I loved baseball, but there was no denying it could move really slow. Like, waiting-for-Christmas slow. So when we got to the seventh-inning stretch, I decided to make things interesting.
“What do you want to bet Trout hits a double?” I asked Parker.
The crowd cheered as the kiss cam circled the stadium, landing on a couple a few sections away from us. “Depends on what you want to lose.” Parker leaned against me, which sent a tickle of excitement down my spine. “He always strikes out against Kershaw.”
“Not this time. I’ve got a good feeling.” I turned my head before he moved his, putting us well within kissing distance. A distance that didn’t go unnoticed by the guy running the kiss cam. The fans around us broke out into louder whoops and pointed at our faces on the JumboTron. Their cries of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” had to be answered, but Parker and I only stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime but couldn’t have been more than a couple seconds.
A tap on my back broke my trance. I looked over my shoulder at the Chris Hemsworth look-alike who’d been flirting with me all night.
“If he’s not going to do it, can I?” he yelled.
I didn’t hesitate. I nodded and turned my cheek to him, but he planted a big kiss on my mouth before I could point to the spot he was allowed to peck.
“Hey!” Parker jumped up, and my Thor wannabe let me go.
“You had your chance, Dude!” He laughed then held out his fist for Parker to bump. “No hard feelings.”
Parker looked like he wanted to make his own fist but not for bumping.
“It’s fine, Parker.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him into his seat.
“Are you okay?” He leaned forward and glared at my kisser, who was too busying high-fiving his friends to notice.
I was still in shock, but as I watched the replay and saw the surprise on Parker’s face, I broke into a laugh. I liked to think if the kiss had been anything more than what it was, I would have decked the guy.
But my gut reaction was, if Thor hadn’t reeked of beer, I would have shown Parker what he should have done for that camera.
“I’m glad you think it’s funny.” Parker glared at the giant screen. “I still want to knock him out.”
“Forget it,” I said, even though I hoped he wouldn’t. I kinda liked this jealous version of Parker. “Back to our bet. Trout’s up. If he hits a double, you come to yoga class with me.”
“And if he strikes out?” Parker tore his eyes away from Thor and focused on the field.
“I won’t use any of my matchmaking charm on you.”
“Deal.”
No sooner had he agreed than a crack sounded and Kershaw’s pitch was headed toward left field while Trout ran for first. The ball dropped, Trout hit first, and the coach waved him to second. I jumped out of my seat, cheering him all the way to base and my winning bet.
I clapped in Parker’s face. “Did you see that? I won!” I yelled, hopping up and down. The rest of the crowd moved on to watching the next batter, but I still cheered for Trout. I’d be adding one of his jerseys to my wardrobe for sure.
When I finally sat down, I folded my hands in my lap and very calmly leaned over to Parker and said, “Roshan’s yoga class is at six tomorrow night.”
“Ro-what?”
“Roshhhan.”
“No,” he growled. “I am not doing yoga, especially with someone named Roshan. That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard. It sounds made-up.”
“You are doing yoga, and Roshan isn’t made-up; it means ‘guiding light’ in Hindi—or Buddha”—was that even a language?—“and it’s only marginally stupid. Besides, you already know him. His real name is Elton Thomas. He was a friend of Preston and Caroline’s.”
I reached across his legs and removed his drink from the cup holder. I pulled my gum out of my mouth and held it between my fingers while I took a long sip of his Coke. I knew what he was going to say. I could predict that better than I had predicted the last play.
“Elton Thomas?” He took his drink back. “That guy? Of course he changed his name to something stupider than the one he already had. I couldn’t stand him ten years ago. There’s no way I’m going to his yoga class.”
“Then you shouldn’t have made the wager.” I popped the gum back into my mouth. “You lost the bet, and now you need to man up.” I blew a giant bubble in his face, let it pop, and then sucked it back in.
He glowered at me—yes, glowered—then readjusted his hat and sat back with his arms crossed. I loved it when I won.
I was still gloating the next night when Parker met Hailey and me at Elton’s studio. He didn’t look any more excited about yoga with Roshan than he had when he’d lost the bet, which made my win even more satisfying.
“This is my friend, Hailey, I told you about,” I said to Elton as he bowed to us. “Hailey, this is Elton.”
“Please, call me Roshan,” he gushed as he grasped her hand. “It’s so good to meet you.”
I could see the sparks between them already as he looked into her eyes, probably reading her chakras.
“And do you remember Parker Knightley?” I hated to distract him from Hailey, but I sensed Parker was about to bolt.
“Oh yeah. Preston’s brother. Good to see you again.” He pressed his palms together in prayer pose and bowed.
“Nice to see you . . . Roshan, is it?”
“Yeah, it means ‘guiding light.’” He gazed thoughtfully past Parker’s shoulder. “I chose it after I went through all my enlightenment training. Really, it chose me.”
“I’m sure it couldn’t have chosen better.” Parker pursed his lips, and I knew he was holding back a smile. I elbowed him in the stomach when Roshan turned his back to us.
Be nice, I mouthed, to which he replied with a bow.
We followed Roshan into the packed room and put our mats down. Hailey watched me closely, following my every move, although not before tripping over her mat after she laid it down.
“Are you sure I’ll be okay at this?” she whispered loudly, garnering some glares from the people lying flat on their backs.
“You’ll be fine. It’s all about being in the moment and respecting where you are now. Don’t worry about getting everything right; just do your best,” I whispered back.
Hailey nodded. Parker scoffed. I pulled a face at him before lying down on my mat and waiting for class to start.
“Is this what we do for an hour?” Parker asked, getting shushed by the woman next to him.
