Page 54 of In It to Win It

She’s not here, and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or relieved.

“Hi again,” Arya says to me with a friendly smile, clearly remembering me. “It took you a while to come back.”

“I’ve been away the last three weekends.” I have no idea if she knows who I am, but I tend to assume people don’t know me.

“Your friend’s not with you?”

“Not this time.” I grin. “And he’s not my friend.”

She blinks.

“Actually, he’s my uncle.”

She gives her head a confused shake. “Okay.”

“Yeah, we’re the same age. Weird family.”

“Hey, you’re not the only one!” She turns her attention to the rest of the group, and we start grabbing boards to carry outside.

Just as Taylor rushes in. “Sorry I’m late!” she says breathlessly to Arya.

“We’re just starting. Grab a board!”

It’s been a month since I saw Taylor. My breath sticks in my chest as I watch her. Her hair’s up in a messy knot on top of her head, and yeah, she’s wearing form-fitting pants again and a different bra top, this one lime green and black. She hasn’t noticed me yet. But, as if she feels my gaze on her, she turns and we lock eyes.

My blood fizzes in my veins. I manage a smile. “Hey.”

“Hi, JP.” She tilts her head. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh . . . yoga?”

“Smart-ass.”

I grin. I’m still fizzing, my chest filling with it. “Yeah. I wanted to take another class. This time I won’t have that clown Harrison distracting me.”

She laughs. “Yeah, he didn’t really seem into it.”

We follow the group outside and across the sand to the water. I’m going to focus on the yoga. Not on Taylor.

ApparentlyI’mthe distraction, though, for others in the class, as women are whispering and eyeing me. I’m not the only male here; there are two other guys today, but I guess the women recognize me. I smile politely, then ignore them to follow Arya’s instructions.

Ignoring Taylor is easier said than done, but I use the focus I’ve learned from years of playing hockey to block out the things that take away my concentration.

“A main concept of yoga is being nonjudgmental,” Arya says when we’re out on the water. “Meaning both toward others and toward ourselves. A lot of our stress comes from being hard on ourselves.”

This strikes me as true.

“Our minds and bodies are one and connected,” she continues.

Okay, here comes the woo-woo stuff.

“Stress in one affects the other,” she adds.

Okay, this I know is true. The mindispowerful.

Determined to actually get something out of this, I focus on the various poses, starting with child’s pose and flowing through a series of movements including downward dog.

“On the paddleboard you have to be more mindful of your balance,” Arya says in a gentle tone. “Where your hands and feet are.”

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