weeks off my routine, my brain was starting to revolt. I squinted, wondering if I should have made myself a cup of coffee as I walked down the sidewalk toward the park. Not that caffeine could fix whatever was wrong with me.
Hopefully, my body would love me after giving this a try. I doubted it, but one could dream.
The last time I tried yoga, I’d ended up leaving about halfway through the class.
My joints had been so angry at me, my muscles protesting the entire time.
I’d been fucking embarrassed. And as a professional athlete, there was truly something horrifying about that.
It picked at all the soft parts I did my best to hide.
The parts that screamed I was never good enough to be a professional athlete to begin with.
The part that screamed I should have listened to my coach about stretching more.
It was clear I should have taken better care of myself over the years.
I had a spreadsheet for all the exercises I was doing now.
I even made a weekly schedule table and checked each color-coded day off when I completed them.
Even though I was off the team for now, I had to maintain some sense of normalcy, and having my life organized helped.
It was what got me through college and through the pressure of maintaining my grades while being an athlete.
Keeping my life down on paper was something I preferred to do even with BDSM relationships.
I had an entire spreadsheet full of kinks and how I rated them, along with blank forms for if and when I was with someone.
I always deleted old files if the relationship ended, too.
But I loved having everything outlined in little details.
I was a freak in all the sheets.
I liked having references to what my partner or partners liked. Although, I was a little rusty to all of that now.
The idea of filling out kink spreadsheets with Mateo and Avery was a huge turn on. And the moment it crossed my mind, I used all my strength to push it back out.
I carried my mat across the grass, adjusting my sunglasses to keep the sun from blinding me. The sun was barely up, but the heat already had sweat trickling down my back.
Yoga in the park. Who even was I? The sidewalk eventually turned into a path that cut through grass, leading to a gazebo large enough to host ten people. I counted a few familiar faces as I walked up, my lungs squeezing a breath out.
I hadn’t thought about the fact that I’d be doing yoga with people who knew me. Also hadn’t thought about the fact that Avery and Mateo might be here.
Avery was wearing yoga shorts. Fuck me.
“Hey, look who it is,” Austin called.
He grinned as I approached, clasping my shoulder gently and dragging me into a hug.
“Morning,” I grumbled, forcing myself to not immediately focus on Avery and Mateo and the way they were standing as far away from each other as possible.
Had I missed something? I was no mind reader, but the energy between them was off. Avery wouldn’t look at him. Mateo was only looking at her.
Two women stood next to Avery and one of them smirked at me while the other one with pink hair stared me down like I’d committed some sort of crime against humanity.
Avery smiled at me. “Surprised to see you here, Minnesota.”
“I told him about it,” Austin said proudly. “And for once, all of us got off our asses on a Sunday morning.”
“Hey,” Dallas quipped.
It’d been a while since I’d seen him, but I’d know Dallas anywhere. I held out my hand as he approached and he pulled me into a hug before drawing back.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Hanging in there. Regretting getting up this early.”
“You and all of us,” Mateo mumbled.
“I have zero regrets, actually,” the pink-haired woman said. Tattoos crawled up her arms and my eyes widened when I realized they weren’t flowers—they were poisonous plants. She arched a brow at me. “I’m June.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“This is Evie,” Avery said, gesturing to her other friend.
Evie beamed and waved. “Hi, Levi. Welcome back to Whynot.”
“Thanks,” I answered.
Her attention turned back to June and Avery, and the three of them formed a tight knit circle. Occasionally, June would shoot Mateo the side-eye.
I very much felt like there were two teams here, and I was batting on the wrong one.
“So, who’s teaching?” I asked.
Dallas snorted and looked at Austin. “Great question. Who’s teaching this Sunday?”
“One of the golden girls, probably.”
“The what?” I asked.
Mateo closed in on our group, his back to Avery. “I heard Lola is teaching today.”
“So we’ll be starting twenty minutes late,” Dallas said.
“Without a doubt,” Mateo chuckled.
The three of them kept chatting and I took a moment to study Mateo. He wore a navy Whynot Fire Department shirt along with some athletic shorts, occasionally pushing his glasses up his nose. My gaze lingered on his mustache and the stubble along his jaw line.
“Earth to Levi. Levi?”
Austin’s voice broke through my trance and I snapped my head up. “Sorry. Need caffeine. Or something.”
“All good. Do you want to join the volunteer fire department?”
“What?” I shook my head. “You’re gonna have to back up five steps.”
Dallas chuckled. “He’s just fucking with you. We were talking about—”
“Someone come help me with my damn yoga blocks.”
A grumbly voice had all of us turning, and Mateo already moving to help an older woman entering the gazebo with a couple tote bags. The two of them exchanged a few friendly words in Spanish and she let out a hearty laugh, handing everything over to Mateo.
“Pick a spot,” she said, gesturing to the ground. “Put your mats down. Oh look, it’s the hockey player.”
“Hi,” I said.
“Don’t hi me. What are you, nine? Roll out your mat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It had been a long time since I tried yoga, and there was a goddamn reason for that.
It was fucking hard. Trying to move my body to Lola’s instructions was harder than most of the workouts I’d done in my entire life.
Every part of my body ached and creaked like an unoiled machine, protesting as I tried to move into downward dog.
At least I wasn't the only one. Dallas, Austin, and Mateo struggled just as hard. June, Avery, and Evie looked like they’d been doing this their entire lives.
I was a little jealous.
Only because I love the idea of being able to flow with my body like that. It would take practice. Maybe if I added it to my PT routine in the mornings, I’d slowly become more flexible . . .
I was careful with my right shoulder, mindful of every movement. There were some poses I needed to adjust for, and some I straight up couldn't do.
By the end of the yoga class, I was covered in a layer of sweat, but my muscles were thankful for the stretches I’d done. And even though I certainly wasn't the best at it, and felt somewhat like an idiot, I felt a lot better than I had when I woke up this morning.
I sprawled out on my yoga mat as we stayed in savasana, staring up at the roof of the gazebo. I turned my head slightly, looking out at the park. I was supposed to be focusing inward, but this was the part of yoga practice I always had trouble with, so I always picked something else to focus on.
The park wasn't exactly green, not like one would expect. In fact, everything was dead and yellow. But the sky was bright blue, the clouds like puffs of whipped cream. And there was something familiar and wonderful about being back in the place I used to think of as home.
My gaze tugged up slightly, and I realized Mateo was looking right at me. We were lying so close to each other that it almost felt intimate.
The fucker winked at me.
I shook my head and looked away, but god damn it. I smiled like a fucking idiot.
“All right,” Lola called. “Class is over.”
I heard Avery snort and we all slowly sat up. I rolled my neck and adjusted my shoulder.
“How are you feeling?” Mateo asked softly. “Shoulder?”
I nodded solemnly. “It’s okay. Or it will be. Hopefully.”
Mateo nodded, but didn’t press. The two of us sat on the ground as our five—friends? Could I even call them that?—started to chat and move about, helping Lola get everything picked up around the gazebo.
Avery occasionally glanced over at us, her cheeks turning red each time. My heart rate picked up.
Mateo sighed next to me, and I couldn’t help it. I was going to be a little nosy. “What’s wrong with you and Avery?”
He mumbled under his breath in Spanish. “Estoy condenado a la soledad.” He shook his head. “Is it that noticeable?”
I glanced up as Austin and Dallas started talking to their sister. Meanwhile, both June and Evie stole curious glances at the two of us before walking Lola down the park path.
My stomach did a slow flip. “I think it is to everyone but her brothers.”