Chapter 11 Madison #2
I introduce us, and of course, Kenji’s name gets a burst of applause. He takes it in stride. I love how he supports me because he makes sure everyone knows I am in charge, and in this, he is my student.
I get everyone started with breathwork. Walking around and helping some players adjust their posture.
It’s clear that a few players are not strangers to yoga.
To my utter surprise, Liam is one of them.
Walker, not so much. He’s always been quick to dismiss yoga as “my thing.” Am I feeling smug that I’m teaching my brother yoga?
Yes. Yes, I am. Maybe a bit vindicated, too.
There are a few at the back who are really struggling.
I spend quite a bit of time back there, helping them adjust their forms correctly.
I move to adjust the hips of a player in downward dog pose when I hear a dark-haired man at the end of the row say.
“Check it out. She’s into me. She can’t stop touching me.”
“Cause you’re doing it wrong!” his buddy snarks back.
“Nah, man, she’s totally into me.” I make a note of who it is. This is not my first rodeo with entitled assholes, but it is the first time I can’t kick one out of my studio. That’s okay. There’s more than one way to handle this.
I move up towards Kenji and tell him to swap with me, asking him to pay particular attention to the guys in the last row at the end, as he may need to adjust their poses. He studies my face for a moment, then winks, and we trade places.
I try not to smile when I think about what their reaction will be to Kenji helping instead of me.
People like that make it so damn easy to fuck with.
I hide my grin as I instruct everyone to move into warrior pose.
I watch my brother struggle a bit and more to adjust his back leg.
He’s doing much better the more poses we do.
Walker’s always been good at every athletic endeavor he tries.
For once, I’m not jealous of his ability.
Liam is shocking the hell out of me, though.
Not only is he doing well, but he seems to be very familiar with all the poses.
I haven’t had to correct this form once.
If anything, watching him flow smoothly between the poses is pretty damn hot.
He has an innate grace that I’ve never noticed before.
I try to think back to when I last saw him skate.
It’s been a few years since I’ve paid particular attention to him when he’s on the ice.
Maybe it’s time to take another look. In the meantime, I’m just going to ogle him a bit.
No one needs to know. I look up, and he catches me checking him out.
He smirks and winks. Damn. Well, he clearly knows.
I brazen it out and wink back. He startles and almost loses his balance. Now I smirk.
Take that, Liam Ferguson.
I move everyone into the next pose. Talking them through the forms. I’m feeling pretty smug about my ability to make him lose his composure. I mean, that’s only fair. He’s definitely fucking with mine.
Yes, but he doesn’t know that, so it’s hardly fair.
Here I am, checking him out every chance I get. Which he then finds amusing. Wonderful.
Quit thinking about hot guys in the middle of class, Madison!
I force my gaze away from Liam, scanning the room to see what Kenji is up to as I lead everyone into the next pose.
I notice he’s over by the dark-haired guy who was whispering about me.
He keeps adjusting the guy’s hips for him.
The guy looks totally annoyed. I look away, holding in my laughter. I’m not sad about it.
As we get toward the end of class, I notice that a lot of the guys are struggling a bit.
This is the hardest part. These guys are in amazing physical condition, but yoga is a different type of exercise, and if you aren’t used to it, especially the flexibility of it, it can be a tough workout.
The fun part of this is that I am seeing varying degrees of respect in their expressions.
Yoga will help increase not only their flexibility but also their balance and stability.
I’m anxious to see how this translates into improved performance on the ice. That’ll be the actual test.
The class ends, and to no one’s surprise, most of the players make a beeline for Kenji.
I am surprised when a few of them seek me out to say thank you and to tell me they enjoyed the class.
Liam introduces one guy as their main goalie, Reid Gauthier.
I recognize him to be a more experienced participant.
He’s particularly interested in poses that help with hip flexibility, a must for any goalie.
We exchange contact information, and I offer to put together a group of poses with hip flexibility as a focus.
It’s so gratifying to be part of this program.
My favorite thing about my career is that I get to help people improve their health and wellbeing. There’s nothing I’d rather do.
When I see the dark-haired guy making his way toward me, I pull Liam off to the side like we’re having a private conversation. I don’t want to give that jerk any kind of encouragement. Guys like that think a smile is an offer of sex. I’m avoiding him at all costs.
“So how do you think it went?” I ask him when he gives me a questioning look. His face brightens, as if he’s thrilled that I asked his opinion. It makes me feel all warm and gooey inside.
“You were amazing. You’re so good at this.” He gives me a proud smile. Why does that feel so good?
“Yoga is really good for preventing injuries, so I hope it helps the team this year.” I blurt out, like I didn’t just say that in class twenty minutes ago.
“Yeah, that could really help us this year, Mads. I’m so glad you’re doing this.” He reaches out to push my hair behind my ear, and I lean into the warmth of his touch. Wanting more.
His eyes meet mine, and a jolt of arousal runs through my body at the heat I see there. I’ve never seen him look like this, especially at me. Is he attracted to me? It could just be my imagination.
“So where do I sign up for some personal yoga lessons? I need some one-on-one instruction.” He leers as he sidles up next to me. Ugh. Is that a wedding ring? Is this guy for real? What a jerk!
Liam moves closer to me while slinging an arm around my shoulders.
It’s an obvious message that I am off-limits.
There’s something about this guy that gives me the creeps.
In response, I drift closer to Liam. As a single woman, I’ve learned to trust my intuition over the years, and right now it’s screaming that this guy is bad news.
“I don’t do personal instruction, Mr.?” I reply as professionally as possible.
“It’s Bell, but you can call me Karl. We’re going to be good friends.” Ugh, does he really think that line works? I wouldn’t be friends with this guy even if he paid me.
“I have plenty of friends already, Mr. Bell. Excuse me.” I turn my back on him and walk away. Grabbing my gear, I decide to ask Liam to walk me out if Kenji’s still busy. He’s over talking to Damon, and it appears as if their bromance is blossoming.
Liam and Karl are off to the side of the room in what looks to be an intense discussion.
I’ve rarely seen Liam angry, but he’s looking as if he’d like to take a swing at Karl.
His mouth is pressed into a tight line, and the hard lines of his body are rigid with tension.
His fists are curled at his side, as if it’s taking all his willpower not to throw down, and doesn’t that give me a little thrill? Protective Liam is pretty hot.