Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
LEIF
A fter some seriously good breakfast sandwiches, Laurel suddenly flashed me a playful smile from across the table. “I have a suggestion for you.”
“Shoot,” I said, feeling like a whole new man after last night and seeing my ring on her finger again. “I’m up for anything as long as we can do it together.”
“That’s kind of the thing,” she explained. “I’d like to have a day where we do everything I typically do by myself on the weekends. Other than work, that is.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, but I actually kind of liked that idea. I wanted to see firsthand what her life was like here, to learn her movements and familiarize myself with her routine. Next time she told me on the phone that she had gone to Merridees, for instance, I would know what she was talking about and I’d be able to imagine her here—and myself here with her. We were going to need stuff like this for all those times we’d be separated for much more than just a few days. “Let’s do it. What’s up next?”
“Hot yoga,” she said, grinning at me.
My eyebrows shot up and I laughed, convinced that she was joking. “What’s hot yoga? I’ve heard of yoga and I think I’ve heard of some weird thing called goat yoga, but hot yoga isn’t a real thing, is it?”
“Get ready for the experience of a lifetime,” she said. “It’s a play on words, by the way. The gym here is called Lifetime .”
I shook my head and eyed her askance. “I’m up for any challenge, but you still haven’t told me if there’s seriously something called hot yoga. I mean, any yoga you do is going to be hot, but I assume you mean something else.”
She winked and got up, waving at the lady behind the counter with a friendly smile on her face. My heart flipped as I watched her exchange a few quick words with the woman, also greeting an older man on our way out.
Laurel was a genuinely good person, and just like it had been in high school, everyone around here seemed to love her too. I couldn’t blame them. I’d meant it when I’d said she had my heart, and I honestly didn’t want it back. It had always belonged with her.
She led me out of the bakery. I looked her over in her casual, tight yoga pants and her coral pink sweater, and I almost groaned out loud. The girl’s curves could lead me off a damn bridge and I’d go happily, half-hard, and convinced I was already in heaven.
She laughed when she suddenly turned her head and caught me staring. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you are unbelievably sexy, and if we really are going to yoga, you’d better take a mat next to mine and not in front of me. If I have to look at your ass in those pants just a foot away from me for an hour, bad things are going to happen.”
“You won’t last an hour,” she said teasingly. “Trust me.”
“I know,” I muttered. “That’s the damn problem.”
Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink as she peered up at me from between her long, dark lashes. Her eyes moved from one of mine to the other. “When did you start talking about that kind of thing so openly and so easily?”
I shrugged, tossing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to speak into her ear. “When you’re trying to entice the hottest girl you know to keep wearing your ring, you’d be surprised what you can say.”
She swatted my arm playfully and groaned. “Better question, when did you have your tongue coated in silver? Did it hurt?”
I cracked up laughing, dropping a quick kiss on top of her head. “It did hurt, actually. I made a total idiot of myself a bunch of times before I learned how to use it properly. Why? Is it working?”
“You don’t even have to say anything for it to be working,” she grumbled, shoving me away suddenly and taking off at a run down the street. Laughter sailed out behind her. “Come on, slow poke! Last one there has to?—”
She cut herself off. I wondered what she’d been about to say before she remembered she was running down the street in public. Grinning, I took off after her, really enjoying her carefree way. I caught up to her easily, knowing she would have my balls if I let her win, so I overtook her, casually leaning against the doorway of the gym and pretending to check my watch as she skidded to a stop in front of me.
Her cheeks were still flushed, but I wasn’t sure if it was the cold, embarrassment about something, or the exhilaration. Either way, between the blush on her face and the loose, dark curls that had fallen free of her ponytail framing it, she was so darn gorgeous that it hurt.
I grinned. “Is this the time to arrive? We’re going to be late.”
She laughed. “Says the silver-tongued hottie who would’ve made us miss the class entirely if he had his way.”
I didn’t even pretend it wasn’t true. “I still don’t even know what we’re actually about to do, so you’ll have to forgive me for trying to tempt you away.”
Laurel led me into the gym, introducing me to a few people on our way in. “You’re going to enjoy this. It’s a pretty strenuous workout.”
“I’m a super fit guy,” I said. “My brother is a sports-obsessed maniac who drags me out with him almost every day of my life.”
“There’s being fit, and then there’s being flexible, McIntosh. We’ll see how you shape up.” When we reached the end of the hall, she turned to smirk at me. “Welcome to hot yoga. If you start feeling faint, it’s best to let the instructor know.”
I frowned. She opened the door in front of us and walked in, and immediately, I realized that she hadn’t been kidding. The heat in the room was ridiculous, so intense that I was almost instantly reduced to a pile sweat.
“Are you kidding me? I’m going to bake like a Christmas ham in here.”
She smiled. “I should have coated you in honey first. Although you’re already pretty sweet.”
“Did you say something?” I asked, wiping my forehead. “I’m drowning in sweat.”
“You’ll even out soon enough.”
I didn’t believe anyone could withstand the broiling heat. “Why do you do this to yourself?”
Laurel grinned as her gaze met mine, a sheen of sweat already breaking out across her brow as well. “It’s got a ton of health benefits. It improves your heart health, flexibility, and strength, and it’s also supposed to be really good for glucose levels and mental health.”
“It’s not going to be good for my mental health,” I said. “But sure. Let’s do it. I just have one request.”
She raised an eyebrow and looked into my eyes. “And what is that?”
“If I die in here, please don’t tell anyone I was doing hot yoga. Say I got hit by a bus or something.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Deal.”
