Chapter 6
River stretched and felt the soreness in her lower back from standing in one place all day during the festival.
It had been an even better day than usual, with several items selling out, and Audrey had been ecstatic.
January to March was always slow in the shop, and the success of the festivals were what they needed to get them through that quiet period.
On Sunday, they paid a staff member to come in and work so she and Audrey could take the day off, and it was a day she treasured, when she had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no timings to worry about.
She swung out of bed and groaned. The tightness in her back was worse than she thought.
In fact, everything felt a little stiffer than it should.
When she lifted Shamus off her lap to set him on the floor, her back twinged.
Shamus’s tail flapped at her like it was what she deserved for moving him from his comfort zone.
She made coffee, trying to stretch things out in the kitchen, but it was going to take more than just some forward bends. She took her coffee to the couch and picked up her phone.
I don’t suppose I could go to that yoga thing you’ve been talking about? Festival did a number on me yesterday.
She sipped as she waited for Billy’s reply and spent a minute on Instagram searching for Marina’s name.
She had to admit she’d been hoping for a morning message, but what was there to say?
And checking in to see how she was doing after her little episode the night before seemed indelicate and a little too personal.
God yes. I’ll pick you up in fifteen. Wear something loose so you don’t split your pants and show everyone your old, tired boxers. x
She laughed and sent a thumbs-up, then went to put on workout clothes. When he honked outside, she was ready to go.
“Good morning, keeper of the sunshine,” Billy said as he pulled onto the road. “You look ready for a workout.”
“No one should keep sunshine to themselves.” She frowned. “I thought it was a yoga class. I just want to stretch. It’s my day off from working out.”
He grinned. “This is a different type of yoga. You’ll love it.”
She grabbed the doorhandle when he swung around another car. Driving with Billy was never relaxing. She’d need the yoga even more when they got there.
“Audrey said you had another run-in with your crush,” he said, like he hadn’t just sworn vengeance on the other driver’s mother. “Tell me.”
River hadn’t been thinking about much else in the between moments when her focus wasn’t on other things.
“It isn’t weird that she was there. I mean, she works nearby so it wasn’t odd.
And yet, it felt somehow meaningful.” She laughed ruefully.
“And that sounds just as clichéd as Marina would say it was.”
“Audrey says she thinks so loud it could split your skull. And that she’s really snobby.” He glanced at her. “That doesn’t sound like your type.”
“Well, my type doesn’t tend to stick around. Maybe I need to try a different one.” She grabbed the doorhandle again, her pulse racing as he passed another car and came a whisper’s breath from its side mirror.
“People shouldn’t be allowed to drive unless they pass it by me first,” he grumbled. “And Chrissy wasn’t your type. She was poly and uninterested in monogamy. That was a bubble that was bound to burst, honey. Multiple times. It had nothing to do with you and how amazing you are.”
River had felt anything but amazing as that relationship had slowly fizzled to an end, with Chrissy already seeing other people by the time she’d moved out. They pulled into the underground parking lot of a high rise, putting a stop to that potholed memory lane.
She followed him to the elevator that opened into a reception area with a smoothie bar that instantly made River laugh.
Most of the people there looked like something from a yoga photo shoot, and none of them were butch, dressed as she was in basketball shorts and a tank top.
More than one person looked her over critically before turning away.
“You didn’t mention I’d need to be a contender for Yoga Vogue,” River mumbled as she followed him to the reception desk and paid for her sixty-dollar yoga session. “That’s a dollar a minute. I should have stayed home.”
“Shut up.” He smiled at the ludicrously fit staff member who waved them through the entrance. “There could be any number of women in here who would love to see a sweaty little butch package ready to take advantage of their bendiness.”
She laughed and felt her shoulders relax. That could well be true, and she wasn’t here to fit in or to pick up a date. She kept her mental shields up to make sure she didn’t get any energetic messages from anyone else in the class. Relaxing didn’t include someone’s dead relative hovering over her.
