The overwhelming feeling screaming in my body and my brain was disappointment.
That would have to wait, because I had a student to teach. Time to put on my yoga teacher hat and put my McKenna hat away.
“What kind of class did you want today?” I asked as she shook up the juice bottle and then took a sip.
“Oh, that’s really good,” she said. “You’ll have to tell me what’s in it. I don’t know what I want today. Surprise me.”
I was hoping she wouldn’t say that. Now I had to get my head together and come up with something.
“Okay,” I said, trying to think. My thoughts were still stuck on the kiss and they needed to get unstuck. I couldn’t think about kissing. I had to think about yoga.
One pose at a time.
I started her in Child’s Pose, which was cliché, but whatever. We’d do a classic flow today, and if my brain decided to throw in something cool, I’d go there.
Fortunately, like muscle memory, my teacher brain took over and as long as I didn’t think about Piper as Piper, and just as a regular student, I could do this. I could focus. I could do my job without thinking about the way her mouth had felt on mine. The way she’d touched my hair.
Focus. Yoga. Just yoga.
I knew there was no way I could keep my head in the game and be constantly touching her, so I didn’t. I hoped she understood why I couldn’t.
Every now and then as I circled her, offering verbal tips, her eyes would flick to me. Her cheeks would redden in a way that didn’t have to do with the exertion of exercise.
I kept my face as neutral as I could, but every now and then our eyes would meet in the mirror and a wave of heat would rush through me and I would be thrown back to that night on the beach, and have to drag myself back to the present moment.
I think we were both relieved when it was time for the final poses and then Savasana. She lay on her back, her eyes closed, and I looked away from her body and stared at the weights instead. Gazing at her body while she was in repose felt invasive, so I needed to look at something else.
I picked up my water and flicked my eyes down to her, just for a second, and I found her looking at me.
“You’re supposed to be in Savasana,” I said, which wasn’t a very yogic thing to say. It sounded flirty. Oops.
“I’m Savasaning,” she said, but it took her another second to close her eyes.
A few moments later, her eyes opened again.
“Can I be done?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said. She’d never cut it short before, but it was her damn class. She could do whatever she wanted. I was getting paid either way.
Piper sat up and I ended the class.
She drained the rest of her juice and wiped her face.
“Are we good?” she asked.
“Yeah, of course,” I said automatically.
I braced my hands behind me so I wouldn’t reach out and touch her. She was always the prettiest like this, with her cheeks flushed and her hair in wisps around her face.
I licked my lips, which were dry all of a sudden. I needed more water.
“You don’t have to stay for tea if it’s uncomfortable for you,” she said.
“No, I can stay.” I shouldn’t, but I wanted to. This time with Piper was a treasure, and I didn’t intend on wasting any of it.
“Good,” she said, standing up.
Natalie wasn’t back yet, so it was just the two of us. I gave her the recipe for the juice, and she dragged out her juicer and put it on the counter so she could use it.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, pulling something out of the freezer. “I got these because I thought you might like them.”
She had a box of green tea mochi. One of my favorite things in the entire world.
“I also thought Preston would get a kick out of them.”
She put a few on a plate and set the plate between us.
“Thank you,” I said. The treat was thoughtful and sweet. I liked the idea of her seeing something at the grocery store and buying it with me in mind.
She was thinking of me even when we weren’t together.
My cheeks turned red.
I picked up one of the mochi and bit into it. There was something magical about ice cream you could hold in your hand.
“Mmm,” I said. “These are good.”
“They are, aren’t they?”
Silence fell between us, and I wasn’t sure what else to say to her.
“I really am sorry. About the kiss,” she said. I didn’t want to talk about the kiss anymore. We were supposed to be forgetting it.
“It’s okay. It’s forgotten.” I licked my fingers and it wasn’t my imagination that she watched me intently.
So I deliberately licked my thumb as she watched. Mean, but I saw her swallow and her eyes go wide.
Neither of us was forgetting that kiss. At least I wasn’t alone in that.
“Did I miss teatime?” A voice said as the front door opened. Both of us straightened up, as if we’d been caught doing something.
“I’ve got some water right here,” Piper said, not taking her eyes off me.
“Great,” Natalie said, barging into the kitchen without knowing what she was walking into.
“I should get going,” I said. I’d barely had half my tea, but I didn’t know how normal I could behave around Natalie and I didn’t want her to see me struggling.
“Okay, tell Amanda I’ll see her tonight,” Natalie said.
“Will do,” I said. “I’ll see you on Thursday.” I said this to Piper and my voice came out a little strangled.
“See you on Thursday,” she said, not looking away from me as I turned toward the door.
I put my hand on my chest as I sat in my car. My heart was beating out of control in my chest. I wanted to forget the kiss, but I didn’t know if my body was going to let me do that. Seems that it had other ideas.
Chapter Thirteen
I refused to spend my entire afternoon brooding about Piper, so I ventured over to the barn to see what Hollis was up to. I also brought my laptop, and I had some social media and website work to do, so at least I had a little excuse to visit.
Hollis was on the floor with Lucky, throwing a toy that Lucky would then retrieve, like a dog.
“That’s interesting,” I said.
“Yeah, she started doing it a few weeks ago. I’ve never owned a cat, so I didn’t know they could do that, but she does,” Hollis said. “What’s up?”
“Just needed a change of scenery,” I said. That was a ridiculous excuse; the farmhouse was gorgeous.
“Well, come on in and pull up a seat,” she said, getting up from the floor. “Did you want coffee or tea or anything? I’ve got green tea.”
“Sounds good,” I said. She filled the kettle and turned it on to heat the water.
“What are you working on?” I asked. Hollis’s projects were always interesting.
“Doing a historical cover right now and basically building a gown from different pieces.” She woke up her computer monitors and showed me.
“Here’s the original,” she said, showing me a stock image of a beautiful woman with hair brushing her shoulders. “And this is where I am.” The same woman now had long, flowing locks and a historical gown draping her body.