I shed my jacket and sweater, kicked off my shoes and socks, and wished I’d been wearing something other than jeans. They felt like they weighed a hundred pounds in the heat of the room. I anticipated some chafing in my future. Then again, I had a feeling this was going to end badly for me no matter what I had on.
I wasn’t wrong. The heat smothered me like a wool blanket while I twisted my body into unnatural shapes. This position was called the Devil’s Pretzel, I was pretty sure. We transitioned to the Knee Screamer, then something that looked like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant.
Laurel executed every move perfectly and gracefully, but I was all over the place. Not only did the jeans restrict my movement, but I was distracted by her body right next to mine. I kept falling over. Which meant Laurel kept laughing. Which meant that the whole class knew I was having trouble and they kept chuckling every time it happened too.
The instructor eventually lost her cool, red-faced as she stormed over and scolded us like we were children. “You’re disrupting the entire class. Behave, or I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
I wanted to point out that all the yogis seemed to be having a blast giggling at me, but I mimed zipping my lips. It was too hot to argue. And this was important to Laurel. Getting kicked out would have freed me from this fiery pit, but for her, I would get through it.
Finally, what felt like several years later, we were done.
Laurel showed me to the locker rooms, smiling as she pointed at the men’s. “There are complimentary towels in there that you can use. I’ll meet you back here after we’ve showered?”
“You got it,” I said, beyond grateful that after that workout on the surface of the sun, we could at least wash off the sweat before we went on with our day.
After the torture session, Laurel took me back to the bookstore and I frowned when I saw her unlocking the front door. “Aren’t you open on Saturdays?”
“We are, but not on the Saturday after the Tree Lighting.” She pushed it open and strode in, waving me in with her before she locked it again behind us. “I bet you’re wondering why I brought you here.”
“I’m assuming it’s part of you showing me what a typical day looks like for you?”
She shrugged. “In a way, yes. I want to share all my favorite books with you. After yoga on Saturdays, if I don’t have to work right here in the store, I usually like curling up with a book for an hour or two. I find that reading inspires my own writing, so I like to do a bit of that before I get on my laptop.”
I followed her through the store to a comfortably appointed sitting area in the back. She smiled as she waved a hand absently through the air. “Take a seat anywhere. I’ll go get the books. I’ve got coffee too if you’re interested?”
“I’ll never say no to that. Even after hot yoga.”
She nodded, but then hesitated, swiping her tongue across her lips before she sighed. “I’ve been meaning to ask you how you take it these days?”
“As black as my soul,” I joked.
Laughter shimmered to life in her eyes. “So not black at all.”
I chuckled. “Nah, totally black. No milk and no sugar.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I think I might know your soul a little better than you do.”
I shrugged. “Fine. As black as the soles of the instructor’s feet. Those things were filthy.”
Laurel laughed and disappeared into the depths of her store. I looked around a bit while she was gone. The scent of brewing coffee drifted through the air as I studied the little details she’d added to her space.
There were catchy and cute quotes about reading on the walls in a colorful area that had definitely been designed with kids in mind. Around me, which I assumed was the adult area, there were puzzles and board games stacked on shelves, and carefully selected books with “Try Me if you liked…” or “Read Me if you’re fan of…” stuck on the spines.
I also noticed quite a few novelty items for series like Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia and I smiled, recognizing them as some of her favorite series of all time. When she came back, however, her arms were full of books that were definitely part of the romance genre, judging by the covers.
Shirtless guys broodingly staring at a camera. Swooning couples. Pretty, flowery graphics on black backgrounds.
“Right. Our coffee should be ready. One more minute and then I’ll tell you all about them.” She disappeared again and I reached for one of the books, surprised by how steamy it seemed but quite intrigued by the description of the story.
When she came back and sat down beside me on the couch, I slid my hand into hers. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“All of these are romance, right?”
“Yes,” she said with a slightly shy smile on her lips. “Don’t judge me.”
“I would never, but how long have you been single?” I asked. “Before this, obviously.”
She frowned, eyes clouding over with thought before she shrugged. “A few years. Why?”
“Because obviously, you love love . A lot. Why stay single?”
“Oh.” She sighed, but she didn’t seem opposed to talking about it. “My last ex-boyfriend ended up cheating on me and I thought he’d broken my heart. It turns out he only bruised it, but after that, I decided that I was better off alone.”
Fuck . I hated having to hear about this, but it felt like something I needed to know. “Please tell me it wasn’t serious between you two?”
“I wasn’t lying back in Austin when I said I hadn’t gotten super serious with anyone.” Laurel caught my cheek, staring into my eyes as she smiled. “At the time, I thought it was heading that way. I thought we were thinking about building a life together, but he was just building a body count.”
As grateful as I was that she hadn’t built a life with someone else, I still felt anger swirling through me and tightening my gut. “Shit, Laurel. I’m so sorry he hurt you like that. That anyone has ever hurt you, actually. Including me.”
She bent forward and pressed a kiss to my mouth. “All I need to hear from you right now is that you’ll never do it again.”
“I would never,” I promised, and I desperately, truly meant it. “You’re the only girl I want, bug. If that ever changes, you’ll be the first to know. I’ve never understood cheating and I never want to. I’m yours.”
Always , but I didn’t add that just yet. I’d been pretty intense since I’d gotten to Franklin. Since Austin, really. And while I generally meant what I said and said what I felt, I didn’t want to push too far, too fast, so I picked up my mug and peered down at the book she was holding.
“Okay, so what’s this one about? Tell me all about it, and if your pitch is good enough, I might be convinced to give it a read myself.”