She grabbed one of the general use yoga mats, noticing that most people had their own, and settled next to Billy, who’d taken a spot in the front row, but off to the side enough that she could make mistakes without worrying about confusing anyone else.
She wiped her hand over her face. “Christ, Billy. It’s hot in here. ”
He smiled and threw her a small towel. “I brought an extra for you. I might have forgotten to mention that this is hot yoga. Inferno, actually. It’ll be 105 degrees while we’re working out.
You’ll sweat out all that toxic stuff you get from dealing with dead people and other people’s dismal futures. ”
She groaned. “I just wanted to stretch.” Her tank top was already sticking to her. “And just so you know, people’s futures aren’t always dismal. Do you think they’ll give me my money back if I say I’ve changed my mind? I’ll just go run around the park instead.”
He shook his head, his gaze traveling the room as it filled. “No refunds. Suck it up, buttercup. You’ll be glad you did.”
River seriously doubted that and gladly accepted a bottle of water from someone walking around handing them out. “Remind me never to go anywhere with you again.”
The instructor arrived, a tall, blond rubber band of a woman who greeted people with happy, open energy. She glanced around the room and made eye contact with River. “Your first time?” she asked.
“That obvious?” River said with a smile.
“Don’t worry. Take it at your own pace and use the modifications. If you start to feel faint, tap that little button in front of your mat and someone will come check on you.” Something about the way she said it suggested she’d be happy to be that person.
River hadn’t noticed the metal buttons that sat in front of each mat. That explained why Billy had taken such a specific position. Who wants to work out in a place where they expect so many emergencies that they build it into the studio? “Great, thanks.”
The instructor turned away, and Billy nudged her. “See? Even the uptown girls want a little rough and ready.”
She shook her head and used the mirror in front of them to scan the room out of idle curiosity. When she saw familiar dark hair and wide eyes staring back at her, she laughed. “What are the chances?” she said softly.
“Of what?” Billy instantly tried to see where she was looking, and then he whistled. “Is that your mean girl?”
“It is.” Although anyone else would look at Marina and see only her beauty, River saw the low, sickly-looking energy that surrounded her.
She should be in bed, not in a sweat box.
River wasn’t about to make the mistake of telling her what she should do, though.
She gave a small wave, and Marina returned it, though her eyes had narrowed in suspicion.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s warm up.” The instructor lifted her arms, and the room went quiet.
If Hell offered yoga classes, this would, without question, be one of them.
Sweat poured off her, dripping onto the mat and creating little ponds beneath her.
Downward dog meant a waterfall coming off her forehead, while happy baby created a wet, squelching vacuum between her lower back and the mat, so it sounded like she was passing gas with every side-to-side rocking motion.
She could only thank god that she wasn’t anywhere near Marina and that the music covered most bodily noises.
And the room stank like Hell’s locker room. Plenty of people were actually farting with abandon, and the acidic odor made her eyes water. Granted, the poses were helping with her stiff back, but she could have done that without feeling like she’d died and been forced into Satan’s sauna.
A couple of times, she glanced at Marina and noticed her energy flailing.
When they did a back bend, what River noticed first was the way it thrust Marina’s chest forward in the sports bra she wore without a shirt over it, and the way sweat was making her light olive skin glisten.
The second thing she noticed was that her arms were trembling.
The energy around her twitched and shivered in the air.
Should River press a button and tell someone to take care of Marina?
No. That was overstepping. Surely Marina would press the button herself if it came to it.
Finally, she flopped onto her back in a puddle for the relaxation part.
How could anyone meditate when they were covered in sweat and suffocating in body odor?
The music slowed, soft bells chimed, and her breathing calmed.
She listened to the well-mediated voice of the instructor and felt her body sink into the floor.
Okay, so it could work. Her jaw relaxed, and she rolled her head from side to side gently.
She startled awake when a gong sounded.
“Thanks so much. Namaste, and have a truly radiant day,” the instructor said and received a round of exhausted applause.