Boyfriend for the Summer

“Maybe you could lead a class for some of the guys,” Emily says. “That is, if you’re flexible enough to do this.”

“Come on Seph, teach him something and see if he’s good enough.” It’s another girl this time.

“I’m sure that Eric has better things to do with his time,” Seph says, pressing her lips together.

“I don’t know,” Emily says. “Being a camp director has to be difficult. Maybe we should know how fit he actually is to do this job?”

Seph closes her eyes and I see exasperation there. I make a mental note to keep an eye on Emily, because she’s one of those kids that could excel here, or spiral into trouble. “I’ve done yoga before,” I say. “Though I’m not very good. And I already worked out this morning.”

Seph looks at me when I say that, and I follow her eyes down my body and back. She blushes again and I barely contain the grin that causes.

“We’ve only got a little bit of the flow left,” a girl in the back says. “You should finish with us, and Seph can help you.”

I tick an eyebrow upwards, asking the question of her. Does she want me to stay or go? It’s her call. These are her campers, and she has to deal with them the way she’s established. I can’t crush her authority. I also want to make sure that none of these girls think I would ever trample over another counselor’s wishes—especially a female counselor.

I’m not going to do yoga every day with a group of teen girls. There’s no way that’s appropriate. But if I do a few poses, I don’t see the harm. But it’s up to Seph.

She pastes on a bright smile that I know isn’t fully real. “Sure. We just have one more sun salutation left. Everyone back into downward dog. You too,” she says.

When I do yoga I’m not normally in jeans, but I’ll make do. I slip off my shoes as I step onto the yoga mat that she’s vacated, and suddenly I can’t breathe because I’m the closest that I’ve been to her in years and all I want is to reach out and touch her.

I resist.

Stretching out, I get into downward dog. I didn’t lie, I have done yoga before, and I’ve never considered myself particularly good at it. I prefer to run and lift weights—pretty typical for a guy my age. But if I pretend I’m worse than I am for a little help from Seph, I don’t think the universe will hold it against me.

The back of my calves ache with the stretch. I haven’t done this is far too long, and it feels good after my desperation to burn energy this morning. “Sink into this one,” Seph says, “since it’s almost the end.”

Her hands brush my lower back, pressing lightly. “Ease back,” she says quietly. “Try to let your heels touch the ground.”

I try to do what she’s asking but all I can think about is the fact that her hands are on me. “Once you’re settled, raise your right leg behind you off the ground and hold for a breath before stepping up into a lunge.”

This feels familiar, and I follow the steps, stretching into the lunge and rising up. Seph’s hands follow, moving to my shoulders and gently pulling back, helping me stretch into it.

Looking over, I meet her eyes. For the first time this morning she’s looking at me straight on, and there’s suddenly no air left to breathe. Her mouth is moving but I’m not hearing the words that she’s saying, completely relying on her gentle touches to guide me through the motions.

The touches are clinical. Nothing out of bounds or giving anything away, but to me they burn with yearning heat. And I’m close enough to Seph that I can see her breath is a little shorter than it should be too.

I lean back down into the reverse triangle pose, and Seph comes with me, our faces close. So close that I can feel her breath. I can’t take my eyes off her lips. There’s so much I want to say to her. Ask her. But I can’t do that while we have an audience.

Back into downward dog I go, and she moves to steady me. This time her hands are heavier. Pressing more fully, the tips of her fingers digging into my lower back just a little. I want more of that. I want her fingers digging into my back while she’s moaning underneath me.

I shut that thought down. I can’t have it right now, and Seph seems to have the same thought. She steps away from me so suddenly that her sudden absence makes me almost dizzy, and I fall out of the pose to laughter around me.

“I did say that I wasn’t very good at it.”