“Good morning.” I reach for a to-go coffee cup, but Marina swats my hand away.
“I just made a pot; I’ll grab you a cup for the road.”
“You’re a goddess,” I tell her. “You not only run amazing yoga classes, but you bring in business, and you work the coffee shop for me.”
“I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?” Marina jokes as she stretches her arms up over her head. “I just love that you have caffeine at your studio.”
“Exactly why I chose to offer both,” I say to her. “Stretch and perk up. On that note, though, I have to go.”
“Good luck today!” she calls out as I wave goodbye.
I leave the room and pass through my yoga studio. Before I’m halfway to the door, I hear a strange banging—or is it a dripping—sound coming from the wall behind the studio bathroom.
I can’t take the time to investigate the issue myself, and Marina knows even less about plumbing than I do, so I call my landlord as I walk to the car. No answer, but I leave him a voicemail, letting him know about the sound and asking him to send someone to check on it.
During the entire drive through curse-worthy Los Angeles traffic, none of which I normally have to deal with, I half-wonder if Mom was right. Maybe I should have declined this job offer. It’s temporary, inconvenient, and has the potential to be a huge pain in the ass.
But after getting my graduate degree, I’ve got enough student loans to cause major anxiety. So this opportunity came at the perfect time, and I would have been a fool to pass it up.
I pull up to the gated parking lot, lower my window, and press the buzzer in the metal box next to my car. Someone speaks to me through the intercom, I identify myself, and I’m buzzed in as the gates open.
Once I’ve parked, I step out of my car and walk to the door. Time to meet my clients. I take a deep breath as I approach the closed door, hesitating for just a second before reaching for the handle. Sure, it will be a room filled with large men, most of whom have never tried yoga or meditation in their life.
What could go wrong?
Devon
I wake up before dawn and quickly realize I’m not going back to sleep. I can’t get Jade out of my mind. From her jet-black hair with the sexy red strands running through it to her sassy mouth and the way she went toe to toe with me—literally everything about her turned me on. And it’s still turning me on…I have to force myself out of bed instead of taking care of my hard-as-rock dick. I jump in the shower, throw on a pair of Cougars sweatpants and a t-shirt, and I’m ready to go.
I got up so early that I’m the first player to arrive at the facility. Only Coach’s car, the defensive coordinator’s truck, and one other vehicle I don’t recognize are in the parking lot.
Coach Sanders passes me in the hallway. “Oh, good,” he says to me. “The yoga instructor is here, and I have to meet with Josh to go over some things. After I introduce you, can you show her around the place before bringing her back to the main room for our eight o’clock meeting?”
I shrug. “Sure.” I’m walking around like a zombie right now; maybe doing something different before I start working out will be helpful.
“Good. Here she is.” He leads me over to his office and steps in front of me to open the door.
As I follow him into the room, I lock eyes with our new yoga teacher.
And my heart lurches.
She’s got midnight hair to her chin, scarlet streaks painted through the strands, and startlingly blue eyes that always take my breath away. Her informal attire of a long t-shirt and stretch pants highlights her toned body, and my gaze travels the length of her before settling back on her face.
I can’t take my eyes off of her. I walk right by my coach and straight up to her as she stares at me open-mouthed.
“This is our new instructor,” I vaguely hear Coach say from behind me. “Her name is—”
“Jade,” I say.
7
Jade’s blue eyes spark, and I can tell I’ve surprised her.
“I figured it out,” I tell her with a wink.
“So you’re…” Her voice hitches. “You play football? That’s your job?”
I nearly break into a grin, but I don’t. “You didn’t know?”
“How would I know?”
“Last night…” I trail off as I realize I thought she knew my name because of my career. “You remembered me, but I assumed…”
She nods, and realization crosses her face. “I only know you from Muscle Beach. I don’t follow professional sports. Ironic, I know. And I clearly should have brushed up on the players before starting this job.” Her cheeks flush pink, and she gives an embarrassed laugh. “I thought you were in Hollywood. Like a movie star.”
I stare at her, mystified. “Why would you think that?”
She blushes more. “That realtor guy—he said you were going to be a star—and I judged you based on your looks. You looked so…”
She trails off and glances to my left at Coach Sanders, who’s come up to stand next to me. He looks between Jade and me.
“You two know each other?” he asks me.
I nod. “Jade and I go way back.”
“Oh, yeah?” he says. “You know J.D.?”
“Um…” Jade stumbles.
I’ve flustered her, and I bite down on a grin. “She knows me as Devon.”
“Is that not your name?” she asks me.
“It is,” I assure her. “J.D. is a nickname; my first name is Jay. Professionally, I go by J.D. But everyone close to me has always called me Devon.”
“How did you two meet?” Coach asks with interest.
“We met before I played for the Cougars,” I say smoothly. “Jade saved me from a mugging, in fact.”
“Wow.” Coach turns to her enthusiastically. “I’m impressed.”
“So was I,” I say softly.
Jade blushes. “It wasn’t a big deal, and it was a long time ago.”
“Doesn’t change what you did,” I disagree with her.
