Page 34 of Cactus Heart
“So, who’s teaching?” I asked.
Dallas snorted and looked at Austin. “Great question. Who’s teaching this Sunday?”
“One of the golden girls, probably.”
“The what?” I asked.
Mateo closed in on our group, his back to Avery. “I heard Lola is teaching today.”
“So we’ll be starting twenty minutes late,” Dallas said.
“Without a doubt,” Mateo chuckled.
The three of them kept chatting and I took a moment to study Mateo. He wore a navy Whynot Fire Department shirt along with some athletic shorts, occasionally pushing his glasses up his nose. My gaze lingered on his mustache and the stubble along his jaw line.
“Earth to Levi. Levi?”
Austin’s voice broke through my trance and I snapped my head up. “Sorry. Need caffeine. Or something.”
“All good. Do you want to join the volunteer fire department?”
“What?” I shook my head. “You’re gonna have to back up five steps.”
Dallas chuckled. “He’s just fucking with you. We were talking about?—”
“Someone come help me with my damn yoga blocks.”
A grumbly voice had all of us turning, and Mateo already moving to help an older woman entering the gazebo with a couple tote bags. The two of them exchanged a few friendly words in Spanish and she let out a hearty laugh, handing everything over to Mateo.
“Pick a spot,” she said, gesturing to the ground. “Put your mats down. Oh look, it’s the hockey player.”
“Hi,” I said.
“Don’thime. What are you, nine? Roll out your mat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It had been a long time since I tried yoga, and there was a goddamn reason for that. It was fucking hard. Trying to movemy body to Lola’s instructions was harder than most of the workouts I’d done in my entire life. Every part of my body ached and creaked like an unoiled machine, protesting as I tried to move into downward dog.
At least I wasn't the only one. Dallas, Austin, and Mateo struggled just as hard. June, Avery, and Evie looked like they’d been doing this their entire lives.
I was a little jealous.
Only because I love the idea of being able to flow with my body like that. It would take practice. Maybe if I added it to my PT routine in the mornings, I’d slowly become more flexible . . .
I was careful with my right shoulder, mindful of every movement. There were some poses I needed to adjust for, and some I straight up couldn't do.
By the end of the yoga class, I was covered in a layer of sweat, but my muscles were thankful for the stretches I’d done. And even though I certainly wasn't the best at it, and felt somewhat like an idiot, I felt a lot better than I had when I woke up this morning.
I sprawled out on my yoga mat as we stayed in savasana, staring up at the roof of the gazebo. I turned my head slightly, looking out at the park. I was supposed to be focusing inward, but this was the part of yoga practice I always had trouble with, so I always picked something else to focus on.
The park wasn't exactly green, not like one would expect. In fact, everything was dead and yellow. But the sky was bright blue, the clouds like puffs of whipped cream. And there was something familiar and wonderful about being back in the place I used to think of as home.
My gaze tugged up slightly, and I realized Mateo was looking right at me. We were lying so close to each other that it almost felt intimate.
The fucker winked at me.
I shook my head and looked away, but god damn it. I smiled like a fucking idiot.
