Plucker (The Recoil Rock Series Book 2)

by K E Osborn

  “It’s time to go to yoga,” Tillie’s voice startles me. Out of everyone, I was least expecting her, here, in my space. But I don’t have the willpower to argue right now, and especially not in my space. I don’t want to ruin the harmony of this place so I stand up to face her and flare my nostrils.

  “Fine,” I say and stomp toward the exit. She turns walking with me, but we say nothing for the entire journey back inside, down the hall and out to the car.

  Tillie can push me around all she likes, but the least she can do is let me drive to the gym.

  “I’m driving,” I state and she raises her eyebrow and nods throwing me the keys.

  I step up to the driver’s door and slide in. She glides into the passenger’s seat and closes her door. I must admit I still feel weird every time I get in a car, but I push it aside as I start the engine and reverse it to head off to the gym, which is only about five minutes away.

  The car ride is completely silent the entire way, tension ripples through my body, into my fingers that grip harshly onto the steering wheel. So harshly, my knuckles turn white from the tension on the wheel. I don’t know what to say to her. She obviously doesn’t know what to say to me either, so we both say nothing as I pull up out the front of the gym.

  Stepping out, I shut the door and lock her car. We traipse up to the door and walk in. An instructor leads us to a small room while telling us that Tillie booked a session just for us so no one else would be in the room. I look at her and half-smile. I’m grateful for that, even though I know this is going to be seen all over the internet, I still don’t want people in the room watching me.

  “So guys, I think it’s best if I start with Ryan first to test his flexibility, and then Tillie you can join in,” the instructor announces.

  “I’ll let you know before I live stream, Ryan,” Tillie informs, and I nod.

  “Okay, so first things first, we’re going to stretch. So follow my movements,” the instructor says. I roll my eyes as Tillie giggles to herself, the sound is actually kinda cute and my cock twitches in my sweat pants annoying me.

  Swallowing hard, I follow the instructor and stretch and bend. My muscles are tense but it’s actually kinda fun.

  “I’m going to start streaming now, Ryan,” Tillie announces.

  I look to her and nod figuring I will enact my fiendish plan at just the right time.

  She holds up her cell and starts the live streaming. “Day one of Ryan’s yoga class and he’s doing great,” Tillie says as the instructor tells me the next move is called the Downward Dog. I smile pressing my ass right up high in the air, tensing my butt cheeks and letting out a massive fart. The sound resonates through the sparse room, bouncing off the walls and reverberating loudly with its harsh echo. The room falls silent as I look up expecting a horrified Tillie but she’s smiling and suddenly bursts out laughing as tears glisten in her eyes. The instructor laughs too, and I grunt as Tillie tries to control herself.

  “Sorry guys, in case you missed that, Ryan farted. Yoga is supposed to be beneficial for your body, it’s obviously helping Ryan’s digestive tract.” She giggles. “A lot of people are saying that was a very healthy sounding fart, Ryan.”

  I smirk. “Must be all the Kale shakes Danger is making me drink.”

  She giggles again and it actually makes me feel okay. Even though my plan backfired, yet again, seeing her laugh is lighting something inside of me. I just don’t know what.

  She stops streaming and puts the cell down with another giggle. “There were twenty-four thousand people watching, Ryan, and there’s thousands of comments. I couldn’t keep up with them all.”

  I tilt my head at her words. I had no idea people were so interested in me getting healthy.

  “Tillie, if you want to come over and join in for partner yoga now?” the instructor asks, and I tense up.

  “What the hell is partner yoga?”

  “It’s when you do yoga with a partner.”

  I tense up and shake my head. “I have to touch Tillie?”

  Tillie scoffs and rolls her eyes. “I don’t have rabies, I’m not gonna give you a disease!”

  “No, I know. It’s just—”

  “What?”

  “I don’t fucking know… Okay fine, let’s just do this,” I say as she comes over and sits down on the mat in front of me.

