Page 54 of Moms of Mayhem
I tried to copy Ruth without looking like I was copying Ruth, but she caught me staring. “Breathe through it.”
Fuck me, I tried, but my breath stuttered out like a deflating balloon. The playlist switched toThat Don’t Impress Me Much,and the song choice felt more than a little pointed.
Emmy walked past, eyes scanning my body in a way that 20 minutes ago would have given me another semi, but right now all I could focus on was how low my ego could go before I imploded.
“Good, Beckett. Don’t force it. Just move within your pain-free range.”
Pain-free range?Was that some sort of a sick joke? I wasn’t exactly in pain, but even the smallest movements were activating muscles that I, a paid professional athlete, had never used this way before.
We moved into hip extensions and abductions, on our hands and knees. Emmy showed us how she wanted to straighten one leg back, then tap it outside the mat, and bringit back. She came to check my position, ensuring I didn’t push my range of motion past what my brace allowed.
Her gentle hands on my back would have been tempting if I hadn’t started sweating by the second rep, trying to keep my back from arching like she said. It didn’t help that Neon Tracksuit was chatting casually with her neighbor while powering through the moves like it was nothing. Meanwhile, I had a river forming down my back, dripping into my waistband.
Next up, Emmy instructed the class to move into clamshells. On their sides, knees bent, lifting the top leg like they were auditioning foran X-rated version of the Little Mermaid: Boomer Edition. Most of the ladies did it with a resistance band, but my hip wasn’t ready for it yet, and that was its own canon ball to my ego.
“Skip this one, and let’s have you move on to adductor squeezes instead.” Emmy handed me a blue Pilates ball and showed me how to put it between my knees, laying on my back.
After over 16 years in the NHL, lifting my legs off the mat without dropping the ball should have been simple. But I felt every damn muscle in my hip fire like it had been years instead of weeks since I’d last used it.
Ruth was knocking them out like a metronome, making me feel worse as I grunted through mine, legs shaking by the eighth rep.
“I’m feeling this in places I didn’t know had places,” I muttered, earning a snort from Emmy as she passed by.
By the time we hit planks, my whole lower body was vibrating like it had caught an electrical current from hell, even though I got to cheat and keep my knees on the ground, only lifting them a few inches off theground.
“Last one,” Emmy called cheerfully. “Let’s finish with a hip opener. Lay on your back, one knee up. Ankle over opposite knee, then gently pull on your knee until your foot leaves the mat. Breathe into the stretch. Beckett, only hold it for ten seconds, but do ten reps for me.”
I followed along, groaning as I pulled my leg in one after the next.
And then it happened. Sweet,gloriousrelease. My hip loosened, and my body melted into the mat. The sound that came out of my mouth was part moan, part exorcism, and it echoed off the walls.
Heads turned.
Neon Tracksuit cackled.
“Jesus.” I covered my face with my forearm and let the other arm rest on the floor under the reformer. “Sorry. That was involuntary.”
Emmy just grinned, hands on her hips where she stood in front of my mat. “You good?”
Ruth reached a hand over to pat mine. “You survived, sweetheart. I can’t wait to tell your mother about this when she comes back to the knitting club meetings.”
When the hour was up, Emmy passed out sanitizing wipes and instructed us all to wipe down our equipment.
“What did you think?” she asked when it was just the two of us left in the studio. “That was one hell of a moan.”
I laughed, even though my whole body felt like it had been stretched and pulled in a hundred different directions. But for the first time in what felt like forever, the pain felt productive, and I was overjoyed.
Emmy’s hazel eyes were still on me, so I leaned down until my mouth was just above her ear. “Seemed fair for youto hear my sex moan when I know exactly what you look like wearing nothing but my hoodie.”
She pulled back with a little inhale, her cheeks flushed and eyes alight. I ran my hand down her back, then stepped by her, both sore and feeling better than I had since my injury.
Damn. I wasneverunderestimating Pilates again.
17
Beckett left right before noon, and I sat on the front bench in the entryway with my head in my hands. Shannon cast a look my way, and I knew if I wanted to talk, she’d stop and let me. She took two classes at the local community college on Thursday afternoons though, so today was not the day to delay her.
The studio emptied for 2 hours in the middle of the day to give my staff time to clean and eat lunch. Normally, I used the time to catch up on paperwork, but my leg bounced, restless energy coursing through me.
