Page 41 of In It to Win It

“Yeah.” I sigh heavily.

For a moment she says nothing, her lips pursed. Then, “You’re actually a good guy, JP.”

I rub a hand over my face. “Not really.”

She slowly turns her head from side to side, smiling. “Whatever.”

“She’s not still seeing him.”

Her lips lift at the corners in a near smirk. “Yes, that’s what we’ve established. So are you coming to yoga class or not?”

I grin. “Oh, hell yeah.” I experience a sensation of lightness in my chest, a little rush of adrenaline that has my hands tingling.Taylor’s not seeing Martinez.This is the best news I’ve heard since we clinched a playoff spot last year.

“Oh, hey, I have an idea.” Everly grabs her phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m texting Harrison. We’ll get him to come too.”

“Huh.”

Harrison is her brother—my uncle, but he’s the same age as me. We just played against each other the other night. I grin, remembering the bone-crushing check into the boards I gave him late in the first period.

“There.” She drops her phone and smiles. “Now you won’t be the only guy there. The idea of a bunch of women doing downward dog in bikinis convinced him.”

“Bikinis?” I lift an eyebrow hopefully. “They do yoga in bikinis?”Taylor in a bikini on a paddleboard . . .

“No.”

I laugh. “Damn. Whatever.”

We arrange to meet at the harbor around nine thirty, before class starts at ten. Harrison’s going to meet us there too.

Harrison has a twin brother, Asher, and another brother, Noah. Grandpa and Chelsea were popping out babies left and right twenty-some years ago, the same time my mom and dad were. My dad didn’t like that. He thought it was fucked up that his father was having babies at the same time he was. He never liked Chelsea. He thought she married Grandpa for his money and only had kids so she could claim massive child support when she ditched him. Now their kids are adults and that hasn’t happened, but to this day things are strained between Dad and Grandpa and Chelsea. Of course, the lawsuit Dad and Uncle Mark filed against Grandpa doesn’t help any.

It’san overcast morning when I arrive at the marina. The sky is pale, the air damp and chilly against my skin. The ocean washes ashore in slow, easy laps, the water a smooth, silvery blue. This area is a popular spot for families with small kids, as it has a roped-off swimming and wading area where the water is nice and calm. We won’t have to deal with big waves on our paddleboards. Piece of cake.

I’m alert and fidgety, drumming my fingers on my car in the parking lot, shifting from one foot to the other. I scan the area for any sign of Taylor. No luck.

Harrison pulls up, parks on the black asphalt in the lot, and jumps out of his SUV.

“Hey, man.”

“Yo.” We do a bro shake. “What the hell has Everly got us into?” he says.

“Eh. Not sure. But I have a feeling they expect us to make fools of ourselves.” We meander toward the building that houses Makara Yoga.

“It’s yoga. How hard can it be?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Everly and Taylor arrive a minute later. My eyes go straight to Taylor and connect with hers. I experience a little sizzle in my gut.

I smile and she slows her steps, her eyes widening.

She could be mine.My heart thumps and I can’t stop smiling.

Taylor shakes her head and drags her gaze away from me.

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