“No, this is shavasana, or corpse pose. No more talking.” I closed my eyes and tried to channel some zen, but Parker kept moving around.
“Will you please play dead?” I said through clenched teeth after he knocked over his water bottle with a loud clang.
A bell chimed, and Roshan invited everyone to roll over into child’s pose.
“Into what?” Parker looked around the room then kneeled with his butt on his heels and his arms stretched forward. On the other side of me, Hailey did the same thing. But instead of keeping her forehead on the mat, she kept looking over at me.
“Om-powerment, or life in balance, happens when your yoga practice and your life goals are in sync. You achieve synergy.” Roshan talked quietly while stepping over and around his students.
Our “guiding light” took us through all the poses, encouraging us to “gain clarity” and “be in the present” as we twisted ourselves into human pretzels. It all made sense to me, but every look Parker gave me said Roshan was exactly what he had expected, if not worse.
Hailey, on the other hand, concentrated so hard on getting the moves right she was always two steps behind. I doubted she heard anything Elton said, and she was the one who needed it most.
When class ended, Parker popped up from shavasana before anyone else, but I stayed lying on the floor. I wanted to miss the crowd so Hailey could talk to Elton. I ignored Parker’s impatient sighs and kept my eyes shut until I didn’t hear any more footsteps. Once I was sure everyone else was gone, I got up and gathered my mat.
My plan worked, and Elton stopped us on our way out. “How’d you like it, . . . ?”
“Hailey,” I finished for him and nudged her forward.
“Um, I liked it. I couldn’t keep up though.” She smiled nervously at me and then at Elton.
“You’ll get better every time you come.” He rubbed her arm, and her eyelids fluttered with excitement. “I have a book you can read that will help you not only in your next class but also in life.” He stepped around her to take a book off the shelf.
“Oh, wow. This is what you were talking about in class,” she said, reading the title Om-powerment: Life in Balance emblazoned across the front right above his name. “You wrote this? Thank you.”
“I did.” He stuck his chest out and nodded. “You can pay for it next time you come to class. You’re going to get a package, right?” He grabbed a brochure from the same shelf. “You can get a series of ten classes that includes one free aura reading, but I always recommend the thirty-class package that includes a weekly reading.”
Hailey’s smile quickly disappeared as she took the pamphlet and saw the prices. She stared at it as though searching for the words she wanted to say. Finally she found them. “There’s no way I can afford that.” She shoved the pamphlet back at Elton, who flinched with surprise.
“This is a really good deal. I usually charge fifty dollars just for the reading,” he said and put the pamphlet back into its plastic holder.
“Hailey just started working, so she’s on a budget,” I explained to him then said to Hailey, “What if I got you the ten classes as a kind of bonus?”
“That’s too much. I haven’t been working for you that long.” She looked at the floor and tucked her hair behind her ears. “You should be giving yourself the bonus for hiring me.”
“That’s silly. You’re doing a great job, and you deserve a bonus.” I ignored Parker’s Really? look. I had let slip at the Angels game that Hailey still needed more training. “Plus, who will I go to yoga with if you don’t come with me?”
“Not me,” Parker mumbled.
“All right, let’s get you rung up,” Elton said before Hailey had agreed. He led us to the counter then pointed at the little bottles on the shelf behind him. “Can I get you some oils too?”
“No, but thanks,” I answered.
Parker let out a snort that was somewhere between a laugh and a cough, and I narrowed my eyes in a question. “What?” I mouthed.
He turned his back on Elton and leaned down to whisper, “He’s literally trying to sell you snake oil.”
I ignored Parker and handed Elton my credit card. He swiped it while telling Hailey about his “innovative approach to inspiring students to their highest potential.” She nodded and smiled but couldn’t say a word.
“I’d love to tell you more about it sometime,” Elton said, gazing intently at her.
I nudged Hailey to answer, but when she stayed frozen, I answered for her. “That sounds great. When?”
“Stop by tomorrow around ten,” he answered and led us to the door while Hailey and I exchanged grins behind his back.
“For sure,” Hailey managed to squeak as we passed by him on our way out.
“I’m looking forward to it.” He opened his arms for a hug, but she didn’t notice. I got it instead.
“Thanks for coming tonight and for bringing your friend,” he whispered in my ear.
“Of course,” I answered and wriggled out of his embrace. “I told her all about you. I’m sure she loved the class.”
“Nice to see you too, Parker,” Elton said. He barely got a curt nod in return.
I waited to say anything to Parker until we were in the parking lot. “You liked it, didn’t you?”
“I’m not even going to dignify that question with an answer,” he answered and then waved goodbye and jogged to his car.
Hailey and I got into my car, and by the time I’d shut my door, we were both on the verge of bursting.
“Did he just ask me out?” she squealed.
“You liked him, right?” I asked and backed out of the parking space. “I told you he would like you.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “I mean, he’s so different from any guy I’ve ever met. I don’t know. I think I like him. He’s definitely cute. I love ponytails on guys. And his body.” She sighed again and fanned herself. “I could look at that all day.”
“Right?” I interjected. “But did you like all the things he had to say? Wasn’t it motivating?”
“Oh, yeah, totally . . . I mean, I didn’t catch all of it, ’cause I was just trying to keep up. I kept getting lost. I felt like such a loser.” She snort-laughed—not her most endearing quirk—then turned in her seat to face me. “Do you really think he likes me?”
“He invited you to come by tomorrow, didn’t he? Of course he likes you!”
By the time I dropped Hailey off, her self-confidence had more than doubled. Elton was legit boyfriend material. Not for me, obviously. But for someone like Hailey who’d never had anyone to encourage her, he was perfect.
They were perfect.
And my matchmaking skills?
On point.