Coach Sanders smiles and then urges me to “Take Jade on a quick tour of the facility. And make sure to show her the private exercise room where she’ll be conducting her classes first.”
I gesture for her to follow me, and we leave his office together.
We walk in silence until I’m sure we’re down the hall and out of earshot of anyone before I say, “I’m sorry it took me so long to remember.”
She stops short and glances up at me. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. I didn’t expect that you’d remember.”
What?
The exercise room she’ll be using is right across from us, and I take advantage. I push open the door, and as soon as she’s followed me inside, I shut the door behind us.
“Hey, what are we…” she starts to say.
She stops in mid-sentence when I put my hand on her arm. “Jade. I’ve thought about you a lot over the past nine years.”
Her eyes widen, and I can tell I’ve surprised her again.
“To be really fucking honest, I’ve had you on a bit of a pedestal in my head,” I admit as I let go of her and shove my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants.
She lets out a half-laugh. “That makes no sense. I was pretty much a mess back then, and you were this gorgeous guy who was really going places.”
“You think I’m gorgeous?” I say in a teasing tone.
“Shut up. Like you’ve never been told that before.” She twirls her finger through one of her red-tipped strands of hair and gives me a smile that makes me want to get her to look that carefree forever.
I gesture to the lock of hair wrapped around her finger. “You were blond last time I saw you.”
“Dye job. This is my natural color.”
“I like it. I liked it then too. And the red streaks?” I ask her curiously. Somehow, I know there’s more of a story to that than just, I dye my hair for the hell of it.
Her eyes lose their shine when she says so quietly I have to step closer
to hear her. “Someone told me to bring color to my halo. I couldn’t quite work out what she meant, but she meant it as a compliment. I guess this is kind of my way of reminding myself of that.”
I’d love to hear more about that because it sounds more interesting than most of the crap I talk about with people on a daily basis. But she’s lowered her gaze and clearly doesn’t want to talk any more about it.
However, I’m not done needing this time with her.
“Jade.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s your last name?”
She looks up, her blue eyes searching. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because…” I know I’m already at risk of breaking the team rule that was so clearly laid out for us last night and seemed so easy to agree to then…that is until the team’s new yoga teacher turned out to be Jade. But I’m so drawn to her that I can’t stop myself. “I may not have recognized you right away last night, but I sure as hell noticed you. You were the only woman I noticed at the restaurant, including the woman I was eating with.”
“You mean your date.”
She says it deadpan, but something about her expression lets me know she’s also teasing me. And I want her to trust me, so I expound more than I normally would.
“Like I said to you before, not a date. It was supposed to be a business dinner, actually. She kind of…lied.”
“She lied because she hoped to suck your dick.”
I can’t restrain that part of me from happily kicking against my sweatpants at her words. And I should control the way I step even closer to her.
But I don’t.
Or I won’t.
I don’t even know what’s going on right now. I’ve never felt so out of control around a woman in my life. And while a large part of me is terrified, the rest of me is too fired up to care. I lean in so close to her that I can hear her sharp inhalation of breath as I gently tug at a section of her red-tipped hair.
“Jade,” I say more harshly than I mean to. “My last name is Wilkens. What’s yours?”
I lean in even closer, and now she’s trembling.
“You know you could find out that information from your coach.”
“I want to hear it from you.” My voice sounds strained to my own ears.
“Devon. Or J.D.,” she adds hesitantly.
“Devon,” I say quickly. “My friends call me Devon.”
Her eyes flash with something I can’t read. And then, she snaps. I can feel it in the air between us before I even know that she’s snaking a hand around my neck. She brings my head to hers so our foreheads are touching.
“My last name is Jones.” Her voice comes out husky, and I nearly kiss her.
But I don’t.
“My friends call me JJ,” she adds. “Or Jade.”
“Jade Jones, it’s nice to officially meet you.” I lean back slightly and offer her my hand.
She takes it, and the electric current that zips between us is like a ticking bomb. I don’t know how much longer I can hold back from slamming my mouth over hers. My brain has gone into hiding somewhere, but even in my lust-filled state, I’m aware that I’m wavering far too close to the line Coach drew for us. But the feeling in my chest, and below my waistband, is running the show.
“I always prayed I’d have a chance to pay you back someday.” Her eyes fill with an emotion I can’t read before the look disappears. “The money you slipped into my pocket that day started me on an upward path I’ve never looked back from. And I swore I’d pay up.”
“I’m glad it helped.” I swallow down my emotion. “And even though paying up is completely unnecessary since I was paying you back for saving me, I think I have a solution for you.”
She licks her full bottom lip. “What is it?”
Now I go all the way over the line. Taking her face in my hands, I ask her sincerely, “Can I have your number?”
I don’t know if she’s going to say yes or not because—
Slam!
We both break apart as the door bangs open behind us, Jade jumping about five feet back from me instantly.
“Hey.” Colton’s greeting shakes me out of my trance. “Devon, you want to introduce me to our yoga instructor?”
