Serenity (Inevitable #5)(125)

Sasha made a mental note never to piss the fearsome Elena off, even as she tapped out another response.

Muchas gracias, Elena. Please take care of him for me. I'll feel better knowing that he has you to look out for him.

Elena's reply was quick and to the point.

OK, I'll do my best. Even tho I still want to punch him in the face.

As she continued to check her messages, Sasha was thrilled to see that Casey had sent her an email, complete with a photo of himself doing an arm balancing pose she'd taught him right before the breakup with Matthew. It touched her deeply that the boy continued to keep in touch, though he was careful not to mention his father or the situation with Hayley. She replied to his email cheerily, complimenting him on his progress, and offering up some advice on further mastering the pose.

The house was quiet, since all of her roommates were at work, or in Sadie's case school, and after showering and changing clothes, Sasha found herself at loose ends. She had to be back at the yoga studio in a couple of hours to meet a massage client, and then substitute teach a class, but felt oddly unambitious to do much until then. Normally she would read or do a little housework or gardening, but today she seemed to be suffering from an odd ennui.

It had been like this for her, she realized, for several weeks now, and she despaired that things were going to get better in a hurry. Listlessly, she ran a finger around the edges of the painting that Matthew had given her for Christmas, the one of a woodland fairy with gossamer wings and long, curly hair that he'd sworn looked just like her.

"I miss you," she whispered. "I didn't think it would hurt this much, that it would be so hard. I think about you all the time, and have to fight off the urge to call you. But it has to be this way, Matthew. No matter how much I love you, I can't be with you while you're living in the same house as her. My heart is already broken, and I'm pretty sure the rest of me would be, too, if I hadn't let you go."



       
         
       
        

Impatiently, she brushed away the tear that had trickled down her cheek, and resolutely headed out to the small garden at the back of the house to do some therapeutic weed pulling.





The new student in her class looked oddly familiar to Sasha, though she knew they had never met before. It wasn't very often, in fact, that she had new students in her classes, since her regulars made sure to reserve their spaces days and even weeks ahead of time. But on weekday mornings like this one, the front desk staff would usually hold back a few spots for walk-ins, particularly during the summer when tourists abounded in the city. Sasha assumed that the unfamiliar woman had managed to snag one of those spots.

The dark-haired woman looked to be in her late thirties or possibly early forties, and was both slender and very well groomed. She shrieked money, lots of it, given her perfect makeup and glossy hair, expensive yoga attire, and the diamond stud earrings that were nearly as large as the rings on her wedding finger. But while she was undeniably trim and fit, except perhaps for her overly generous bust, she seemed to be having some difficulty keeping up with the demanding pace and flow of the class. She was frequently out of breath, and took numerous breaks to mop her brow or drink from her water bottle. Discreetly, Sasha brought over two of the cork yoga blocks that many students used in their practice, at least for poses that they struggled with.

"Here," Sasha murmured in a low voice to the woman, placing one on each side of her mat. "This should help. Revolved triangle is a difficult pose, so using the blocks can definitely help you there."

The woman stiffened noticeably as Sasha gently tried to adjust her posture, and pulled away. "I'm fine," she spit out through clenched teeth. "And I don't need the blocks."

Sasha was taken aback by the woman's obvious hostility, and instantly removed her hands. "Of course," she agreed easily. "It's entirely up to you."

She moved away then, puzzled by the angry green-eyed glare the woman had directed towards her, and went to help another student - this one smilingly grateful for the adjustment. Once in a great while Sasha would encounter a student like this woman - usually someone who was fit and trim and attractive, but who unfortunately also possessed a huge ego that rebelled whenever someone suggested they weren't doing something quite right. In most of those cases, she would tactfully back away and give the student their space, unless they were attempting a pose that could cause them real physical harm if done incorrectly.

Sasha had plenty of other students who both needed and welcomed her assistance and suggestions, and she was kept so busy for the duration of the class that she didn't give the hostile woman a second thought. It wasn't until the class was over, and students began to roll up their mats and filter out of the studio that Sasha paid her much heed. There was still this niggling little thought at the back of her head that she knew this woman from somewhere, or had at least seen a photo of her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it - at least until the woman came right up to her, smiling smugly.