  “Right, so this first pose is quite challenging, but I think it’ll be fun for you two. Tillie is a pro at yoga it should be okay to manage, it’s called the Buddy Boat pose. I want you guys to face each other, grip on to each other’s forearms, place your feet against each other’s then raise them up until your legs are up in between you forming a triangle. Your arm’s holding each other will stop you from falling backward. This is a good test of core strength and in trust.”

  I raise my eyebrow as it sounds completely ridiculous, but Tillie looks excited so I figure I’ll give it a go. So I reach out grabbing her forearm. Feeling her silky skin under my calloused hands sends a wave of warmth straight through my very soul. It surprises me, so I clear my throat from the lump that has formed in it.

  “You ready?” Tillie asks. The smile on her face accentuates the little dimple on her left cheek, and for the first time it makes me want to study every inch of her face. Her glasses are off and she looks pretty with them on, but with them off she really is quite striking. I’m a little alarmed about the way I’m thinking of her right now, as my bare feet touch hers and we struggle with equal smiles as we pull our legs up between us. It’s hard and I’m really not this flexible, but after a bit of maneuvering and some slight help from Tillie, we’re positioned like we’re supposed to be. Bums are on the ground, legs in the air, hands gripping on for dear life so we don’t fall over. I smile wide knowing that with a bit of help and some self-confidence I can do anything.

  “We’re doing it, Ryan,” she calls out and I chuckle.

  “We are, we’re awesome,” I call back as my hands begin to sweat slightly. They slip on her forearms and our balance topples sending us flying to the side. We collapse onto the mat, legs tangling into each other and we both laugh as she basically falls on me. It seems all the tension from earlier is gone, as we lay on the floor laughing at each other. She unwraps herself from me and lays down next to me as we both look up at the ceiling.

  “Wanna do another one?” I ask, and she looks at me and smirks.

  “That’s the spirit,” she says jumping up and pulling me with her.

  “Okay, so for this one, Ryan, we’ll have you lying on your back. Tillie you stand over Ryan as he braces his knees to his chest. You’ll lay on his feet, they will be placed on your hips, and Ryan you’ll grab Tillie’s arms for extra support. When you feel like you have her weight you will extend your legs almost so Tillie is flying in midair.”

  I take a deep breath, Tillie will be completely over the top of me. One wrong move and she falls right on me.

  “Oh, fun,” Tillie chimes and I purse my lips as I lay on the floor. Tillie gets into position and I grab her arms as she lays down on my feet. Taking a deep breath, I lift up wobbling and shaking. My legs are strong and can hold her, I just don’t want to drop her.

  “You can do this, Ry,” she encourages looking down directly at me. Unlike the first pose, I can see her face perfectly this way, even though she’s a distance away from me, this feels more intimate. She’s looking right at me and smiling.

  It’s distracting, and her beautiful smile is doing something to me. My insides are shaking and I can’t seem to focus on anything as my mind becomes a jumbled mess. I hate her, but something in me in this moment is making everything in me want to drop her, so she lands on me and I can wrap myself around her.

  What the fuck is wrong with me?

  She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth chewing on it and I’m done for. It’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen her do and my knees go weak. She plummets toward me and my body reacts before I can even think about what I’m doing. She falls toward me with a squ
eal, so I grab her rolling us over, my hand swoops under her head so it doesn’t hit the floor as I spin her and land on top of her. I’m panting hard as I stare into her eyes and she’s looking at me furrowing her brows like she’s wondering what the hell just happened. Her chocolate eyes bore up at me sending sparks through the room in all directions. My heart is racing so fast I feel nauseous as my stomach flips and my pulse races frantically. Electricity is surging between us, sparking off in all directions igniting the room in an inferno of epic proportions as my chest squeezes tight making it harder to breathe.

  This can’t be happening.

  Not now.

  Not with Tillie!

  A lump forms in my throat as she looks at me up through her hooded lashes and I break free from the trance. My heart rate is sky high, my blood pressure must be through the roof as I jump up, leaving her on the floor while I pant rapidly trying to catch my damn breath.

  “Time’s up,” the instructor says bringing me back from my panic.

