Page 53 of XOXO, Valentina

Erin was one of Shane’s best friends, but I suspected he wished they were more. Erin was the reason I’d picked Shane up early from the party at Zack’s house after the championship game. She had drunk too much, and she had been scared to call her parents, so Shane had called me.

“Erin’s great at yoga,” he said. “She was showing us some stuff before practice yesterday. She can do a handstand and everything.”

“Nice.” I prepared myself to get schooled at yoga by a fifteen-year-old.

When we got home, I texted Kennedy to let her know I was taking her up on her advice and going to a yoga class. She was thrilled but warned me to get there early because Mallary’s class was popular.

We arrived ten minutes early, but there were only a few spots left in the room. I couldn't believe so many people had nothing better to do on a Friday night than sweat their butts off in a hot yoga class.

“It’s packed,” I said, glancing around with no small amount of pride for my friend. Kennedy had made Namaste Yoga a welcoming place, and the studio was like a slice of life cut straight from Mossy Oak. The variety of shapes, sizes, and ages of my fellow yogis was impressive.

“This is nothing,” Erin said. “By the time class starts, we’ll be like sardines.”

My stomach clenched at the thought of being so close to my sweaty neighbor. “You say that as if it’s a good thing.”

Erin gave me a look that every teenager seemed to have perfected: disbelief at my utter uncool-ness. “It’s about the energy,” she said, with a sympathetic shake of her head. “You’ll see.”

“Erin! Shane!” A petite blonde dressed like yoga Barbie in a hot-pink matching set waved at them. “Over here.”

Shane took my mat and told me he would find us spots while I put my bag in the locker room and filled my water bottle.

I found one of the few empty lockers and was making my way through the crowded hall when I saw the back of Joey’s head above the crowd.

Holy guacamole! Even the back of his head was gorgeous. His hair was all tumbling waves and chestnut highlights. It had grown out since his last haircut, and only a small swatch of tanned skin was exposed above the neck of his shirt. Had I kissed that spot before? I didn’t think I had, but I was suddenly overcome with the need to do it.

A woman in her fifties with a body fitter than most twenty-year-olds’ was chatting him up, and he leaned against the wall with his customary casualness, listening raptly.

My heart slammed in my chest as I watched him. I’d successfully avoided him at school all week, but I hadn’t forgotten him. His invitation to Costa Rica had echoed in my head. I’d never been to Central America, and the thought of going with Joey was enticing.

I dreamed about spending long lazy days on the beach and even longer nights in the bungalow he’d described. My mind fixated on the outdoor shower, and I imagined how good it would feel to stand naked under the hot spray with Joey. To drink rich coffee and eatgallo pintofor breakfast. To touch him whenever and wherever I felt like it without hiding.

Joey was so engrossed in his conversation I thought he wouldn’t notice me, but as I squeezed by him down the hall, his hand snagged mine.

“Gabriella.” He cleared his throat. “Mrs. Salinger. It’s nice to see you.”

I raised my chin at him. “Mr. Morales.”

“I didn’t know you practiced yoga.”

“Guess I’m full of surprises.” I slipped my hand from his and squeezed through the crowded hall into the studio.

I hoped my dizziness would fade once I was in the studio, a safe distance away from Joey.

Good grief, was I wrong. The room was so hot it hit me like a punch to the gut. Outside it was early spring. Inside it was tropical rainforest. Erin had been right about the energy. I felt the buzz in the air rising above the cloud of humidity.

Yoga mats, placed scant inches apart, lined the room from front to back. Mirrors covered the front wall, and the side wall was made of windows looking out over the tree-lined Main Street.

Shane pointed at my mat, near the front row on the other side of the room from his. “There weren’t many spots left,” he said.

I made my way through the yoga mats to mine. The woman next to me was dressed in shorts and a sports bra that covered little more than a bikini. I tugged at my tank top, feeling overdressed.

The instructor came in as everyone was settling into their spots. A few latecomers breezed in from the hall as class started right on time.

“Find child’s pose,” Mallary said, turning on the music.

A wave of silence swept through the room as everyone knelt on their mats and pressed their foreheads to the ground.

“Welcome, everyone. My name is Mallary, and I am going to lead you through your practice tonight.” Her voice was calm and confident, inspiring us to do our best.

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