“Those straight boys have no idea of the education they’re about to get.” He says as he shakes his head in amusement. I give him a wickedly smug smile.
“Right?”
Everyone eventually heads home. Tomorrow is the start of the two a day practices for training camp for Liam and Walker, and my first class for their team, so we made it an early evening. Now it’s just me and Ace. It feels like we’ve been together forever. We just seem to click so well. He follows me around as I get ready for bed like he’s been doing it for years, not hours. I’m already so very much in love with my handsome boy.
When I get into bed for the night, and he stays seated at the end of the bed, my heart gives a painful lurch. I decide that I’m a “dogs in the bed at night person” no matter what his prior life has been like. I call him to me, and he bounds joyfully onto the bed, snuggling up against my back like we’ve always been together. I settle in, and he snuggles up to me, a warm, comforting weight against my back.
The fear and anxiety that’s been a constant companion since the attempted break-in has finally dissipated. Having Ace with me makes me feel safe, and sleep is easy to find tonight.
This morning has been a disaster! I was almost late getting to the arena because I didn’t know what to do with Ace this morning.It’s August, and it’s way too hot to leave him in the car. So, I just left him at home while he stared woefully at me while I walked out the door. It was awful, and I almost cried. Unfortunately, Ace has to be a problem for future Madison, because I can’t be late for my first class for the Wolves.
Kenji pulls up just as I get to the doors, and I wait so we can walk in together. We’re here early, so we have plenty of time to talk through the program I have planned for today before class starts. Damon, looking every bit the silver fox he is, stops by in his workout gear to greet us as we’re getting the room set up. I get a front-row seat to his man crush on Kenji, and it’s both adorable and hilarious. Of course, Kenz handles it so well. He’s so good at dealing with this kind of thing and not making it weird.
Damon sets up his own mat in the back. I love that he’s not afraid to get down in the trenches with his players.
The expressions on the player’s faces when they spot Kenji are just too entertaining. Damon is clearly not the only one with a man crush. I’m going to tease him endlessly about it later. Damon’s idea about including him is a winner, and I can guarantee that it’s helping with attendance by the number of last-minute arrivals. I hope it inspires at least some players to continue.
Liam and my brother are in the front row. I made them promise, upon pain of death, that they would keep Walker’s and my relationship to themselves. It’s important to me that people accept me on my own merit, even if they figure it out, eventually. We do have the same last name.
I give everyone a few extra minutes to get settled before Kenji and I move to our mats. Kenji’s going to demonstrate the poses while I walk around and check everyone’s form.
I introduce us, and of course, Kenji’s name gets a burst of applause. He takes it in stride. I love how he supports mebecause he makes sure everyone knows I am in charge, and in this, he is my student.
I get everyone started with breathwork. Walking around and helping some players adjust their posture. It’s clear that a few players are not strangers to yoga. To my utter surprise, Liam is one of them. Walker, not so much. He’s always been quick to dismiss yoga as “my thing.” Am I feeling smug that I’m teaching my brother yoga? Yes. Yes, I am. Maybe a bit vindicated, too. There are a few at the back who are really struggling. I spend quite a bit of time back there, helping them adjust their forms correctly.
I move to adjust the hips of a player in downward dog pose when I hear a dark-haired man at the end of the row say.
“Check it out. She’s into me. She can’t stop touching me.”
“Cause you’re doing it wrong!” his buddy snarks back.
“Nah, man, she’s totally into me.” I make a note of who it is. This is not my first rodeo with entitled assholes, but it is the first time I can’t kick one out of my studio. That’s okay. There’s more than one way to handle this.
I move up towards Kenji and tell him to swap with me, asking him to pay particular attention to the guys in the last row at the end, as he may need to adjust their poses. He studies my face for a moment, then winks, and we trade places.
I try not to smile when I think about what their reaction will be to Kenji helping instead of me. People like that make it so damn easy to fuck with. I hide my grin as I instruct everyone to move into warrior pose. I watch my brother struggle a bit and more to adjust his back leg. He’s doing much better the more poses we do. Walker’s always been good at every athletic endeavor he tries. For once, I’m not jealous of his ability.
Liam is shocking the hell out of me, though. Not only is he doing well, but he seems to be very familiar with all the poses. I haven’t had to correct this form once. If anything, watching himflow smoothly between the poses is pretty damn hot. He has an innate grace that I’ve never noticed before. I try to think back to when I last saw him skate. It’s been a few years since I’ve paid particular attention to him when he’s on the ice. Maybe it’s time to take another look. In the meantime, I’m just going to ogle him a bit. No one needs to know. I look up, and he catches me checking him out. He smirks and winks. Damn. Well, he clearly knows. I brazen it out and wink back. He startles and almost loses his balance. Now I smirk.
Take that, Liam Ferguson.
I move everyone into the next pose. Talking them through the forms. I’m feeling pretty smug about my ability to make him lose his composure. I mean, that’s only fair. He’s definitely fucking with mine.
Yes, but he doesn’t know that, so it’s hardly fair.
Here I am, checking him out every chance I get. Which he then finds amusing. Wonderful.
Quit thinking about hot guys in the middle of class, Madison!
I force my gaze away from Liam, scanning the room to see what Kenji is up to as I lead everyone into the next pose. I notice he’s over by the dark-haired guy who was whispering about me. He keeps adjusting the guy’s hips for him. The guy looks totally annoyed. I look away, holding in my laughter. I’m not sad about it.
As we get toward the end of class, I notice that a lot of the guys are struggling a bit. This is the hardest part. These guys are in amazing physical condition, but yoga is a different type of exercise, and if you aren’t used to it, especially the flexibility of it, it can be a tough workout. The fun part of this is that I am seeing varying degrees of respect in their expressions. Yoga will help increase not only their flexibility but also their balance andstability. I’m anxious to see how this translates into improved performance on the ice. That’ll be the actual test.
The class ends, and to no one’s surprise, most of the players make a beeline for Kenji. I am surprised when a few of them seek me out to say thank you and to tell me they enjoyed the class. Liam introduces one guy as their main goalie, Reid Gauthier. I recognize him to be a more experienced participant. He’s particularly interested in poses that help with hip flexibility, a must for any goalie. We exchange contact information, and I offer to put together a group of poses with hip flexibility as a focus. It’s so gratifying to be part of this program. My favorite thing about my career is that I get to help people improve their health and wellbeing. There’s nothing I’d rather do.
When I see the dark-haired guy making his way toward me, I pull Liam off to the side like we’re having a private conversation. I don’t want to give that jerk any kind of encouragement. Guys like that think a smile is an offer of sex. I’m avoiding him at all costs.
“So how do you think it went?” I ask him when he gives me a questioning look. His face brightens, as if he’s thrilled that I asked his opinion. It makes me feel all warm and gooey inside.
