He shook his head. “When I joined the navy, my mother sold it. And the place in the city, too. She moved to Phoenix for a few years until she knew where I’d be posted, and then she followed me to San Diego. She lives in La Jolla, so not too close forcomfort.”
“Are you an onlychild?”
“Yeah.”
“Metoo.”
He kissed her temple. “Somethingincommon.”
“Along with our love of brownies and oral sex. This has been quite the afternoon of revelations,” she said lightly. A little push against the seriousness, and he didn’t mind that. He was used to people making a big, emotional deal out of both his career and his personal connection to 9/11. He appreciated the kind thoughts, but overwhelming big reactions didn’t foster healthypersonalconnections.
He didn’t want a chick to hook up with him because she felt sorry for him,either.
He wanted Priya’s honest empathy. Her arms around his neck as she asked about his father would forever set the bar a littlehigher.
After slowly makingtheir way back to camp, they went to afternoon yoga, which was lovely. When it was over, Priyalay on her mat with her eyes closed. She needed to find a new yoga teacher in the city. Every time she came back to this practice she had grown up with at home, she was instantlygrounded.
It helped when the instructor was a true yoga enthusiast, like the Camp Firefly Falls instructors were. Essa, the instructor working this week, had even travelled to India, a definite point in herfavor.
Beside her, Grady’s breathing changed from the steady calm of lying down to a quicker inhale. He was going to get up now. She wasn’t ready to, though. She wanted to stay in this momentforages.
Don’t worry about him, she told herself. She took another deep inhale, three slow beats, then let it out for an even longer count. Five that time. She’d try six on the next exhale. Slow,steady…
She listened again for Grady, and he wasn’t there. He hadn’t said anything, though. Hadn’t interrupted her. She smiled as she inhaled again. And out, six, five, four, three,two,one…
She wasn’t sure how much time passed before she slowly came up to center. When she opened her eyes, she was alone in the room, except for the instructor, who was sitting quietly against thefarwall.
“Feel better?” sheasked.
“Yes.Thankyou.”
“Your boyfriend is just outside,” Essa said with asmile.
He’s not my boyfriend, Priya wanted to say. “Thanks,” is what actually came out of her mouth, and sheblushed.
“See youtomorrow?”
“Definitely.”
When she pushed through the door, she saw Grady right away. He was leaning against a tree, watchingfor her, and the second she stepped outside, he straightened up andwaved.
Her heart leapt. Ah, crap. She really wanted Grady to be her boyfriend. This was high school level ofadoration.
Well he does have a talented tongue and an adorable dedication to making you happy. Right now,thisweek.
They should really talk about the radio silence. But she didn’t want to bring itup when they’d just had an awesome afternoon,either.
Maybe afterdinner.
“That was great,” she said as she stopped beside him. “And now I’m famishedagain.”
“Good thing it’s dinner time, then.” He offered her his hand. “I won’t order anything with garlic or onionstonight.”
She laughed. “You could, you know. That was a funny move last night, but neither of those thingsoffend me. Kind of staples of myeverydaydiet.”
“Excellent. Because those mushrooms werekiller.”
She shook her head and leaned into his side as he grinned downather.
