Page 31 of Falling Into You

“No! No. I’m just doing homework, but I could use a break. Come on over. I’ll text you the address.”

Rory

“You really can’t get your leg up any higher than that?” Rory asked, standing next to Jacob in her living room as he attempted to raise his right leg up in a downward dog split.

“That’s what she said,” he replied, then grunted and came down to both knees.

Rory laughed in spite of herself. She had been blessed with incredible flexibility her entire life, so the very idea that someone’s legs could actually bethattight was almost inconceivable to her. Even more inconceivable was the fact that she and Jacob Reilly were doing yoga together on side-by-side mats at her house while listening to acoustic rock on her dad’s Bluetooth speakers. How the heck had they gotten here?

“This is hopeless,” Jacob said, sitting up and bringing his feet together in butterfly pose. He wore loose sweatpants and a light gray T-shirt and smelled of cedar and sweat, in a very pleasant way. She sat next to him and hit a butterfly on herown mat, facing him. It had started raining right when Jacob arrived about thirty minutes earlier. Behind him, the sky had gone dark beyond the windows—it was getting darker earlier and earlier—and leaves and rain swirled by. Rory felt very cozy, all things considered.

“No, it’s not. I mean, I’m not going to tell you you’re going to be the next Simone Biles, but you can definitely loosen up a bit.” Jacob laughed at her joke, and it made her grin. “You just really need to stretch for at least ten minutes after any physical activity. We’ll improve your kicks in no time.”

“Do you give a lot of private coaching lessons?” he asked wryly, gripping his ankles and trying to lean forward.

She shrugged. “Might as well get some use out of the roughly twelve years of gymnastics and ballet I’ve done.” She looked at his form and narrowed her eyes. “Try rolling your shoulders back and sitting up straighter. Think of putting space between your lowest rib and your hips.”

Jacob hesitated a second, as if trying to decide whether to crack a joke or do as she said. He decided on the latter. And just like that, he was able to lean forward another inch. He looked up at her, surprised. “That worked!”

“I should raise my private coaching rates,” she said.

Jacob flopped down onto his back, arms flung out to his sides. Rory couldn’t help noticing the way his T-shirt clung to his chest, accentuating his muscles. She cleared her throat and looked away, performing a couple of seated sidestretches to distract herself. He looked up at the ceiling, and then his brow knit.

“It issoquiet here,” he said.

She tilted her head. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Your brother is actually home?” he asked her.

“He’s upstairs playing online chess with some kid in Russia.” She stretched one leg out and leaned over her knee. “His chess coach hooked them up with an international gaming program. He’s obsessed.”

“Chess? That’s what he does for fun? Chess? Like with Kirk Conway.”

Rory bristled. “HelovesKirk Conway. And what’s wrong with chess?”

“Nothing.” He wondered if Tucker knew Rory’s brother was on Kirk’s chess team. There was no one Tucker loved to mock more than Kirk. “It just,noneof my siblings have hobbies that aren’t super loud.” He pushed up on his elbows, arms flexing. Not that she was noticing. “Chad just started playing tuba, and Lindsay is into tae kwon do. I would kill for one of them to take up something like chess.”

Rory laughed. “I know Willow, and I think I know Chad. Who’s Lindsay?”

“She’s the baby. Six years old. Her favorite hobby is screaming for no reason.”

“Hang on... how many siblings do you have?” Rory asked. She knew Ford, of course, and she was pretty sure he had an older sister, too.

Jacob sat up straight. “I have two little sisters, one little brother, one older brother, and two older sisters.”

“Wait, wait, wait. There aresevenof you?” she asked.

“Well, not seven ofme,” he replied, tugging his shirt away from his chest like he was too cool. “It’s not possible to replicateme.”

She shoved his shoulder, and they both laughed. Rory blushed over making contact with him. What was she doing? Was she flirting? This was insane. The music clicked over to a ballad, and she couldn’t believe the timing.

“What’s it like, having that many people around all the time?” she asked.

“It’s very loud, as we’ve established.” He tilted his neck to one side, then the other. “Also chaotic, messy, smelly, fun, annoying. I don’t think we’re ever all asleep or awake at the same time, so someone’s always waking someone else up, and people are constantly irritated.” He paused to shrug. “I guess it’s a little better now that my two oldest sisters are in college, and it willdefinitelybe better once Ford goes away.”

“What’s wrong with Ford?” Rory asked. “He’s, like, the most popular guy in school.”

“He’s an asshole,” Jacob replied flatly. “I mean, I love him, sure, but he’s an asshole.”