“Oh okay,” Shane put his hands in a prayer position. “If you need to step out, please let us know.”
Antonio turned to Jackie and gave her a wink. And for some reason, that wink made her stomach flutter. All she’d eaten that day was a fruit platter. She was probably hungry…that was all.
“We’ll demonstrate a few deep belly breaths to open up your airways and regulate your nervous system,” Locust said. She and Shane sat on adjoining mats, cross-legged. Soft music played through speakers hidden amongst the foliage.
“Remember, breathe from your diaphragms and out through your nostrils. Let’s place our hands on our bellies and begin.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe people paid thousands of dollars to learn how to do something that was an involuntary bodily function. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Antonio, eyes closed with his large hands on his belly as he inhaled and exhaled.
Jackie smirked. He was always so good at taking instructions.Shit, was that a sex thought?She shut her eyes tight. Goodness gracious. This is why she didn’t meditate. Her mind wandered to things she had no business thinking about in the first place.
“As you breathe,” Shane said in a soft voice, “we will walk around to correct anything we see that could be impeding your flow.”
Jackie closed her eyes, attempting to concentrate on the soothing music, which was actually nice. It reminded her of her favorite day spa back home. She made a mental note to make an appointment for a massage. At an overpriced place like this, surely they had a massage therapist with a perfect touch.
Her mental ramblings were interrupted when she heard giggling. Jackie opened her eyes to see Locust with her hands on Antonio’s shoulders, kneading them gently.
“You’re doing great, Mr. Steele. Just relax your shoulders a bit more as you breathe. There, very nice. Very nice.”
Jackie watched Locust’s bony hands copping a generous feel of Antonio’s traps.Guess some of us are getting to the massage part right now. Homegirl wasn’t even hiding her delight in touching him. Her hands were running up and down, taking inventory of every muscle, vein, and divot. Jackie could feel herself gritting her teeth.
“Ms. Miles?”
Jackie looked up to see Shane standing near her. She quickly closed her eyes, attempting to refocus on her deep breathing. But before she could get back into the groove, she felt Shane sit behind her, his legs sprawled on either side of her thighs.
“Ms. Miles, let me help you adjust your posture. You seem a bit slumped as you breathe.” Shane placed one hand on Jackie’s back and the other under her boobs. He leaned closer as he talked. “You’re a bit top-heavy, which can make alignment difficult.”
Jackie’s eyes snapped back open.Did this fool just say my tits are too big to breathe?She tried to wriggle her way out of his grasp, but it was no use. Shane had a vice grip on her, straightening her back. She inhaled and coughed. Good lord, the man smelled like fresh dirt and hot dog water. Jackie would bet money that this man used crystals and rocks instead of antiperspirant. Jackie had never understood why holistic equaled musty. It reminded her of Bronwyn’s foray into making natural deodorant from limes. She’d been so funky in that phase, it made everyone’s eyes water. And this was ten times worse. Jackie’s eyes were burning like wildfire.
“There, I think you’re good, Ms. Miles. Continue breathing just like that,” Shane said as he finally got up and moved on to another participant. Jackie let out the breath she was holding, thankful for his scent to be out of her vicinity. If Jackie wasn’t so brown, she’d have been a nice shade of green.
After ten more minutes of solo breathing, Locust struck a triangle to refocus the room. “Now that you’ve learned to harness your own energy, it is time that we apply these principles with your partners to facilitate synchronization of energy, essence, and being. Shane and I will demonstrate.”
Shane and Locust faced each other, each placing their right hand on the other’s heart, and their left hand on top of their partner’s right.
“During this, we want you to feel the rhythm of your partner’s heartbeat,” Locust explained. “Regulate your breathing. Focus on becoming one being, one soul. As you do this, keep your eyes on your partner. Look deeply into their soul’s window.”
Jackie swallowed, her throat tightening. Touching Antonio this way seemed too close, too intimate. And she’d had sex with him. She’d done ungodly, unspeakably sexy things to him. But this was too raw. Too open, like exposing a wound that still hadn’t healed.
They turned their mats to face each other. Even sitting down, Antonio towered over her. He gave her a wry smile. “I promise I won’t snatch your soul, Jack.” He wiggled his fingers at her. He was so damn silly.
Shane struck the triangle to signal the beginning of the exercise. “First, extend your hand to touch your partner’s heart.” Jackie followed Shane’s instructions, but her arms were so much shorter than Ant’s, she was straining to touch him. Still, she could feel the slight thump of his heart under her fingers.
Antonio inched closer to Jackie, pressing his hand just below her collarbone. A slight shiver went down her arms, making her flesh pebble—even though it was damn-near 400 degrees like Juvenile in that room.
Shane struck the triangle again. “Now, place your opposite hand on top of your partner’s hand.” Jackie and Antonio followed the instruction. With Antonio’s hand over hers, over his heart, it was as if Jackie was hit with a burst of electricity. Her right arm was pulsing like it was directly inside of Antonio’s beating heart. She was flooded with sensations—sadness, happiness, guilt, and something else. Something that felt like…yearning. Jackie closed her eyes, trying to shake the feeling, but her mind began to race. Memories of their weekend together ten years ago came rushing back. The first time he’d kissed her. The feeling of his lips on her inner thighs. The first orgasm she’d had with him. Every shared laugh. Every smile.
Jackie opened her eyes, aware that they were slightly misty. She stared at Antonio, whose eyes were soft. She tried to remove her hand from his heart, but Antonio pressed her palm harder against his chest.
“Don’t,” he whispered.
She pushed the tips of her nails slightly against his skin, not punishing, just feeling the cotton of his tank under her fingertips. At the same time, Antonio moved his other hand a little lower, so that it was right over Jackie’s rapidly beating heart.
Jackie didn’t move a muscle. She tried her best to remember the breathing techniques they’d just learned, but it useless. The air was being sucked out of her. She looked up into Antonio’s dark brown eyes as flecks of the late-afternoon sun hit his irises, reflecting a hint of amber. Had she ever just looked at him like this? Had his eyes always been that color? They were astonishingly beautiful.He’s beautiful. Warmth spread all the way to Jackie’s fingertips.
Shane hit the triangle again. “Our time is up. I know! The minutes seemed to fly by.”
Jackie blinked, returning to the present. Quickly, she and Antonio removed their hands, and Jackie glanced at her smartwatch. Nearly thirty minutes had passed from the last time she checked. How was that even possible? It was as if no time had elapsed.
