Page 20 of Defect
“Don’t forget you can come by my yoga studio whenever you want. I have classes all morning until eleven but after that, I’m not doing anything.” Her smile was blinding.
“Okay. I mean I don’t know shit about yoga but…”
“Then that means you have even more reason to come.” She got in her car and her shiny black ponytail bounced across her shoulders like jet-black water. I wanted to run my fingers through it. The impulse was so heavy that I had to tuck my fingers against my palm to stop myself.
“Eleven o’clock?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Yes. I’ll make you some tea and we’ll go over some basic moves. My studio is called Sun Goddess. It’s a ten-minute walk up the street.” I stared into her brandy colored eyes and nodded like she had me under some kind of spell. I watched her back out of the driveway and waved at her before jogging back to my yard.
She was hands-down the nicest person I’d met so far in Radcliff. Everyone else seemed to know I was defective and they avoided eye contact. For whatever reason though, Solana didn’t mind the fact that I wasn’t like everyone else. She was either really good at ignoring it or she was oblivious.
It didn’t matter to me. I’d jump at any chance to be treated normally especially by someone as beautiful and kind as her. That’s why I waited around until eleven so I could go to her yoga studio even though I couldn’t have cared less about yoga.
If she was into it, I was into it too.
I didn’t want to seem too eager though. So at eleven, I got in the shower and got dressed. What the hell was I supposed to wear to do yoga?
A leotard and a dashiki?
I didn’t have either one of those things. I put on a pair of gray sweat pants and a t-shirt. It would have to do.
Since Mom would never let me drive a car ever again, I was forced to walk up the street to the yoga studio. It sat on a street with dozens of small old town shops and businesses. Cars lined the street on both sides. I scanned the rows of shops until I saw the one I knew for a fact belonged to Solana. It was sunny and yellow like her personality. I walked up to the shop and looked inside. I don’t know why I didn’t walk in. I saw her yellow car parked in the space out front. I knew she was inside.
I pushed open the door and the little brass bell on top jingled, alerting her to my presence. “Hello, welcome to Sun Goddess Yoga,” she walked around the corner and I was fucking stunned.
Her skin glowed with a subtle sheen of sweat, her ponytail was lower than it was when she left this morning and the fine hairs around her hairline were slicked down to her forehead. How the hell did someone look so good when they were sweaty? Her white tank top clung to her body and I found it hard to pry my eyes away from her perky tits.
“Hey, what’s up?” I found a smile for her. I don’t know where it came from since everything in my head was dark and stormy.
“Ezra!” She chirped. She sounded like a songbird. My name never sounded so beautiful. “You came!” She launched into my arms and hugged me. I was stunned. I couldn’t hug her back because everything in my brain got scrambled. For a brief moment, I smelled her skin. She smelled like something sweet. Like roses and sugar. It sounded like a strange combination but she made it mouthwatering.
“I thought you weren’t going to show up.” She smoothed down her tank top and held her hands behind herself.
“I wanted to at least see the studio,” I told her, looking around.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Like I said, I don’t have any more classes for the day so we can have a free one-on-one session.”
“Solana, I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. If I’m being honest, I only came to see you.” My brain still didn’t allow me to filter my thoughts but she didn’t draw back or shy away. She smiled at me and rocked forward on the balls of her feet.
“That’s fine. I can sneak in some yoga.” She toyed with the end of her ponytail and I longed to slide my fingers through her dark hair. “Would you like to know why I wanted you to come to the studio?” She asked.
“Because you take pity on me?” I said with a shrug.
“Pity?” Her pretty face scrunched into a frown as she regarded me. “Why the hell would I take pity on you? No. I asked you to come here because you seem so tense. Yoga is a great way to help you release tension and stress through your body.” She walked over to an area in front of the large bay window with hardwood floors and colorful things rolled up and positioned in a specific order.
“Unroll one of the yoga mats,” she told me with a gesture. I glanced at the colorful rolls on the floor and picked one up.
“How?” I asked, frowning at the green cylinder in my hand. I felt so stupid. Solana smiled a little and walked over to me. Her hips seemed to sway to their own beat and every step she took set off drums in my head.
She was an ancient song I’d heard thousands of times before.
I watched her slender fingers untie the straps and unroll the mat right before my eyes. “See? Easy.” She turned on her heel and walked to the center of the space. “Lay your mat down and stand in the middle of it.” I stretched the soft red mat out on the floor and stood in the middle like she asked me to. “Lift your chin for me,” she walked over and touched two fingers to my chin. Her touch was gentle but I still felt the soft graze of her fingertips. “Perfect.”
I was so used hearing defect that the wordperfectdidn’t register. “Perfect?” I frowned. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just standing here.”
“I know. That’s the mountain pose. You’re great at it. If you want to continue with a few more poses, take your shoes off and put them by the door.” Her voice was soothing to my ears. My brain ate it up and demanded seconds.
I took my shoes off immediately and set them by the door. Solana gifted me with one of her gorgeous smiles and I felt my lips curve to match hers. They were so full. The deep plum color painted on them looked like velvet. When I walked back over to the yoga mat, she stared at me for a few seconds then let her brown eyes travel down my arms to my hands.