  As I turn Tillie’s slowly getting up off the floor and she’s avoiding looking at me, and I quietly thank the instructor and turn, walking out of the room. I know we have to share a car ride back to the office, but right now I can’t look at Tillie and need to get away from her as I head for the car. I jump into the driver’s side and wait. Tillie arrives not long after and I start the car without saying a word and head off down the road. The tension in the air is thick. Both our shoulders are tight and squared to the front. There’s no movement as we both attempt to not look at each other, the silence stifling through the car like a blast of frigid air.

  “So… that was fun,” Tillie finally breaks through the stillness, her voice quiet and soft.

  I look at her and manage a smirk. “Yeah… it actually was better than I thought it’d be.”

  “See, you shouldn’t close your mind off to new things. Sometimes something new, even though it’s scary, can be wonderful.”

  “Are we still talking about yoga here, Tillie?”

  She shrugs. “Well, life in general I suppose, and maybe with me too. Look, Ryan, I know me coming in to help out was a big shock, but I’m not really that horrible… am I?”

  I sigh and scratch my forehead. “Horrible no, but you stole my job. It’s something I worked damn hard at, Tillie. Something I was proud of, you know what I mean?”

  “I know and I’m sorry to have taken that from you. But shouldn’t you have the band’s best interests at heart?”

  “What? I do, Tillie! Why would you even say that?” My fingers clench, white-knuckling the steering wheel.

  “Then Ryan, you have to know I do a better job than you, surely?”

  “Ha! Cocky much!”

  This bitch, really!

  “Not cocky, Ryan, not at all. I’ve had training that you haven’t. I know this industry. How to work the media. How to spin things. How to showcase you and the guys. It’s not a competition, Ryan, it’s just the facts… Recoil needs me.”

  With a scoff, I turn the car harshly around the next corner so she slides over into the passenger’s door. She lets out an ‘oomph,’ and I shake my head.

  “This conversation is over!”

  But the war… the war is still on, and I’m going to win.

  Ryan’s been distant and quiet. It’s unsettling, not only because he’s usually so boisterous and loud, but there’s been no practical jokes or any banter at all, so I’m not sure if something big is coming my way or if he truly has given up? Anyway, it’s Wednesday, which means I’m going to be going to yoga with him again today. Hopefully, I can talk to him a little, see where he’s at.

  Walking to the fire escape where I know he’ll be, I move through the door and up the stairs to see him on the roof sitting far too close to the edge looking out over the city skyline. Swallowing hard, I move slowly over toward him quietly, so I don’t startle him, and take a deep breath. He must hear my footsteps as I approach because he turns around to look at me and his sunken eyes rimmed by dark circles takes my breath, but not in a good way. He seems troubled, and I hate this look on him.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  He half-smiles. “Yeah, I’m fine. Guess we have to go?”

  I nod and he stands up, right on the edge of the building making my heart jump into my throat and lodge itself firmly in place there. He grins and jumps down on to safer ground, and I breathe a little easier while he smirks.

  “Geez, you almost looked scared for me there, Tillie,” he says.

  “You were being very dangerous, Ryan. You need to be more sensible than climbing on the edge of a ten story building.”

  He shrugs. “Is life worth living if you’re not on the edge?”

  I let out a bemused laugh. “I prefer safe and solid ground, it’s sturdy, and you know where you’re headed.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” He turns and starts his walk back toward the fire escape.

  I take a deep breath, shake my head and walk with him, down the stairs and through the office and to the car in silence. I can’t help but notice his cheeky grin like he’s up to something, but I ignore it as we climb in and head down the street toward the gym.

  “Oh, hey, can you grab my sunglasses from the glove compartment for me?” he asks, his smirk growing wider.

  Something’s definitely up with him.

  “Sure,” I say and reach out pulling the handle down and opening the small compartment. As the flap flies down a medium sized rodent scurries out and lands right in my lap. Its fur is a dark gray. Its tail long and pink, and it has beady little eyes staring right at me while its nose twitches frantically from side to side like it’s sniffing me for traces of food.

