Falling

by Kris Bryant

  “I can help if you want. I can tell you all about the area.” She looked at her thin watch. “I have forty-five minutes before my next class. If you’re up for it, we can walk around.”

  “That would be great, but only if you have the time.” I was jumpy around Piper not only because she was attractive but because I was genuinely confused by what I saw on the airplane with Emma and Robin. I didn’t know if she was in an open relationship or if her girlfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. I was afraid to let anything slip. I’d told her they looked happy, which they did, but I didn’t want to talk about it ever again.

  “Even if we run a few minutes late, my class can get started without me. My noon class is advanced. I should probably hand it over to another instructor, but I like to keep busy and get my mind off things, you know?”

  “I binge-watch television until I pass out, so yes, I know what you mean.”

  Piper reached over and touched my forearm. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry, too.”

  “Enough of this. Come on. Let’s get to know the neighborhood.”

  * * *

  “The studio has been here for almost two years and has been pretty successful. People are moving to this area because rent is still cheap and downtown Denver isn’t too far away either.”

  Piper opened the door for me and motioned for me to enter her sanctuary. There were three large exercise rooms in a row—all of them occupied. Who were these people who could do yoga in the middle of the day?

  “I’m impressed. So young and so successful. Have you had any problems with break-ins or anything?” I wanted to give Peter a complete picture. Piper had already answered so many of my questions about the neighborhood. Crime was the only topic we hadn’t covered.

  “Thanks, but I’m twenty-eight, so not as young as you would think. We’ve had a few car thefts, but my studio hasn’t been vandalized. I think the dry cleaner on the corner was broken into last year, but normally we don’t have issues. Most of the families around here have really young kids. It’s a growing community.” Piper showed me the two offices, one of them hers, and a small kitchen with a water cooler and a refrigerator stocked with protein drinks and sparkling water.

  “You have a really nice setup here. Why yoga?”

  “Emma and I went to the University of Denver together for fine arts. We took yoga to relax and fell in love with it. When we graduated, we decided to open our own studio. Before we moved Bodhi here, we had a tiny one-room studio closer to downtown. Now we have space and a strong client base.” She sat and offered me the chair in front of her.

  I tossed my suit jacket on the back of the chair and sat down. “You and Emma own Bodhi?”

  Piper’s smile slid off her face. “Well, now I do. I got her half after what happened.” She still couldn’t say “the crash” and I understood. I didn’t like to say the word either. “My lawyer is finalizing everything. I’m just so mad they still don’t have answers.”

  “My lawyer is chomping at the bit to sue. I honestly just want to move on with my life and try to forget it happened. He’s insistent. Unfortunately, I now know more about suing airlines than I ever wanted to.”

  Piper took my hands. “I know what you mean. I didn’t want to get a lawyer, but Emma’s family wanted to review the contract we signed to see if they had a shot at getting Emma’s share of the business. And Robin’s family just wanted a key to her place and the keys to her car. Lawyers are a necessary evil.” She dropped my hands and leaned back.

  “So, you and Robin didn’t live together?” I asked. My hands tingled from where her fingers touched mine.

  “No. We actually just got engaged after six months of dating. She wanted me to move into her place, but my life is here. We were still in the ‘figuring it out’ stage. It still feels so unreal. I expect her to walk in the door any minute. She used to stop by after work on Wednesdays and bring us all frozen yogurts.” Her voice shook slightly as she held her emotions in check.

  “If I hear anything at all, I will let you know immediately.”

  “Let me give you my phone number.”

  I handed her my phone and she quickly added her information.

  “I’m sorry, but my class started five minutes ago and I should probably get in there,” she said.

  I jumped up. “Oh, my God. Go. Thank you for your time and for showing me the neighborhood.”

  “Any time you need a break, just let me know. Or if you want to take a yoga class, I can get you in.”

  “I could probably handle a yoga class,” I said.

  She laughed. “I’ll still start you in a beginner’s class. You’ll thank me later.” She walked me to the front door and hugged me again.

  I was going to have to get used to Piper and how she expressed herself. I hugged two women in my life: my mother and Marisa. I mentally added Piper to the list.

  Chapter Six

  “You can’t be mad at me for waking you up. You gave me specific instructions to call you the minute the date was over.” Marisa’s voice was so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

  “Okay, okay. Ugh.” I looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. “And? How was it? Tell me everything. I want to know what you wore, what he wore. Did you hold hands? Did you kiss?” I sat up and turned on the tiny light by my bed. Marisa’s tone had long story ahead, plus I really wanted to know.

  “I wore dark jeans and that loose white sleeveless blouse you love.”

  “Oh, that’s sexy. I love that shirt. Sorry. Go on.”

  “He wore a black button-down shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. And, Shaylie, he was such a gentleman. He held my hand only to lead me through the crowds. The seats were incredible and we talked, genuinely talked, the entire time.”

  This was good. I wished I had a bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine. I sipped my water instead and rubbed my eyes awake.

  “What else happened?”

  “You mean, did he kiss me?” She dangled that question, waiting for me to beg.

  “I can just call him up and ask,” I said.

