“Okay.” She looks away from me and over the room again. “I’m now going to lead you through a guided visualization.”
Oh, what fresh hell is this?
I twist around and spy the exit, four rows behind me. Maybe I can slip out?
“I want you to imagine you’re walking along a beach.”
Ooh, I love the beach.
I turn back to the front and, without even trying, a picture of the beach appears in my mind. My eyes flutter closed, my shoulders relax down from my ears, and I settle back into the cushion. Maybe I will stay for this.
“It’s a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky,” she continues. “See the golden sand stretching before you, feel the spray from the ocean on your skin, taste the salty air.”
I let out a long, relieved sigh, feeling my limbs loosen. This is more like it. The beach I can do.
“The waves are lapping at the shore; cool and welcoming.”
Ahhh, bliss. My head lolls to one side, my body swaying ever so gently as all the stress leaves me. My breathing has become rhythmic and gentle, my whole being turning to jelly.
“…go into the light…”
Wait, what? I straighten up, trying to bring my focus back to her words.
“You’re enjoying the sunlight,” the instructor says. “You’re lying on the warm sand, enjoying the sun.”
Oh, right. I smile to myself, realizing I was just on the brink of falling asleep, her words becoming distorted as my mind floated off. I’m so tired after last night. Must not fall asleep. Must not…
My head lolls forward again, my shoulders droop, and before I know what’s happening my whole body collapses and I slide off my cushion, crashing into the back of the person in front of me.
“Shit,” I mutter, trying to clear the fuzz that’s gathered in my head as I scramble back onto my pillow. My face is hot as several people nearby turn to look, but that is nothing compared to the shock I feel when the person in front of me—a guy, I hadn’t even noticed—turns around.
“Myles?” The word comes out at normal volume before I can stop it, piercing through the silence in the room as if I’d yelled it through a megaphone.
The instructor hisses a loud “Shhh!” and I shrivel, clamping my lips together, trying to make sense of what’s happening. One second I’m on a beach drifting off to sleep, the next Myles is in front of me, eyebrows raised in surprise.
He lifts a finger to his lips, amusement glittering in his eyes as he registers my shock. His gaze lingers on me for an extra second before he turns back around, placing his hands on his knees and straightening his spine.
But I’m too rattled to focus now. What is he doinghere? He seems so out of place, like when you were a kid and you saw a teacher outside of school. I mean, seriously. Is he here tomeditate?
I shake my head, baffled. That is… unexpected.
Finally, the instructor wraps up the session and I couldn’t be more relieved. As soon as she gives the word, I spring to my feet and dash for the exit, breathing out when I’m finally back on the sidewalk in the real world.
That was surreal—and there’s no way in hell I’m going back. I don’t know what Geoff was thinking. I turn and trudge in the direction of my store, a few blocks away.
“Cat!” Myles appears beside me, that confident grin on his face as always. He’s in a black T-shirt and faded jeans, hair styled deliberately messy, and I can’t help but think again how odd it is that he was in there,meditating. Weird.
“Hey. Sorry about crashing into you. I fell asleep.” I give an embarrassed laugh.
He laughs too, but not in an unkind way. “Yeah, I’ve done that a few times. I’ve never seen you in there before. Was that your first class?”
“First and last.”
His smile drops. “Really? It’s normal to fall asleep sometimes.”
I shrug, unwilling to admit that’s not the reason I’m not going back; it’s because my stupid brain wouldn’t shut up for more than three seconds and it was excruciating.
“What are you up to now?” Myles asks. “Want to grab a coffee?”
