I push my wet hair back and turn toward her. “You could have been more creative with your entrance. You chose what you chose. Don’t hate on me for being more theatrical.”
“Do I need to jump into this pool again?”
“Up to you,” I say as I float next to her.
She glances over her shoulder and smiles, then looks back at me. Whispering, she says, “If they didn’t just park their asses next to our loungers, you can bet your tight ass that I would be reinventing the wheel when it came to pool theatrics, but I’ll have to settle with knowing in my heart of hearts, I would show you up.”
“Okay, keep believing that,” I say.
“Oh awesome, you guys here for the class too?” JP says as he walks up with Kelsey.
“She dragged me to it,” Huxley replies.
“Looks like Ryot and Myla are ahead of us.”
“What class?” Myla whispers.
“Hell if I know,” I reply just as a few more couples make their way into the pool. Glancing around, I ask, “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, but they’re surrounding us,” Myla says.
Kelsey dips daintily into the pool while JP dunks his head in first and then flops the rest of the way. Huxley and Lottie enter by the stairs, taking it slow while holding hands.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things about these classes,” Kelsey says while JP swoops his arm around her waist.
“Yeah, me too,” I say, eliciting a pinch from Myla. “What?” I whisper. “Have to make conversation.”
“Oh, here is the instructor now,” JP says as a lady wearing leggings and a sports bra walks up with a Bluetooth speaker.
“Hey, couples,” she says in a cheery voice. “Thank you for joining me this morning. If you would so kindly pick a portion of the pool for yourselves where you can find privacy, I’m going to set up and be right with you.”
“What’s happening?” Myla asks.
“I have no fucking clue, but I just want you to know, whatever it is, I didn’t know this was happening. Please believe me.” Panic laces my voice because it seems like whatever we’re going to do will be intimate.
“I believe you, Ryot,” she says. “I’m not mad.”
“I know, I just . . . I don’t know what’s happening, and I don’t want you thinking I planned this.”
“I know,” she says. “But it seems like we’re in this now, so I guess we need to find a spot in the pool that’s more private. How about over here?” She motions to a curve in the pool, where a low-hanging palm offers some privacy.
“Yeah, that works.” We head over there, and then both lean against the pool wall as I watch the other couples find spots while clinging tightly to each other.
“My name is Mel, and I’m going to be your guide this morning,” the instructor says as she sits on a yoga mat at the edge of the pool and switches on her light, instrumental music. “We’re here to reconnect with our partners. I’m going to be quiet most of the time, just giving you emotional cues when necessary.”
“Oh shit,” I whisper, my muscles tensing. “Uh . . . Myla, we can leave.”
“No, we can’t,” she says.
“Yes, I can make an excuse. I’ll tell them that I forgot I have a meeting.”
“You’re going to lie about a meeting when you’re in business with these guys? You don’t think they aren’t going to ask you what the meeting is about?”
“Could be about sponsorship stuff.”
“Okay, everyone, take in a deep breath and then get comfortable with your partner,” Mel says in a quiet tone.
Panic races up my spine. “Here, we can just sneak out right here, and I’ll explain later.”
“It’s fine, Ryot,” she says. “Maybe she can’t see us over here, and we can just—”
“Behind the palm over there, are you guys able to hear me?”
“Uh, yeah,” I say and then clear my throat. “Actually, we—”
“We’re just trying to figure out how to get comfortable,” Myla says over me.
“Oh, well, just wrap your arms and legs around your partner and face him. Whatever works for you.”
“Thanks.” Myla turns toward me and says, “Lean against the pool wall.”
“Myla, seriously, we don’t—”
“It might be good for us,” she says, her eyes meeting mine. “Who knows, maybe we’ll find some mutual ground.”
Or I might get hard as shit with my fine-as-hell, soon-to-be ex-wife straddling me.
Before I can say anything, she slips her arms around my neck, presses her body to mine, and wraps her legs around my waist.
Fuck.
Me.
“This okay?” she asks softly.
No.
Not even a little.
Because I miss you. Because I fucked up, and I want nothing more than to keep you like this, in my arms, and never let go.
“Yeah, I think so,” I answer through a tight throat.
“Once everyone is comfortable,” Mel says, “I’d like you to tell your partner three things you appreciate about them.”
What is this class?
I’m all for growth in relationships, but I’m having a really hard time understanding how Huxley Cane is in this class. Sure, I could possibly see JP doing this, but Huxley? I don’t think he understands what emotion is. Crazy what love can do to you.
“Do you want to go first?” Myla asks. “Or do you want me to go first?”
“We don’t have to. She can’t hear us from here.”
Myla’s expression falls, and it surprises me.
Wait . . . did she want to do this?
“Yeah, she probably can’t. We can probably just float like this until it’s over.” She glances away, and I feel like I did something wrong.
Hell, I know I did something wrong. This is a moment where I could offer her that change. I can show her a part of me that might have been lost in the past few months.
“Hey,” I say while trying to gain her eyes. “Did you want to do the exercise?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Myla, don’t lie to me.”
She sighs heavily. “I don’t know, Ryot. It just seemed like something we could at least say to each other. Three things we appreciate? I told you I want to move on, and moving on by saying something nice rather than mean all the time might be better.”
I don’t even have to think about it to know that she’s right, so I say, “Okay, then let’s do this. You go first.”
“Are you sure?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I say as I move my hands to her lower back, holding her closer.
“Okay. Well, three things I appreciate about you would be that you have always, from the day we first met, been patient with me. I think it takes a lot of strength, especially in your heart to be patient with someone like me, and you’ve exemplified that often.” Her finger rubs against my neck. “Even with the batteries.”
I chuckle. “So we’re no longer in denial about that?”
She shakes her head. “No, it might be healthy to come clean.” Continuing, she adds, “I also appreciate your humor. You’ve always understood me in that way. Never judged me.”