Okay, bad idea even thinking about flirting with my brother’s best friend… Very, very bad.
You’d think after months of trying to forget about our sexy night, I’d have it down pat by now. But making peace with it still evades me. It’s like I’m physically trying, but my brain just doesn’t want to let it go.
“That’s good to know,” I manage, my mind proving its point by flashing the image of his half-naked body across my eyes from this morning. I guess it’s my fault for knocking on his bedroom door. What did I expect?
And also, did I really refer to his manhood asJJ Junior?Facepalm.
I feel Jay’s eyes on me again, with an amused look dancing around on his face.
I realize now that I may have just sighed out loud.
“Penny for your thoughts,Sweetheart?”
I shrug any thoughts off as I pull the plug out of the sink and grab the dish towel so I can dry my hands. “Just thinking about my day today, I have a bit to do before I leave next week. And don’t forget our dance lesson later.”
“How could I forget?” he muses. It was my idea for us to have a quick lesson or two for my brother’s wedding coming up in December, mainly so I don’t fall flat on my face and be a laughingstock on the dance floor.
I may have mastered the slow, sultry sway recently with Jay, but that hardly means I’m an expert at couples dancing.
Anyway, the lessons ought to take my mind away from the fact I quit my job a few weeks ago back home and haven’t told my parents yet. In my spare time I’ve been shooting some videos for the new online app I’ve been creating for my yoga and Pilates classes, it’s aptly calledJust Jade Pilates and Yoga,a combination of pilates and yoga routines. I’m only in the beginning stages, but I hope to have it up and running soon.
I’ve also been thinking about studying for one-on-one yoga therapy sessions, something I’ve always been interested in, especially for people who have had loss and trauma in their lives. It’s pretty deep and going back to study would be full on, but someday I’d like to make it happen.
Fitness has been my life for the past few years now. I’ve been slowly building my business from the ground up while working as a teacher in an elementary school in California.
When I finished my degree in teaching, I started working for a school right out of college in San Diego. Later, when I moved to LA, I continued teaching, and though I love the kids and the experience it’s given me, I knew it wasn’t my life’s passion. I think I was trying to make things fit because I spent so much time and energy on my degree, when what I really wanted to be doing was more aligned to fitness.
It wasn’t until some friends convinced me that I should do my yoga teacher training because it’s something I’ve always been passionate about. Yoga, Pilates and fitness were always something I’d loved doing from a young age. I just never realized I could turn it into a career.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been building things up slowly, working in different gyms and yoga centers, doing classes before and after work and on weekends. I’ve been trying to get as much experience as I can over the years. I stuck it out with my teaching job, but the pressure from the school board and all the politics involved in it just became too much, it’ssomething I never realized would stress me out. It was starting to take its toll. So I quit.
I mean, I gave notice and everything, the last time I was here in Seattle I was on my last trip for work for a teaching conference. My parents still don’t know. And I don’t think they’ll be mad, they’ve always been supportive of my dreams, I guess I just don’t want to disappoint them.
They know how busy I’ve been and how hard I’ve been working in my job, and doing classes on the side, but I think they see yoga as more of a hobby.
But since dating Aaron, a player in the South Bay Lakers G League who is making a name for himself, my on-line presence on social media kinda blew up. That was pretty crazy, and not always the good kind of attention that you want, but unfortunately it comes with the territory of being online.
This second trip to Seattle was to clear my head and talk to Beth before I let my parents know the deal. Now I’m a free agent, I can more or less do what I want.
When I gave up my teaching job, leaving Los Angeles those few months back, I invested in a good camera and equipment. Since then, I have just been focusing on filming videos of different class styles for my app that I’m trying to launch. It’s been fun and exciting, and a world away from school life. Something I don’t intend to go back to, even though it was a valuable learning thing for me.
It’s like a breath of fresh air being my own agent. I’ve only just gotten to the point where I can invest in my own app, and in myself, but I’m fully immersed in bringing it all to life.
“It sucks you have to go so soon,” Jay says. “But I’m glad you could come out here again.”
I lean on the counter and sigh, biting my lip and wondering if I should tell him what’s been going on with me. I know I should,maybe before I head back to face my folks next week. “Tell me about it, I’ve really enjoyed getting out of town again.”
A cute smile pulls at his lips and I’d pay more than a penny for his thoughts. I want to tell him what I’ve been keeping a secret for two months, but we’ll get to that. “I’ll go shower and get changed,” he says.
Taking his coffee mug with him, I watch him slide off the stool and shuffle back down to the hall in his sweats and moccasins. “Thanks again for the breakfast,” he hollers down the hallway.
“No problem,” I holler back.
While I finish my coffee and wait for Jay to emerge, I walk over to the double doors. Twisting one of the handles I step out onto the balcony, taking in the view of the city.
It sure feels a million miles away from it all up here as I take a seat in one of the large outdoor chairs, contemplating my last shoot before I go home. I love filming in new locations, so I’ve made the most of the time I’ve been here and tried to get some new videos done ready for my launch in January. I love making new content, so my aim is to upload one or two new workouts a week, so I have plenty of classes to choose from once I go live.
I sip my coffee as I go over the sequencing in my head for the vinyasa flow I have planned for today. My playlist is ready, and the weather is looking good.
