Flexible

“Is yoga really necessary?” Vic complains to his best friend, Jaime, who is driving them both to a yoga class.

“Yes,” Jaime replies firmly. “I go every week and it’s always good. Plus, it relieves stress, and you, my friend, seem very stressed.”

“I’m not stressed,” Vic protests in a tone of voice that completely contradicts his words.

Jaime rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say. But you’re going anyway. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Vic groans loudly, leaning back against the passenger seat and rolling his eyes moodily. Okay, so maybe college has him a little bit stressed, but that’s normal for a college student. His perpetual state is stressed. It’s not that big of a deal, and it’s definitely not serious enough that he feels he needs to resort to a yoga class. He can stretch just as easily in his dorm room as he can on a mat in front of other people. Jaime won’t budge, though, no matter how unnecessary Vic insists this is. He spends the majority of the short ride convincing himself that it’s just one class and it won’t be that bad.

And, well, he’s both right and wrong.

The room is a lot bigger than he expected, cleared with nothing but mats lined up on the floor. A lot of the people here are old ladies, making Vic feel horribly out of place, but Jaime doesn’t seem to mind at all and eagerly takes his place on one of the mats. Vic takes the mat next to him, silently wishing he were closer to the back. He’d rather just get this over with and not be noticed at all. Of course, that’s the moment when their instructor walks in.

Young and pretty, tattoos swirling up and down his arms and dark hair pulled up into a bun, he steps out into the main room with a water bottle in one hand. A tight tank top hugs his body, along with standard gray yoga pants (and they make his ass look fucking fine). Vic would like to pretend that he’s not staring, but, well, he’s staring. Leaning over to Jaime, he whispers, “You never told me our instructor was hot!”

Jaime giggles. “Oops. I might’ve left out that little detail.”

Okay. So this class is either going to be great or terrible. Or both.

Vic soon learns that the instructor’s name is Kellin, who promptly makes eye contact with him and then comments that someone new has decided to try out the class. Vic’s conflicted between being happy that Kellin noticed him and being embarrassed that Kellin noticed him.

After that, the class begins, starting with some basic stretches meant to “loosen the muscles” or something. Vic doesn’t think this should be too difficult at first, until he actually tries it and comes to the conclusion that he is not very flexible. And that he shouldn’t bend too far forward or backward or else he’s going to fall flat on his face…or ass. What a great first impression. He can see Kellin trying not to laugh and shoots him a death glare, which Kellin seems to ignore. Vic really wants to dislike him, but the guy is blessed with charisma, and they haven’t even had a proper conversation yet.

Kellin, of course, completes the moves with ease, letting out soft noises of pleasure at the feeling of stretching his muscles. Vic can’t tell if Kellin’s doing it on purpose or not, but either way, it’s got him feeling something. This is so much more than he expected from a yoga class—and they’re only fifteen minutes in.

Gradually, they go on to other moves, Kellin telling them the whole time about relaxation and clearing the mind and things like that. Vic does fairly well at the relaxing portion, despite how attractive Kellin is, but clearing his mind is a completely different matter. He has to stare at Kellin pretty much the entire time in order to get the positions right, and staring at Kellin is not going to help him clear his mind. It doesn’t help that Kellin keeps looking at him, smiling and winking, even whispering to him, saying things like “Hot!” in response to Vic’s moves.

“Is it just me,” Vic mutters to Jaime at one point, “or does it seem like he’s flirting with me?”

Jaime just laughs. “I’m surprised you even had to ask that question. That’s his sex look.”

Vic nearly chokes on his breath.

The rest of the class is simultaneously torturous (like Vic expected) and enjoyable (like Vic didn’t expect), though both parts of that statement are mostly Kellin’s doing. He’s clearly having fun messing with Vic, and most of the other people around them don’t even seem to notice. It’s almost comical.

When the class is over and Kellin dismisses everyone, he adds, “Hey, New Guy! Come over here for a sec.”

Vic is strangely excited as he makes his way over. “Yes?”

Kellin stares at him for a long moment. “What’s your name?”

He bites his lip, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Uh, Vic.”

Kellin nods slowly, a mischievous grin casually slipping onto his face. “Well, then, Vic,” he says, raising an eyebrow (Jaime’s right; that’s definitely a sex look). “Would you mind showing me how flexible you are?”

It’s such a cheesy pickup line, but it works when it’s Kellin who’s saying it. Vic glances around the room, which is mostly empty except for the two of them and a few other people lingering around (Jaime said he’d wait for Vic in the car), and his gaze lands on what looks like the door to a back room. “Oh, yeah,” he says in response to Kellin’s question, nodding toward the door. “But, really, I’m more interested in seeing how flexible you are.”

“I’d be happy to show you,” Kellin says smoothly, releasing his hair from its bun and letting it flow freely (and, God, it’s gorgeous). Then, without another word, he heads for the back room, Vic following right on his heels.

As soon as they’ve closed the door behind them, Vic presses Kellin up against the wall, wasting no time in kissing him. Kellin wraps his legs around Vic’s waist, surprisingly light. “I guess yoga isn’t so bad after all,” Vic says in between kisses.

Kellin grins. “I’ll show you how fun yoga can be.” Then he seals their lips together again, and the rest, as they say, is history.