Blaze: Underground Encounters 6

by Carlisle, Lisa

  “You can cross that one off,” I said. “I called them last week and they’re coming tomorrow afternoon. They gave me a four-hour window.”

  “There you go. You crossed one thing off your list, which puts you ahead of schedule.”

  I nodded, feeling somewhat accomplished. One task done didn’t take away the massive number of things to do, or the anxiety of being in debt for the near future, but still, it helped.

  We worked on task lists over coffee. Lily’s lists were daunting to look at, but it definitely helped me feel more organized. We then ordered soups and salads from the health food restaurant four units down. It was one of the reasons I picked this location. People who were interested in health and fitness would go there for a bite to eat and maybe they’d be curious about finding out more about the new studio.

  While we took a break to eat, Lily steered the conversation to her party. “Did you have fun last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s it?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “I had a great time. Is that better?” I forked my salad with vigor. I knew what was coming, but didn’t want to discuss it yet since I already had mixed emotions about last night.

  “You’re not going to tell me what happened with Mike?”

  Sensual images of our night flashed in my mind and I shifted my cross-legged position on the floor. “What’s to tell? We hooked up.”

  “You brought him home?”

  “No, we went to his place.” I fought to keep my tone even. “I left this morning.”

  “You sound rather nonchalant about the whole thing.”

  The morning returned to me. Waking in his arms felt right. Even just being around him or hanging out in his living room felt comfortable. It was like spending time with a good friend—one who was deadly attractive.

  “Well, I need to be. It’s no big deal. We already hooked up last summer, so it’s not like it counts as something new.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Oh really? The way you two were all over each other made it seem like a bigger deal than you’re letting on.”

  My cheeks burned. “Whatever do you mean, Ligeia darling?”

  She flashed me a look when I used her real name.

  “Come on. Nico and I noticed you in the hall, all over each other.”

  “Oh, that.” I waved my hand. “Just a flirty little kiss.”

  Lily smirked. “Little? We thought we might have to usher you two into a room.”

  “Um. Uh.” My body heated to combustion levels. “Sorry if we made a scene.”

  “No, no. That’s not what I mean. I doubt anyone else noticed but Nico and me. We were wondering what would happen, so we kept our eyes on the two of you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Mike appeared absolutely wolfish. He practically devoured you with his eyes.”

  “He did?” My eyes widened. “What was I doing?”

  She laughed. “Enjoying every moment of it.”

  I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. It was one night, and that was it. We’re not going to see each other again.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, I’m not a dummy.”

  “Ally…”

  “I’m serious. He’s not the kind of guy to get hung up on. Both you and Nico warned me about that. If I didn’t learn that the first time, then I’m asking to get screwed over the second time. I went home with him last night, but that’s it.”

  “Does he know this?”

  “Yes, I told him.” I gathered my trash from lunch and searched around for a place to toss it. No trash can or recycling bin. Two more things to add to my shopping list. Stuffing everything into the paper bag, I added, “I have enough going on in my life that I can’t deal with any guy drama right now. From what I already know about Mike, one solitary night with a woman is exactly what he’s looking for as well.”

  After we cleaned up, Lily returned to a professional organizer mode, dropping the inquisition about Mike.

  “Once you get the floors and mirrors set up, I’ll come in and take a few photos of you and the studio for the website and your social media accounts.”

  Lily was divine with a camera. She had black and white photos in a gallery in Rockport and shot some for publicity for the Velvet Cocks and Vamps. “Thank you so much. Just keep track of what I owe you.”

  “Absolutely not. We made a deal. Classes for marketing help.”

  “But you’re giving me so much more than I’m offering you right now.”

  “I’m not working as much right now. It means I have more time to help you out and work out with you, but I don’t have the funds to pay for all these classes. If you like my work, you can refer me to your clients. We end up helping each other out.”

  “I like that idea. And of course I’ll like your work. I’ve seen what you can do. Mike had one of your VC photos framed at his place. It looks awesome.”

  She smirked, I imagine because I brought up Mike again, but she didn’t call me out on it.

  “Much of my work is initially setting up the website and social media sites, but once everything is up and running, the maintenance doesn’t take as much time. It will be easier to set up ads and promotions once we have the basics.”

  Lily worked with me for a couple more hours. By the time she left, I felt buoyant. Rather than sinking to the floor under the workload, I was optimistic with my plan on how to get the major things done.

  When I went home, I collapsed on my couch in exhaustion and searched for something mindless to watch on TV. I didn’t have the brainpower or—what was that word Mike used—the bandwidth—to focus on anything requiring thought.

  Don’t think about him, Ally. The more you do, the more difficult it will be to forget him.

  I settled on a rerun of The Big Bang Theory. For some reason, it made me think of Mike. Even though they weren’t rock stars, Mike was a proud nerd at heart. I pictured all his collections—Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Dr. Who, Sherlock, and who knows what else. A small smile spread across my face.

  What was he doing now?

  And with whom? When I pictured him with another woman, I scowled.

