Page 24 of Moonstruck at Midnight
Juan Pablo was tall, somewhat lean, and sported shoulder-length, ice-tea brown waves with caramel highlights. His eyes were two dark bottomless pits that rendered his pupils undetectable and totally freaked me out. His wide, ultra-white smile heavily contrasted the blackness of his eyes.
He wore a bandana to keep the slightly long locks off his face, black yoga leggings, and a loose sleeveless t-shirt with a couple of what seemed like Mala bead necklaces.
To be completely honest, I did judge him by his appearance. I braced myself for what I expected to be a new age, inspirational quote-filled-class—he didn’t disappoint.
“Amazing, right?” Nina nodded with a grin once the class was done. We were reincorporating ourselves from a five-minute Shavasana. I couldn’t say it was a terrible experience, but it hadn’t beenamazing.
Juan Pablo focused the class on his words, which distracted me from doing the poses. I hate lies, and I hate lying even more.
Sometimes when you risk hurting someone’s feelings, is it justifiable to lie? Or should we remain completely impeccable? Food for another day’s thought.
“It was a relaxing class. Thank you, Nina,” I lied, trying not to make eye contact with her as I dropped my mat back on the shelf. I feared my eyes would give me away.
She pulled me in Juan Pablo’s direction, who was enthusiastically talking to a woman who had just taken the class too. The woman slowly nodded with wide eyes as she attentively listened to what he had to say.
Nina grabbed Juan Pablo’s puffy but not entirely defined arms and introduced me to him. “Hi, Billie! Nice to meet you.” He greeted me with an accent, offering a handshake. CJ was looking at himself in the mirror, combing his curls with his fingers.Get in here!
“Did you enjoy the class?” Juan Pablo asked.
“Yes, I did, thank you.” I coaxed a smile in return.
“Hmm …” he mumbled, closing his eyes and touching his right temple with his index and middle finger. I turned to look at Nina for answers, but she mouthed, “don’t worry.”
We stood there for a few heartbeats, waiting for him to snap out of whatever trance he found himself in at the moment.
“A kindred spirit—heart to heart—true mate to the soul. In title behold, as time has come,” he said with his eyes still closed.Okaaaay. I glanced back at Nina, widening my eyes.Wait, she spoke with her eyes. I waited.
“Stature and grace, of confusion, beware.” Juan Pablo opened his eyes and directed the blackness of them straight at me. I held my breath for a second. “The heart wants what it wants.” He sighed and closed his eyes again.
I realized a few people were circling us, clearly entertained with the spectacle Juan Pablo was putting on for everyone. It was probably included with the class fee.
I held a blank expression, trying to be respectful, but I hoped he wouldjuststop. But he didn’t. And boy, was he making me feel veryuncomfortable. Mostly about being placed in the spotlight like that.
Only once in my life had I used the SOS beacon. It was in Paris, at a friend’s party. I was uncomfortable and wanted to leave but had no energy to make up an excuse. It could be handy for these types of situations.
Juan Pablo continued with the show. I slyly grabbed my phone to activate the emergency beacon, texting SOS on the security detail group chat.
“Your mother—” Juan Pablo was about to say something but got cut off by Caleb, who bolted inside to inform me about a “security concern,” advising it was best to leave right away.
CJ hurried to my side when he heard Juan Pablo mentioning my mother. “Come with me.” I implored with my eyes. He nodded in agreement.
I apologized for having to leave so abruptly and thanked Juan Pablo for the class. “Don’t worry, Billie! Thanks for coming!” Nina yelled as we fled the studio.
The nerve of the guy. It should be illegal to meddle like that in other people’s business. I assumed Nina had told Juan Pablo about my mother, so he tried to dazzle us with the oracle act.
I got in the car, sulking. It was unusual to find myself in a foul mood or easily angered, but something about that guy didn’t click with me. It felt like a violation for him to trespass on something so personal. CJ mouthed back, “sorry,” and joined me inside the car.
Although the riddle was bizarre and made little sense to me, what angered me was that he was about to mention my mother. And not only was it scary and weird, but I refused to believe whatever he had to say about it. I was getting a “your mother is here,and yes,she wants to talk to you”kindavibe.
Nope.
“You gotta love the thrill of the SOS beacon,” Caleb said as he hopped in the front seat, rubbing his hands enthusiastically. Aaron glowered at Caleb with disapproval. “Hi, I’m Caleb.” He introduced himself to CJ, offering his hand.
“And that’s Aaron, the normal one,” I joked, while Aaron lifted his hand in acknowledgment, keeping his gaze on the road.
CJ extended his hand to Caleb in slow motion. He seemed in awe with the vision in front of him. Yup.
Caleb straightened back on his seat afterward as I whispered to CJ if he needed a napkin to wipe off his drool. CJ laughed while I opened the small bag I carried with me to grab my body splash.
