When I opened the door, just as I expected, he stood outside. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. “You ready?” he asked, turning his back already and heading down the hall. When he realized I wasn’t following behind him, he stopped and turned around.
God, he looked good today. He wore a black sleeveless tank, showing off his muscular forearms and tattoos, with a pair of jeans and combat boots.
No suit when my Dad wasn’t around. Interesting.
I was so busy looking at him that it took me a moment to realize his eyes had widened upon seeing me. I stood perfectly still as his eyes traveled down to my chest, my exposed abdomen, and the tiny yoga shorts I wore. Seeing that my feet were still bare, he raised an eyebrow and then let his eyes travel back up to my face. “Uhm…don’t you need some shoes or something? I thought you were going out to your, uhh…” His voice trailed off as he got distracted by my body again.
My heart hammered in my chest, an uncontrollable pleasure coming over me at the fact that finally, I had his attention.
“I think I’m going to stay in,” I said, opening my bedroom door wider. “I’m not sure I feel like being bothered with going out today. I can do my yoga right here and then head downstairs to get some studying done.”
Brady nodded. “Well, I’ll be downstairs. Call me if you need anything.”
My breath hitched in my throat. His leaving hadn’t been part of the plan. “Wait!” I said, thinking fast.
He turned back around, his eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”
“I, uhm…need my yoga mat.”
“Okay…”
“It’s downstairs. Can you bring it up for me?”
“Downstairs where?”
“In the exercise room.”
“Well, why don’t you just do your yoga in the exercise room then?”
“I…Because, I—” I sputtered, trying to answer the question quickly, but failing to come up with a logical explanation.
Brady shook his head and sighed. “Never mind. Be right back.”
As I watched him retreat down the hall and then down the staircase, I wanted to kick myself. I hated how desperate he made me feel and act. No wonder he had lost interest in me.
Yet, there was a ridiculous streak in me that just didn’t want to give up so easily. The way he’d stared at me in my yoga outfit was proof that he still found me visually appealing to some degree. It wasn’t much, but I was more than willing to work with it.
Using his absence as an opportunity to clean my room, I tossed dirty clothes out view, smoothed out the comforter on my bed, and then opened the blinds, permitting sunlight to stream through the windows.
When I heard him coming back up the stairs, I hastily sat down on the edge of my bed and began picking with my fingernails, not wanting him to know that I had just cleaned my room in record-breaking speed.
“Where do you want me to put this?” he asked, stopping in my doorway with the mat balanced on his shoulder.
“Just put it right there,” I said, pointing to the spot in front of my bed and trying my best to sound nonchalant. Once he set down the yoga mat, I stood up and stretched. His eyes roamed my body yet again.
Goodness, Autumn—you’re acting like such a slut, a voice in my head chastised. But I ignored the voice.
“Have you ever tried yoga?” I asked as I approached the mat. I kept my eyes glued to him, determined to engage him in conversation so that he wouldn’t try to leave again.
He shook his head. “No. Not my thing.”
I began to stretch on the mat. “Really? What is your thing then?”
“I’m more into cardio, weight-lifting. Stuff like that.”
“Yoga is really relaxing. You should give it a try sometime. It’s really easy too. See look—this is a basic yoga stretch.” I demonstrated for him, once again pleased to see his eyes roaming my body.
“Are you trying to get me to do yoga with you, Autumn?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.