I turn around and catch the glint of humor in his green eyes. I send him a silent fuck off look and quickly introduce him to Jade. Her cheeks are flushed, and I feel like shit that I’ve managed to make her uncomfortable on her first day of work. So, I accept Colton’s pointed offer to show Jade around himself, and I exit for the meeting room.
Players and staff are filing in for our morning meeting, but instead of taking a seat, I head for the front to talk to my head coach.
“I’d like to request to skip yoga today.” And every day. Because I can’t keep my hands off of the instructor, and you made it clear that’s against the rules.
Coach Sanders barely cracks a smile. “Not a chance.”
“But Coach. I have my stretching routine down. It works for me, and it has for the last eight years.”
“And you can try yoga as well for a month. If you don’t notice a difference in the way you feel, we’ll talk again. But for the next month, every player on the team is doing this. No exceptions, Wilkens.”
“Yes, sir.”
I grimace as I take a seat next to King.
“Everything okay?” he asks me.
I nod. “Fine.”
Jade and Colton walk into the room then, and my gaze cuts to her immediately.
Jade from nine years ago—my Jade—is going to be working for the Cougars.
What am I even saying? Jade’s not mine.
But I practically lose my shit as I watch the guys staring at her.
They’re not rude, and they don’t do anything stupid and sexist, but she is the only woman in a room filled with men. She’s dressed down, wearing minimal makeup, and yet she’s the light in a dark room. She’s brightening up the team meeting without trying at all.
The coach steps forward. “Everyone, let’s give a warm welcome to our new yoga instructor, Ms. Jade Jones.”
Jade Jones is Jade. My Jade.
Shit, there I go again. No one is mine. And while I’m happy that now I know who she is and how to see her again whereas an hour ago I was flying blind, I’m also screwed. Because I can’t have her. Not like this, where she’s a Cougars’ employee and I’m a player. But honestly, this should be a good way for me to keep my distance. I could never give Jade what she deserves.
Coach Sanders gives a short introduction about how Jade will be teaching yoga and meditation here for the next month, and then he hands her the stage so she can “explain to everyone what she does.”
Any worry I had for her and how she’ll handle a room full of jocks disappears the moment she opens her mouth.
Jade knows her shit. She also knows the room.
“Good morning. I’m betting most of you don’t do yoga regularly and don’t understand how practicing yoga could possibly help you on Sundays. Raise your hand if this applies to you.”
I reluctantly raise my hand along with over eighty percent of my teammates. I swear some of the twenty percent, who don’t, just want to impress her.
“Obviously, football is a physical sport, a contact sport. You deal with multiple collisions every game. And yoga is pretty much the opposite of football in every way. Here’s where I believe it could be beneficial—the gentle stretching and meditation of yoga can help bring balance to your body and mind.”
“So you want to change us?” One of the rookies asks with a frown.
“Not at all. You’re clearly meant to play football, or else you wouldn’t be here. What I want is to help increase your strengths and limit your weaknesses.”
“How?” King asks her. “Like you said, yoga and football are pretty antithetical to one another.”
“I could give you lots of statistics to try to sway you,” she says. “But I think a real-life story is more powerful.”
She taps a fe
w keys on her laptop and brings up a slide on the projector.
I immediately recognize the location.
Muscle Beach.
Where we met.
The exercise equipment on the beach in the background is a dead giveaway.
I glance away from the slide to find her eyes on me. The nod I give her is almost imperceptible, but her shoulders relax.
She wanted me to remember.
Emotion shoots through my chest at that realization, and I keep the eye contact with her for a beat longer than is appropriate. Colton leans across King to tap my leg.
When I look at him, he raises his eyebrows, the question on his face clear—what is your story with her?
I lift one shoulder noncommittally and return my attention to the front of the room where Jade is pointing to the slide showing a photo of a long gray-haired man doing pull-ups. He’s all muscle and clearly in great shape.
“This is Darren. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a former Marine. And for years, he was also homeless.”
Small sounds of surprise come from behind me, and I wonder where she’s going with this.
She pulls up a second slide of a guy hobbled and leaning on a cane. He’s bent over with his head bowed, looking like he’s in a lot of pain. The long gray hair is the only tell that this is the same man as in slide one.
“This was Darren two years prior to the first photo. After he was discharged due to a combat injury, the doctors said he’d never stand up straight again. He’d always be in pain, his beaten-down body at war with his mind. He had no job and no health insurance, so he had no way to pay for physical therapy or surgery.”
For the first time, she looks directly out at the room. “I met him when he was photo number two. He and I were living at the same homeless shelter.”
She says this part in a clear, strong tone, and probably only I notice the slight tremor in her voice. God, I hope she’s not ashamed because, right now, she’s my hero. To be able to stand there and deliver the truth about her past like that—she’s fucking amazing.
“I’ve always been interested in flexibility and how to quiet your mind and rebalance your body and your life when things have gotten out of whack. I wanted to help people heal from pain. So, even though I was a novice with limited experience, I started giving Darren private lessons in yoga. Within six months, he was jogging. By the end of a year, he was engaging in pull-up competitions at Muscle Beach with guys half his age. And he was winning.”
Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology Page 329
