It’s thoughtful.
It’s expensive.
It’sbetter.
Maybe he’s just nice.
Or maybe—I stop the thought before it forms.
Maybe he knew you wouldn’t love a group class.
Maybe he made it easier.
Safer.
I push off the edge of the tub and stand.
That’s enough.
I smooth my outfit and walk back out.
What have I got to lose?
Beth is almost done setting up.
Soren is nowhere to be seen. Just like him to turn my life upside down and then disappear.Jerk.
She looks up and smiles. “Ready to go?”
I shrug and smile back. “Why not? Let’s do it.”
The session starts immediately.
Within minutes, I understand why he chose her.
She reads me.
Not generally, as if I was a cookie cutter client. My physiology. Maybe even my mental capacity. Where I hesitate. Where I overcompensate. Where I’m stronger than I think.
Her hands adjust me with confidence, correcting angles I didn’t know were wrong, shifting small things that change everything.
My breathing changes.
My posture locks in.
Muscles I forgot about switch on.
She pushes me right to the edge of what I can hold, then pulls me back just enough to keep me there.
It’s exact.
It’s addictive.
I stop thinking about anything else.
At some point, Soren appears.
I don’t hear him. Ifeelhim, the atmosphere shifting in the room.