  “You suck and are no fun.” She pouted. I knew it would only last a few seconds. “And yes, he kissed me good night.”

  I squawked a little because Marisa rarely had good first dates. A lot of them ended with her sneaking off in the middle of the night. I wasn’t worried about her, though. She was a cop and had plenty of training on reading body language in different situations. She could take care of herself.

  “I knew it! How was it? Was it amazing?” I sank deeper into my bed because I wanted to hear all the good things. If I couldn’t find them for myself, I was going to live vicariously through Marisa.

  “It was amazing. I dropped him at his hotel and he got out of the car.”

  “Wait. He stayed at a hotel?”

  “Yeah, it was pretty late and he had a few other errands to run today, so he got a room for the night.”

  “I’m suspect of that, but go on,” I said.

  “No, seriously, he’s meeting with lawyers tomorrow or today, however you want to look at it,” she said.

  I was sure he’d lawyered up. Most of the survivors had, and we were just waiting for the report back from the FAA. A lot of lawsuits were going to be filed this week.

  “Anyway, so he says bye and gets out of the car. Instead of going into the hotel, he walks around the front of the car and opens my door.”

  “Stop it. I’m already swooning,” I said. Maybe chivalry was still alive.

  “He gently took my hand and pulled me out of the car. He touched my face, ran his thumb over my bottom lip, and asked if he could kiss me.”

  “Stop it. I’m swooning again.”

  “It was a really nice, sweet kiss. Nothing demanding, just enough to let me know he enjoyed time with me and wanted to do it again. Then he said good night and went into the hotel.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” I pictured it a second time and sighed with her. “I truly believe he’s one of the goo
d guys.”

  “He saved my best friend. Of course he’s one of the good guys. And he invited both of us up to the ranch this weekend. Please tell me you want to go. I told him I’d get back to him in the morning.”

  “That sounds like fun. I haven’t been on a horse in years. We aren’t going to have to work, are we?” I knew of too many working ranches and that wasn’t the way I wanted to spend my weekend. I was almost healed, but my wrist was still tender and my ribs had stopped hurting just last week.

  “I can’t imagine, but I don’t know for sure. Now go to sleep. I told you everything. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “I’m not wearing cowgirl boots. Know that up front,” I said.

  Marisa had a very nice pair of Corral cowgirl boots, but she also had the wardrobe and carefree attitude to pull off the casual look in a sexy way.

  “You can wear normal shoes and play the ‘I’m hurt’ card, so you’re safe from working.”

  “Deal. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I hung up and held my phone against my chest for a few minutes. I was happy for Marisa. Her relationships were like mine—they started off easy, but fizzled. I had high hopes for this one, though.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” I pressed the phone against my ear.

  “You’ll be fine. I’m putting you in an easy class.”

  “Will there be goats?”

  Piper’s laugh was low and soothing. “As in goat yoga? No, nothing fun like that. Just a lot of sweat and tears. Oh, I mean, just relaxation and maybe some soft music. Clifford might show up, but he normally likes to make an appearance in the upper classes where clients are crying.”

  “Hold up. Why on earth do people cry during your classes? I’m already regretting this. And who’s Clifford?”

  “You’ll be fine and you can quit whenever you want. I have a class on Thursday nights from seven to eight. Why don’t you come and try it before you commit to a weekly thing? On the house. And Clifford is our yoga cat.”

  I was already on Amazon buying a yoga mat, new yoga pants, and a cute workout top. This was strictly to get in shape. I was thinking about taking an exercise class anyway. Piper just made it sound interesting. Besides, I liked talking to her. She relaxed me.

  “Do you need to go?” she asked.

  I froze. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I just had to finish up an email.” She didn’t need to know that I was going overboard with my yoga apparel. “Do I need to bring anything besides a mat?”

  “You have a yoga mat?”

  Busted. If this was my first class, why would I have a mat? “I just ordered one and it’s probably the wrong one, but I couldn’t show up empty handed.”

  “We have tons here. I could have loaned you one until you know for sure yoga is for you. Trust me, it’s brutal.”

  I snorted. “I think I can handle it. And even if I don’t like yoga, I can donate the mat, but I don’t think I’m going to have any issues.” I ran in college and played intramural sports. I wasn’t in shape like I was then, but I was still limber and could run a mile easily enough.

  “Okay. I’ll see you Thursday night.”

  Chapter Seven

  Piper in casual clothes was beautiful. Piper in workout clothes was sinful. I walked into class wearing black yoga pants, a black sports bra, and a loose T-shirt. She was in the front of the class wearing tiny bicycle shorts and a wraparound top that was tight and went to her midriff. Her abs were chiseled and her legs were toned. She couldn’t have been in better shape if she tried. I looked at my thighs and frowned. They weren’t as solid as they used to be and my arms looked weak. She walked toward me and my knees almost buckled.

  “Are you ready for this?”

  The look in her eye was playful and I did my best to maintain eye contact with her. It was so hard not to admire her form. I smiled.

  “Piece of cake.”

