“I promise you that I will take extra care with you and your heart, Baby.”
I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her gently as the mist from the waterfall sprayed us. We were standing on the side where the wind wasn’t blowing to avoid the mist, so it caught us by surprise, but didn’t stop our kiss.
Deep inside, I thought that little mist was a sign from my grandfather that I was finally on the right path in life. I refused to mess things up with Baby. I would rather rip out my own heart than cause a minor bruise to hers.
12
TEGAN
FIRST DATES – ONE WEEK LATER
“Slowly transition from downward dog into cobra,” Palmer instructed.
The sun beat down on us from overhead, and my body ached from head to toe. I felt that I was getting out of shape, and I didn’t like that one bit. What should have been easy movements for me placed a slight strain on my body.
We all moved in formation in sync as one. This was the advanced class, and almost all the class participants had been working out together, under Palmer’s instruction, for two years. Some of them had come in a year ago, but we all knew each other pretty well.
She called out a few other positions before she finally instructed us to transition into child’s pose. When she ended the class, I continued to stretch while everyone else gathered their things.
“You good, Baby?” she asked, kneeling beside me.
I stood, grabbed my yoga mat, rolled it up, and wiped my face with my hand towel before I responded.
“Couldn’t you have gone easy on us out here?”
She laughed. “Honey, it wasn’t everyone, just you.”
“Whatever.”
“You’ve been missing practices, Baby.”
“I’ve been working, honey. This money ain’t gonna make itself. Besides, the bakery’s been doing very well.”
I typically practiced yoga five days a week, but since the bakery opened, I had only attended one or two classes each week. Before the bakery opened, if I didn’t feel up to going out to the class, I would still practice at home.
“Honey, please. I know that this isn’t just about the bakery. Run that game on someone else.”
My mouth dropped open, and I stared at her in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Only that you’ve had late nights with a certain someone. That’s why you’re tired.”
“No, it’s because of the bakery. I don’t get out of there until eight or nine at night sometimes, and I’m back in there by five or six in the morning.”
“You might be leaving at nine or ten, but you’re not going to bed until well after two or three in the morning.”
“Can’t tell some folks anything,” I muttered under my breath as we headed toward the parking lot.
Palmer laughed. “I’m just saying. Aren’t you two supposed to be going on your first official date tonight? Not one as part of the welcoming committee.”
“Yes,” I stated, swooning. “I’m so excited about our date. I can’t wait to see what he has planned.”
“Y’all have been dating every night. I’m just glad y’all stopped that welcoming committee act.”
“Not the same,” I replied, holding a finger up. “He was just escorting me home, making sure that he fed me, kept me company, and put me to bed. Those aren’t dates.”
“Girl, please. Those are dates. Did you end up with your ass in the air, or did he have his face planted between your thighs?”
I felt my cheeks grow warm as I shoved her in the shoulder. We stopped between our cars, having parked next to one another. “Not yet.”
