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“You practice plenty.”
“You just caught me falling out of Tree pose, Arsen. TREE POSE. That’s, like, the first yoga position they teach you. It’s just standing on one leg, and I fell.”
“Because it’s three in the morning.”
But I’m already talking over him, assuming another position I’ll probably fall out of. “And just look at my Cobra pose. The angle of my neck is all wrong. I can feel my muscles straining. That’s not supposed to happen.”
“I’ve seen you do that pose before.”
“Yeah, back when I was young and agile?—”
“Last week?”
“Back when I had hope!” I throw my hands up. “But look at me now! I’ve been fooling myself. I’m washed up. A fraud.”
Arsen smooths his hands across my tense shoulders. “You’re spiraling.”
“I’m thinking clearly!” I fire back, brushing him off. “I’m not ready for this. I should just postpone my test. Maybe I should take the course again. Or maybe I should give it up, and get a new dream. A safe dream. Like, I dunno… stamp collecting. Knitting. Underwater basket weaving.”
I’m pacing back and forth across the room when Arsen snatches me around the waist again and pins me to his chest. His green eyes are sleepy, but his grip is sure. “Don’t take this the wrong way, beautiful, but you’re nuts.”
I slap his arms away. “You’re the one who’s nuts. You thought I could do this.”
“Because you can. I’ve watched you practice for months now,” he replies calmly. “You’ve been working towards this test for years. You’re ready.”
I bite my lip, wincing as I lean to my other leg.
Arsen catches the movement. “The problem is that your hip is giving you trouble.”
“… Maybe a little bit.”
“That’s because you’re stressing out.” He palms my hip, kneading the joint. “That hip is your mood gauge. As soon as you’re stressed, it flares up. So let’s get you unstressed. Show me some positions.”
“What?”
He squeezes my butt. “You heard me. You’re way too in your head to view things clearly, so I’m going to view it for you. Get into some of your twisty positions, and I’ll tell you if they’re satisfactory.”
“You’re not trained for this.”
He nudges me towards my yoga mat. “When it comes to calming you down, I’m an expert. Go ahead.”
“I… Okay. Fine,” I sigh, turning to my mat. Giving in is easier than arguing with him sometimes. It’s like debating a brick wall. “Let me start with Warrior pose. It’s good for opening your hips.”
I stretch one leg in front of me, leaning deep into the aching joint. Though, with Arsen’s eyes raking over my body, I hardly feel the pain in my hip.
I lean into the stretch, bending to touch my toes as I straighten my legs. Then, slowly, I twist at the waist and reach one arm towards the ceiling. “This is Triangle pose.”
“It looks fantastic.” Arsen’s eyes dip to my chest. “How does it feel?”
“Not horrible,” I admit. “Better than anything else has for the last hour.”
I put both hands to the mat and switch positions, pressing my hips towards the ceiling.
“What’s this one?” Arsen growls from behind me.
“Adho Mukha Svanasana.” If I make a little extra show of wiggling my ass in the air, I’ll never tell. “Otherwise known as ‘Downward Dog.’”
Arsen circles me slowly, moving closer with every pass. Finally, he steps behind me, his hands coming to rest lightly on my waist.