  She nodded. “We’ll see. I brought Clifford in today to help you and the others. Let’s get you set up over here where I can keep an eye on you.” We walked to a spot in the second row on the end. “This is Bridget. She’s been to a few classes now. She can help you if you run into any problems. I need to get up front. Good luck, Shaylie.” She didn’t even try to hide her smile.

  “How hard is it?” I asked Bridget, even though my eyes were on Piper. It was hard not to stare.

  “It’s not really hard, but it can be uncomfortable. Piper’s really good at freeing your mind and letting you be yourself in your own skin,” she said.

  That didn’t make sense to me. I’d seen people do yoga poses. Wasn’t it about balancing and pushing yourself? I really should have brushed up on its history. I knew less than 1 percent about yoga.

  “Okay, let’s get started,” Piper said. The class took their spots on their mats and started a small chant. I knew if Marisa was here, we would have fallen apart laughing. I forced myself to clear my mind and focus on Piper.

  “Remember the goal is to join your mind with your body.”

  Her voice was amazing and calming and even though we had just begun, I was relaxed. We started off standing tall with our palms pressed together, elbows out, and focused on our breathing. The second pose, on our knees stretching our bodies forward, felt wonderful. Those were the easy poses. It went downhill fast after that. I tried hard to keep my balance for the rest of the class, but failed. Yoga was harder than I anticipated.

  “You need to ease into the pose. Do you mind if I adjust you?” Piper’s voice was barely a whisper. “And you need to breathe.” She carefully pressed one hand on my upper chest and one below my ribs. “Tighten your muscles when you breathe in. Relax them when you exhale.”

  Piper’s eyes were dark. I was completely unnerved and turned on by her nearness. Her hands on my body was almost too much. My heart quickened at her touch and for the briefest moment, I wanted to lean into her and feel her barely clad body against mine. I wanted that connection. She moved her hand from my stomach to my back to help align me into the pose. I was never going to survive yoga with her. Two months ago, I’d had a near-death experience and now I wanted to embrace everything, including her, but she had just lost two people she loved. That made me a grade A jerk in anybody’s eyes.

  “You’re shaking.” She eased me out of the pose.

  “It’s just new for me.”

  “I told you it wasn’t as easy as you thought.”

  She didn’t need to know that the pose was easy enough, but her bending me forward turned sexual so fast and hard in my mind. Piper didn’t strike me as an aggressive woman, but right then, the fantasies that played out in my head of her bending me over were stellar. So, I agreed and waved her off. If she knew where my thoughts were, she would have kicked me out before we even got started.

  By the time we were done, I was spent. I don’t know what she did, but all of my emotions were right there on the surface. I wanted to laugh, cry, celebrate, and not move. Bridget checked on me before she left and high-fived me on my first class. A few stragglers were talking and laughing on their way out the door. I didn’t want to move. Clifford, the emotional support cat, ignored me. I hadn’t petted him because I was concentrating too much on not making an ass of myself in front of Piper and the fifteen other students in the class.

  “How was that?” Piper stood over me and offered her hand.

  “I don’t want to move. Not because I’m sore, but because I feel like all my energy left my body.” I accepted her help and groaned when I was upright.

  “You did really well for your first time,” she said.

  I was completely in her personal space and sweaty and didn’t care. “You didn’t even break a sweat.” I looked at her barely clad body. It was an excuse to stare, but perhaps not as long as I did. I tore my eyes away from her abs. Piper was smiling at me and for a brief moment, I thought there was a flicker of interest in her eyes.

  “I’ve been doing yoga for years and it takes a lot to make me sweat. Come on, let’s grab a cold w
ater. It will wake you up.”

  I knew I shouldn’t have read into that. Piper was smart, but she seemed too sweet for any innuendo. The visual of what it took her to sweat was distracting. She grabbed a T-shirt and slipped it on as I followed her into the kitchen. I looked at my wardrobe to make sure everything was in place and was surprised to see my T-shirt was drenched in sweat. I’d barely moved. She handed me an ice-cold water bottle from a cooler that was tucked under a counter near the small refrigerator. I gratefully accepted it and gulped half before I even tried talking to her.

  “Do you want to sit down?” Piper asked. Her voice held a twinge of loneliness that tugged at my chest. That feeling was more pronounced in my life since the crash and I knew it well. I found myself seeking out the kindness of strangers when I didn’t care before.

  “Sure, if you have the time.”

  “Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy for us, so it’s hard to get out of here at a decent time.”

  “Are you here alone? Is that safe?”

  “It’s fine. Plus, my apartment is just across the courtyard.” She’d pointed to her building when she gave me the brief tour of the neighborhood the other day.

  “That’s right. So convenient. And the building looks great.”

  “It is. It’s a cute little loft apartment.”

  “So, you work and play down here. Do you ever go downtown?” The table was small and I didn’t realize how close I was until I saw a tiny hint of green in her light brown eyes and a small scar near her left ear. I leaned back and crossed my arms, hoping to look chill.

  “It’s kind of too busy for me, but I do like to shop in Cherry Creek. Sometimes I go downtown for a concert,” she said.

  “What kind of music do you like?”

  “Alternative, jazz, big band,” she said.

  “Probably some new age stuff, too, huh? I mean, yoga and all.”