“Chloe,” Renee scolds, “give the man some hope, or half this class will take him home.”
“Amen,” Danielle chimes, followed by approval through the class.
“Lift into dolphin.”
“Chloe,” Xavier says pointedly. “I miss you so much.”
“And lower into plank,” where I’m now eye to eye with Xavier, just a foot apart.
“I love you.”
The words stun me, and I fall out of the pose. Just freaking drop to the floor like a rock. “Wh-what?”
“I. Love. You.” Now Xavier releases the pose, resting on his stomach. “I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you in the grocery store a year ago, and I love you so much more now.”
Either the room went completely silent, or my hearing has tunneled.
He reaches out and cups my chin. “I love you, Chloe. I don’t want to be without you another minute. Tell me what to do to fix this, and I’ll do it.”
I don’t know how long I’ve been staring into his eyes when I finally notice the members of the class quietly rolling up their mats and making their way out of the room. Renee is holding the door, and when the last student leaves, she winks at me and closes the door behind her.
I’m alone with Xavier.
He pushes himself forward, closing the distance, and kisses me. And, God, it feels so good. Tension leaks from my body and my heart opens. But lingering fear and hurt make me pull back and roll to a seat on my butt, legs crossed.
Xavier mirrors me, close enough for our legs to touch.
“What you did in the hospital was so wrong,” I say. “You treated Karen better than you treated me.”
“I did. I shouldn’t have.”
“It hurt. A lot.”
He reaches out and takes my hand in both of his. “I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
“I know you were stressed and scared, but it can’t happen again, do you understand that? After all I went through with Bodhi, I won’t accept that kind of treatment. The self-preservation in me is having a really hard time forgiving you.”
He nods, his expression sober. “You would be completely justified if you didn’t, but, damn, I pray you do.”
As the tension fades and we start to find balance, I let out a long breath. “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you what I knew about Piper’s friends. I didn’t realize there was a competition going on. I just thought she was searching for a place to belong. If I’d thought she was in any danger, I would have told you. I swear.”
His fingers caress mine. “I know. She told me everything.”
My hopes lift. “So she’s talking?”
“Roughly, but well enough. She’s home, and Karen took a week off to stay with her. Piper told me you didn’t know about the game and that when you caught her with the pot, you ripped her on it.”
“I don’t understand why she made everything worse by going through with the break-in.”
“She said she was so close to the end, that the break-in was the last test, and even if Smith, Dale, and Willow were mean—”
“She’d rather have shitty friends than no friends.”
He nods. “Her mom agreed that Piper will stay with me if Karen’s
going to be out after nine at night. But I think this scared her into moving Piper up toward the top of her priority list.
“I also talked with Piper about how I need to change so she can talk to me about anything in the future. You were right about me being too black-and-white and not giving her the safety net she needs to confide in me.”