  Ryan shifts in his seat like he’s waiting for me to scream, but I look down at the cute little guy and smile moving my fingers to its fur and pet its back. It doesn’t move to bite or attack me, and I know instantly it’s a friendly pet rat. Ryan tried to scare me with a tame rodent, but his plan has one serious flaw—I love animals so this bullshit backfired too. I pick the little guy up and bring him in line with my face, I smile and make kissy noises at him. He’s so cute with his little brown eyes staring at me affectionately.

  “You’re an adorable little guy, aren’t you?” I say in a cutesy voice.

  “You gotta be kidding me!” Ryan murmurs under his breath. “Why does nothing work on you?” He grunts as his nostrils flare in annoyance that I obviously wasn’t scared out of my brains like he was hoping for.

  “You don’t know me at all, Ryan. I’m an animal lover from way back. I had a rat as a pet when I was a child, so a little guy like this isn’t going to scare me. In fact, I think I’ll keep him. He can be my new pet… I might name him Hunter.”

  He looks at me raising his eyebrow. “Hunter’s my last name?”

  “I know. I have to name him after you somehow ‘cause you got him for me, and naming him yoga fart just doesn’t seem quite appropriate.”

  His frown slowly turns up into a tight smile and then he lets out a small chuckle. “You really are something you know that?”

  “I think it’s you who’s something, buying me pets and all. I think, deep down, you actually like me, Ryan Hunter.”

  He scoffs. “Let’s just get this yoga over with, shall we?”

  I smirk cuddling into Hunter my new pet. “Sure. But how long was he in the glove compartment for?”

  Ryan shrugs. “Not long. I was only on the roof top for about five minutes before you came and got me, I put him in there just before that. I can’t believe that didn’t work. I was so sure he would’ve scared the shit out of you.” He shakes his head but keeps his eyes on the road ahead.

  He’ll have to do much better than that, I think to myself as I realize that I’ve beaten Ryan at his mind games yet again. I figured he was up to something. It had been too long since he pulled a stunt, and even though it wasn’t something massive like I thought might have been coming, knowing he hasn’t given up is kind of exciting. Him throwing these curve ball
s at me—although one was devastating like the notebook and glitter incident—can be a good ego boost when I come out the victor, and so far I’m beating him at this little power play we have going on.

  We pull up at the gym and Ryan grabs Hunter’s cage from the trunk for me to put him in. At least he came prepared. I place Hunter in his cute little cage and we walk, with rat in tow, up to the room for our yoga lesson.

  “Hey Lara,” I say as I walk in and she looks at me, spots Hunter in the cage, and tenses up scrunching her face in obvious disgust.

  “Um… Tillie, we don’t generally include pets in our yoga sessions. Especially rats.”

  I giggle as Ryan smirks.

  “We had an incident in the car and we couldn’t avoid bringing Hunter, the rat. Don’t worry, he won’t get in the way. I promise, Lara. You’re safe. Plus, he’s a friendly rat. He won’t be coming out of his cage.”

  Lara’s body sags in obvious relief. I smirk at Ryan as he grins at me then he walks over to his inappropriate pink yoga mat. His muscles flex and strain while he stretches getting ready for Lara’s first yoga poses of the day. We haven’t really talked since last week, other than the occasional time here or there or anything official to do with the band. But that has only been a fleeting question or comment then he would avoid me or walk off.

  He’s been strange since last week when something changed between us. After I fell he turned us so I wouldn’t fall on him, and he made sure my head didn’t hit the floor. That’s not something someone who hates you does. I see through him. He’s fighting through some sort of dislike for me and I don’t know why.

  Well, I do know why.

  I took his job.

  That doesn’t make me a bad person. Just a qualified one. But I know there’s something there more than just a general unease. His persistence to annoy me makes me think he’s covering for something. Maybe he doesn’t even know what it is. But I feel it. I feel the attraction between us, and I definitely don’t think it’s one sided. That’s why I think he’s been avoiding me. Because what happened here last week wasn’t just a pair of co-workers falling on each other in a yoga class, it was chemistry. It was intense and with his stubbornness and dislike for me, knowing that he felt that feeling too, it made him go into avoidance mode. That’s why he’s been dodging me this last week.