Excerpt

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Chapter 1

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Luca—December 2019

 

“How am I supposed to get my butt up off the floor?” Luca panted.

 

Sweat poured down his face, his soaked T-shirt was glued to him, his hips reminded him of a giant twisted cheese puff, while his unnaturally crossed legs held his left arm in a death grip.

 

“Lean your torso forward and bring your shoulders in line with your elbows. And don’t forget to breathe! Look, do it like this.” Jo demonstrated the move. On her, it looked smooth and natural. And how did her voice sound so lively while he was struggling to take breaths?

 

Luca inhaled and tried to copy her. But he couldn’t breathe and coordinate his limbs at the same time. Time is Eternity it be his 6’2” frame wasn’t meant to be contorted into something he’d never heard of before?

 

The sweat running into his eyes burned while it blurred Jo’s face. His arms shook with exhaustion. Would he faceplant or break his arms first?

 

“Then hold this position, exhale, and straighten your legs. That’ll lift the butt up. Squeeze your left arm with both thighs, and you’ll float right into the pose,” she chattered happily and demonstrated it again, and of course it looked effortless—and sexy.

 

Luca’s breath hitched. Maybe he wouldn’t break anything today and would hyperventilate and die instead, and his obituary would say, Died while ogling his friend.

 

“The only thing happening here is me sweating all over your living room floor,” he huffed while he questioned—not for the first time—his participation in this…torture. He prided himself on being in pretty good physical shape, but had clearly reached his limit in yoga.

 

He exhaled again and tried to lift his lower body, but his legs were heavy as lead and refused to leave the relative safety of the floor, slippery as it was.

 

“Shit.” He collapsed on the floor, his muscles a jumbled mess of knots and cramps.

 

“What happened?” Jo floated out of her pose with an ease he envied and kneeled in front of him.

 

“Who knows? How am I going to get my legs and arms sorted out now?” Flat on his chest, breathing heavily again, his crampy legs were still hugging his arm like a novice pole dancer performing for a fired-up audience.

 

Jo gently unlocked his ankles, then guided his left leg over and behind his other leg. “Just lie flat on your back for a moment.”

 

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been flat for quite some time now.” Luca seriously questioned his sanity by now. Being a loyal friend was one thing, ending up like a gnarled piece of driftwood was another.

 

“This is such a powerful pose, Luca.” Jo handed him a towel. “Astavakrasana tones your abs and inner thighs. It makes you feel unstoppable.”

 

“It stopped me, all right. I’m happy with my abs and thighs the way they are, and you’ll never hear me complain about spin class at the gym anymore. Try your Black Widow pose with someone else.”

 

“It’s called Eight-Angle Pose. And who else do you want me to practice it with?” The pleading expression on her face made him regret complaining. “I need some good photos for my website, but nobody else volunteered to help me.”

 

“I wonder why,” Luca muttered and wiped the sweat off his face, then scrubbed the towel over his drenched hair, the desperation in her voice tugging hard at his conscience.

 

“How am I going to get a strong online presence without a good website? I need to show potential clients what they can achieve if they put effort into their workouts. The office and banker dudes in this city need to be inspired so they sign up for my classes. And I think you’re perfect for my promo video, because, thanks to the graying hair at your temples, my target group will identify with you.”

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“Then I’m glad we didn’t get to the floating stage today. Because I don’t want to end up facedown on YouTube. And now I’m going to take a quick shower. Unless you don’t want to go out for brunch? If you don’t, then I’ll call to cancel our reservation and go straight home.”

 

Luca barely managed to get to his feet and stretch while doing a quick mental scan of his body. Arms, legs, hips—he could still feel them, although his legs were wobbly and his inner thighs burned. But he’d somehow make it to her bathroom without holding on to the backs of chairs. A man had his dignity.

 

“Oh, no. I love our Sunday brunches at Fraunces Tavern,” Jo beamed at him while she sprayed the yoga mats with a vinegar and water solution before wiping off the floor. “Go ahead and take your shower, I’ll freshen up when you’re done.”

 

In Jo’s small bathroom, he relished the warm water running down his sweaty body. A little more water pressure would’ve been nice, but he was content with what he had. Every Sunday morning for the past few months, he went straight from the gym to Jo’s apartment. He didn’t mind the yoga itself, because a lot of the poses felt good—once he mastered them. Some sooner than others. Some never, like today’s Wicked Pretzel on Toothpicks.

 

He knew about Jo’s dream of opening her own yoga studio and had tons of respect for her for trying. He also knew how fierce the competition was in New York City. Too many similar studios popped up, only to close their doors after a few months.

 

His college’s motto, Perstare et Praestare, came to mind, and he mumbled with his head pressed against the shower stall wall, “To persevere and to excel.” Today he had tried to persevere, but fell a bit short of the excel part.

 

Luca rolled his shoulders and turned off the water. After toweling off, he dressed, grabbed his wet towel, left the bathroom—and stopped dead, his feet cemented to the floor.

 

But he couldn’t unsee what his eyes just zeroed in on, and he couldn’t look away, either.

 

He muttered, “Sorry, Jo.”

 

Standing next to her bed, she pulled her yoga top over her head. Granted, she still wore her yoga bra, a strappy, crisscross piece in neon pink, but she might as well have been naked. He’d never seen a sexier sports bra. Or more perfect breasts threatening to spill out of it. He swallowed hard, trying to clear his throat—and mind. There was no shortage of scantily clad women at the gym he frequented, but he didn’t pay any attention to them. He went there for some weight training and cycling, not a gawk party.

 

But Jo’s well-defined abs and her full breasts were smack in front of him, and he couldn’t stop his body’s reaction. He snatched the light-blue Oxford shirt out of his duffel bag and shoved his towel and sweat-soaked gym clothes inside.

 

“I’ll wait for you in the living room. Take your time,” he mumbled, grabbing his bag and hurrying straight to the kitchen, where he helped himself to some of the lemon-infused water she kept in the fridge.

 

His reaction to Jo baffled him—and he wasn’t easily baffled.

 

He’d known her for over twenty-five years, and had seen her wearing everything from skimpy bathing suits to warm winter jackets, and sexy mini dresses to long pants. Plus countless times in her workout clothes. She was witty and fun to be with, and a trusted and great friend. One he never thought of in a sexual way.

 

Sitting down at the breakfast bar, Luca leaned his head against the wall. What was different today? Why the sudden physical reaction?

 

Maybe he’d been around too many happy couples lately.

 

But to his knowledge, happiness wasn’t contagious…

 

He wasn’t interested in long-term commitments and had always been open about it with the women he asked out. When a woman stimulated his mind, he enjoyed the physical connection even more. He didn’t sleep around, but he kept his relationships casual, and it was important to him to part ways on friendly terms.

 

Luca chugged the water and rolled the cold glass across his forehead, hoping a brain-freeze would erase the vision of a half-naked Jo. Man, when she lifted the shirt over her head…

 

She was tall, with well-toned muscles and perfect curves, and he was sure most heterosexual men drooled over her body, and most women envied it.

 

And Luca wanted nothing more than pull her into his arms and explore every inch of her until she moaned. His fingers still itched, and another body part had yet to relax, too.

 

He had never experienced anything like it before. Why now, when he was about to move two hundred miles south? Something he still needed to tell her.