  Mike

  Over the next three days, I’d picked up the phone to call Allana many times. While at work, while at home, while at band practice. I couldn’t stop thinking of her.

  But, I had to forget her and respect her wish to be alone. She wanted a New Year’s Eve fling and nothing more.

  Still, I thought about her often, especially at night. We’d first met several months ago. Nico had introduced us, and I’d noticed how hot she was. We’d kissed before we even left Vamps and had ended up at her place. The sex had been fantastic. But, I didn’t call her. I didn’t think much of it until I saw her again at Vamps the other night. And since then, she’d taken up so much space in my mind that I needed to upgrade it with more bandwidth.

  At band practice that evening, Lily stopped by to pick up her yoga mat, which she’d left in Nico’s car. We were finishing anyway when she arrived, so Nico called it quits.

  “Hold on, Lily.” I followed her out into the hallway.

  “What’s up?” she said.

  Crap, I hadn’t planned this out and was winging it. “I just wanted to thank you for the party. It was a much better night than watching old TV reruns.”

  “You’re welcome. Ally is the one to thank. She did most of the planning. It would have been a disaster without her.”

  Nice—she segued right into the topic I wanted to discuss.

  “How’s she doing, by the way?” I kept my tone casual as if this was the most natural follow-up question. Small talk was never my thing, but I thought this was a perfectly acceptable response.

  Lily shrugged. “She’s doing okay. A little overwhelmed with the new studio, but she’ll be fine.”

  Her distress hit me with a pang. “Perhaps I should call her. See how she’s doing.”

  Lily didn’t say anything at first. “Maybe.” Her tone was cautio
us.

  My radar went up. What had Allana said about me that made Lily react with caution?

  Man, this sucked.

  “What’s her deal, anyway?” I glanced down the hall, feigning nonchalance. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

  “Hard to believe, but no.”

  My heart rapped with thunderous applause. This information thrilled me. Even though she’d slept with me, that didn’t mean she wasn’t taken. A few of the women I’d slept with I’d suspected may have been cheating on their guys.

  “Actually, I was thinking about trying one of her yoga classes.”

  Lily stared at me as if I was a cobra coiling up to attack.

  “Yoga?”

  “Yeah. Part of my New Year’s resolution to be more fit and—” Since I made this shit up as I went along, I didn’t even know where I was going with this conversation. “Zen.”

  Lily appraised me with skepticism. She could see through the bullshit, but luckily, she didn’t blast me.

  “Um, well she is the best. But her studio isn’t going to be open for a few more weeks.”

  “Is she still teaching at your gym?”

  “Yesss,” she dragged the word out with wariness.

  “Oh good. Are you going there tonight?” With her yoga mat in hand and workout clothes, it was a strong guess.

  “Uh huh.”

  “Can I come?”

  She blinked several times. “Ummm.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “I, uh, don’t have a pass for you.”

  “Oh, most gyms let first-timers come in without a problem, hoping you’ll sign up. You just sign a waiver.”

  “Uh, then I guess so.”

  “Cool. I have some clothes in my car. I’ll follow you there.”

  Once I had this half-ass plan in motion, I debated it. What the hell was I doing?

  Chapter 7

  Ally

  The days zipped past as I set up the studio, since I kept my classes going at the gym. My bills were piling up with the new business and I had to make whatever money I could before the grand opening.

  Thursday night, many of my regulars came to my yoga class at the gym, early to claim their normal spots. They were creatures of habit; they liked to stick to the same areas each time. With the new year starting, a surge of new members had joined the club, so my class was even more packed than usual.

  Then I spotted an unexpected visitor.

  Mike walked into class with Lily.

  She avoided eye contact at first. With persistence, I wore her down and widened my eyes to communicate my confusion. What the hell is going on?

  She shrugged. At least she had the decency to look sheepish. Instead of rolling out her purple yoga mat up front near me where she usually sat, she grabbed a spare mat for Mike and set them up at the back of class.

  This was going to be interesting.

  “Hi, I’m Ally. Are any of you new to my class?”

  Several hands shot up, including Mike’s.

  “How about new to yoga in general?”

  Fewer hands rose, but Mike wasn’t one of them.

  What the heck was he doing here?

  “Welcome. This is a class for all levels, so I’ll show you the different variations on whether you’re a beginner or advanced. Yoga is for everyone and we can all find a way to benefit from the practice. No matter what your experience, you can pick the challenges that work best for you and help you get where you want to be.”

  I played soothing music to get us into a more relaxing mindset and then led the class in an opening breathing exercise and warm-up before progressing into a downward/upward facing dog sequence.

  Great, now my ass is prominently displayed.

  My cheeks burned—face cheeks—not the ones sticking up in the air. Yech! I’d never been self-conscious about this position before. Then again, I’d never had a hot rock guitarist in my class who had taken me in a similar position.

  An image of him pounding me from behind as I gripped the bed rails entered my mind. I shook the inappropriate intrusion away.

