course there is, sweetheart.” He flicked her chin with his finger and she barely heard whatever answer he gave. Strike three. Do not touch me unless I give you the signal to do so. She definitely had not given him the signal. She never was the touchy-feely type.
Her phone buzzed and she read the text from Winter saying that she was ready. She glanced back at Luke, wondering if he had any idea that her sister’s text had just saved him from a few of her choice words. Since she still had to see Luke for all the wedding stuff, she was glad she’d gotten the message.
“I have to go,” she said, standing up from the stool.
“We should go out sometime.”
“No, thanks.”
“Maybe you want to reconsider.” He gave her what she assumed was his sexy face. She wasn’t feeling it.
“Hmm, no need. My answer will still be no. You, on the other hand, will find some other poor soul to spit lines to.” She laughed to mask the jab.
“You’ll be sorry,” he yelled after her playfully.
“Doubt it.” She was glad he didn’t seem bitter about it. Probably the only thing about him that she actually liked was that he didn’t get bent out of shape too easily.
She said her goodbyes to the entire room, trying to flee Jaleen’s condo before any of the guys decided they wanted to flirt some more. Right before she was out of the room, she noticed Ajay glance at his phone and assumed he’d just heard from Taheim. He glanced at her and smiled. She thought about the words she’d heard him say when he was talking to Jaleen. On one hand, she was glad that he found her attractive but wasn’t acting on it. On the other hand, she was dying to know what on earth was making him hold back.
Of all the workouts her sister had decided to try before the wedding, hot yoga was by far Autumn’s favorite.
“That’s it, ladies and gentleman. Take a deep breath and exhale.”
Autumn maintained her tree pose as she concentrated on her breathing and listened to the instructor. As usual, she had to ignore the grunts from Danni and Winter, who didn’t enjoy hot yoga nearly as much as she did. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that the temperature in the room was currently set to ninety degrees, or if it was because both the women liked to chat when they worked out, and yoga definitely did not allow that. Regardless, Autumn knew they continued to go only because she had fallen in love with it.
As they moved into another pose and she heard another groan from the ladies, she inwardly laughed as she reflected on the time she’d convinced them to try Bikram yoga. Bikram yoga was slightly different from hot yoga because the poses were more complex and the room had to be at 105 degrees at all times. After one class, Danni and Winter hadn’t been able to walk without wobbling for a few days.
“Now let’s move into our cooldown.”
This was her favorite part of the entire class. She did some of her best thinking during the end of class when her body was in full-relaxation mode. She wished that she’d discovered yoga when she was in high school and college. She’d heard about it, but never tried it before. Had she known she would feel so much more content after an hour of turning her body in poses she never thought possible, she would have possibly entertained a career as an instructor.
There weren’t too many things in her life that made her feel normal. It wasn’t that she wanted to be like everyone else, but sometimes she tired of being the oddball. The opinionated woman who didn’t like weddings, who used to hide just how smart she was for fear of not being accepted. Social gatherings weren’t her thing. She enjoyed talking to people, but sometimes it just felt as if people didn’t enjoy talking to her. She was awkward. She knew it. She embraced it. But every now and then she wondered what it would be like to not feel more different than everybody else.
“That’s all, folks. See you next week.”
Just like always at the end of their hot yoga classes, she already missed the freeing feeling she exhibited for that hour. Luckily, she had enough DVDs to do yoga in the comfort of her home.
“I’m starving,” Winter said as she stretched out her body. “You ladies down for some lunch?”
Autumn and Danni both nodded their head in agreement. Sunday was the only day that Bare Sophistication was closed, which meant it was the only day the three of them could have lunch together. They had a great staff, but usually one of the three of them would be in the store at all times.
They ordered sandwiches and salads at a nearby café and grabbed a table outside to enjoy the weather.
“I really am sorry about Friday night,” Winter said before taking a bite of her salad.
“It’s okay,” Autumn replied. “Jaleen was really hospitable.”
“I bet he was.” Winter glanced at Danni and they shared a knowing smile.
“You both know he flirts with any woman he meets.”
“That’s not what our look was about, but yes, Jaleen is a flirt,” Danni said with a laugh. “I still don’t see how he thinks any woman would take him seriously.”
“Probably because women don’t make him work for it,” Winter added. “Not like I made Taheim work for it.”
“Girl, please,” Autumn said. “You didn’t make him work that hard.”
Winter turned up an eyebrow at her statement. “I guess you’re right if you’re comparing it with the way that you are making Ajay work.”
“I’d have to be interested to make him work for anything.” She ignored Danni’s giggle.
“Who are you kidding?” Winter gave her a look of disbelief. “We already know you’re attracted to him, so I don’t know why you’d think we’d believe that.”
“Yeah, he may be attractive, but he’s not my type.”
“Since when is tall, dark and handsome not your type?”
“Or muscular and successful with a deep powerful voice?” Danni added. “I’m missing what’s not attractive...”
“Then, why don’t you date him?” she said defensively.
“Sweetie, I don’t date men that my friends like or who like my friends.”
“You guys are leaving out important facts.”
“Like what?”
Autumn sighed before continuing. “Like the fact that we don’t really get along.”
“Just like Taheim and I didn’t get along? Look how that turned out.”
“That’s different. You guys started off with that terrible blind date, otherwise, things might have been different between you initially. With Ajay, he may be attracted to me, but we don’t understand each other. I’m a bit of a loner sometimes and he doesn’t know the
