Splendor(101)
He pinched her bare buttock – hard. “Not here, no. Besides, I think I’ll need some reinforcement before I’m ready to go again – an extra-large protein shake, a couple of handfuls of vitamins, the biggest, rarest steak the restaurant has available. And that nap I mentioned to you earlier – I’ll definitely need that whether you do or not.”
Tessa ran a finger over his firm mouth. “You seem to be going to an awful lot of trouble for me.”
He nuzzled his face into her cleavage. “Trust me, darling. It’s the best sort of trouble.”
Chapter Fifteen
February
Sasha Fonseca glanced up from the conversation she’d been having with one of her students as half a dozen others filtered inside the already packed yoga studio. It was nearly time for her Sunday morning class to begin, and the popularity of her grueling Vinyasa practice never ceased to amaze her.
She nudged the petite woman standing next to her. “Isn’t that your friend over there? The pretty blonde in the purple top? You brought her to class with you a couple of times.”
Julia looked in the same direction that Sasha was pointing, and was more than a little taken aback to see who her teacher was talking about. “Yes, that’s definitely Tessa. I had no idea she was going to be here today. I’d better go say hi.”
Because the room was so crowded, Julia didn’t dare move her mat for fear she wouldn’t be able to find another spot. As it was, Tessa seemed to have nabbed one of the very last spaces, stuck back in a corner of the jammed room. She looked more than a little flustered as she rolled out her mat, her cheeks flushed and wisps of blonde hair escaping her rather messy braid.
“Hey, it is you,” greeted Julia, dropping down into a squatting position. “I didn’t know you were planning to come today. You should have called me and I would have picked you up.”
Tessa’s gaze flew up to hers in alarm, and she looked almost guilty. “Oh, Julia, hi. Um, sorry, I – I was running really late and didn’t even know if I’d be able to make it here in time. And I thought you were in New York.”
Julia nodded. “I was, trying on wedding gowns and going quietly insane finding a bridesmaid dress that my sister would actually approve of. But I got in late yesterday and really needed some yoga to decompress.”
Tessa seemed unnaturally distracted and merely nodded, offering up a nervous smile. Tactfully, Julia patted her on the arm and stood. “Well, class is about to begin so I’ll catch you afterwards, okay?”
As tough as the class was, demanding her powers of concentration be at their peak, Julia still couldn’t help but wonder what had brought Tessa here this morning. She knew her friend was on a really tight budget, and was surprised that Tessa had been able to afford the class. SF Flow was pretty much the top yoga studio in the city, and the cost of even a single class was pricey.
At Sasha’s instructions, everyone turned to face the back of the room for the next sequence. Julia glanced in Tessa’s direction, noticing for the first time the stylish new yoga apparel the blonde was wearing. The gray cropped pants and purple racerback tunic were from the new Prana collection the studio had just received in less than two weeks ago. Julia frowned, knowing that the outfit would have cost well over a hundred dollars, and recalled how Tessa had fretted over spending too much on her Christmas party dress.
Julia temporarily forgot about Tessa as the class got progressively tougher. During the time she’d spent in New York, she had admittedly overindulged in food and alcohol, and hadn’t been able to squeeze in even one yoga class. Combined with her jet lag, she was really feeling the burn as Sasha pushed her students harder and harder. Sweat poured down her forehead and trickled along her spine, and she kept telling herself it was good for her, to detox all the poisons she’d ingested on her trip. With each sun salutation, each arm balance, and all the twisting poses, she visualized making up for every bite of cake, every spoonful of cream sauce, and – damn her – every shot of tequila that Lauren had dared her to bolt.
By the end of the ninety minute class, Julia felt wrung out, but definitely in a good way, and resolved to drink a ton of water, and subsist on salads, grilled fish and veggies for the next week. Especially if she hoped to fit into the gorgeous Badgley Mishka wedding gown she’d decided on.
She hurried over to Tessa, anxious to chat her up a bit. But the blonde was already rolling up her yoga mat – which Julia recognized as a Manduka, the most expensive brand the studio sold – and stuffing it into a chic purple-print carry bag.
“Hey, do you want to get coffee?” offered Julia. “Nathan should be waiting for me outside and I know he’d love for you to join us. We can give you a ride home later.”