  This is ridiculous. Don’t think about sex right now. What’s wrong with you?

  No doubt about it, having him in class was throwing me off.

  I continued to demonstrate the sequence, taking a deep cleansing breath to refocus. When I cleared my mind of intruding thoughts of sex with Mike, I walked around the room to make sure everyone had proper form. Aligning some hips, positioning feet, coaxing hunched shoulders to relax.

  From the back of the room, Mike caught my eye. Whereas most of the class had settled into downward facing dog, he was in constant motion, moving from foot to foot in an effort to balance.

  Lily had a small smile on her face she tried to stifle. When I caught her eye, she grinned with so many teeth, she was likely a split second away from bursting into hysterics. She glanced at the floor, but her shoulders shook. She was trying to control her laughter. Her response clued me in to the humorous side of this situation, how ridiculous this was, with Mike and my sexual encounters the elephant in the room. My mouth twitched into a grin. Before I broke out into convulsions, I turned away and took deep breaths, so I could continue instructing the class.

  Even if he didn’t raise his hand, Mike appeared to have never tried yoga in his life. And as a beginner in my class who was struggling, I had to act the way an instructor would with any student and help him out. Although I wasn’t sure what his motive was in coming here, I couldn’t ignore him forever. I would have to be professional and treat him like any other newcomer to my class, but I approached him with wariness.

  He’s just another client. He’s just another client.

  “Can I help you with your form?” I asked.

  “Yes, please.” His voice signaled relief.

  “First, let’s get your hands and feet properly aligned on the mat.”

  I helped him position his feet first, which wasn’t so bad. When I touched his hands, a warm sensation came over me. Images of him touching my body returned. The skilled hands of a guitarist who honed his skills through hours of practice.

  Focus. Be a professional. Don’t think about anything else except helping his form.

  “Your shoulders are hunched. You seem tense.”

  “You could say that,” he said under his breath.

  “Inhale deeply through your nose. Now exhale through your mouth. When you do, let your shoulders drop. Let them relax.”

  He followed what I said and his shoulders dropped.

  “Good. If you focus on your breathing, you help relax your body and your mind will follow. Now take another deep breath in and exhale slowly.” While he focused on the breath, I helped him align his shoulders. For any other client, this would be nothing more than a teacher helping a student. Touching him, it was more.

  So. Much. More.

  I noted every detail. The curve of the muscles in his shoulder blades and back. The way they elongated in his arms, toned from all the hours playing guitar. The swell of his ass against his shorts. How his quads and hams stretched taut. The definition in his calves, each tattooed with daggers.

  “I’m going to adjust your hips now. Do you have any mobility issues I need to be aware of?”

  If I remembered correctly, and I did, he thrusted with agility.

  “No.” He flashed a boyish grin that shot flutters into me. “Unless you mean balance and coordination, then I seem to have numerous issues there.”

  “You’re doing fine.” I placed my hands on his hips, directing him to align them in the downward facing dog position.

  “Good,” I said. “Stay just like this.”

  I shot Lily a look to indicate how I’d kill her after class. She grinned. The shiny glint in her eyes let on she knew exactly what I was thinking.

  Mike

  As my body contorted like Gumby playing Twister, I struggled for balance. This had to be one of
the stupidest ideas I’ve had. What was I doing? Trying to impress her by making a jackass of myself?

  Why didn’t I admit I was a beginner to yoga? I thought it would be as easy as stretching, simple to pull off. Not so.

  I followed Allana’s instructions the best I could. While everyone in class seemed to know what to do next, I tripped all over myself trying to follow along to some bizarre-sounding positions—upward facing dog, downward facing dog—stacking my hips. What the heck did that mean? Then we had tree poses and pigeons. Even when Allana guided me, my body rebelled against what everyone else seemed to do naturally.

  I was not built to do yoga. The only position I could do was child’s pose, just bend my knees and lie down. In fact, I would have loved it if she let me stay in that position for the rest of class.

  When she demonstrated warrior poses, I stood straighter. That sounded more my style than all these up dog/down dog things.

  Allana approached me and I held my chest up higher.

  “You’re doing just fine.” She spoke low so only the two of us could hear. “Don’t compare yourself to others. Just focus on yourself.”

  I beamed like an idiot from the praise. Surely, she was saying that to encourage me not to quit in mid-class. The urge to flee had come up more than once, but I had to stick it out.

  Even though I made a total ass of myself, once I caught on to a couple of the concepts she kept coming back to, like down dog and up dog, I started to get into it. Maybe it just took some getting used to.

  “Now for the meditation.” She turned down the lights and played a mellow instrumental that had low chanting. “Lie on your back. Relax your legs about shoulder width apart and let your feet open to the sides. Lay your arms next to your body with palms up. Lower your chin to your chest and relax your neck.”

  Ah, I’d made it to the end. I should be able to do this part.

  “Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Fill up your lungs, let them expand, and then continue to breathe all the way into your belly. Hold it for three. Now exhale through your mouth, relaxing your body on the exhale.”