Relief Next to Me

Chapter 10

Louis unrolled his blue mat on the warm mauve carpet of the studio and kneeled at the end. He stretched his neck side to side while smoothing down the corners of the mat.

"Hello again."

He looked up at the quiet greeting. Harry gave him a small smile and unrolled his purple mat on the spot next to him. Louis sat back on his bare feet, his shins pressed into the mat.

"Hi."

He tilted his head back further to smile up at him, Harry standing up straight and bringing his hands between his shoulder blades. Louis watched his dark blue long sleeve tee disappear over his head, his black tank underneath riding up just a touch on his stomach. Louis' eyes flickered from his navel to his hips. He must have already left his jeans in the locker room and changed into his yoga attire.

"Good day?"

"Yeah." Harry's gaze flickered over Louis' body, his eyes sparkling once back at his face. He dropped his blue tee beside his mat. "Better now."

Louis smiled wider and looked down, pulling his black tank lower on his stomach. He could barely keep his eyes to himself for the first two classes they happened to both be in; maybe Harry felt the same way.

Harry sat on his mat, long legs extended straight in front of him. He rubbed his hands over his shins, clingy black yoga pants hitting just above his knees. He wiggled his toes lazily, Louis' eyes drawn to the motion.

"You like the classes here?"

"I do," Louis said, watching more people filter into the wide room. "It's a bit closer to work and they have this class, the five-thirty, that I can make before I go home, instead of having to go home and then wait around for the seven at the other place."

"Nice."

"Thanks again for the freebie pass."

"Yea, of course, no problem." Harry crossed his ankles, smiling at Louis. "It's nice to have a yoga buddy who actually likes to go regularly." He unfurled a strip of fern green wrapped around his wrist. "Most of my other friends aren't really the fitness types."

"I'm the least fitness of fitness types."

"Niall made it through approximately three minutes of a class and refused to ever return. I think you've got him beat."

Louis giggled and stretched his right arm across his chest.

"Do you want to get a juice or tea after class?"

Harry pulled the headband over his head.

"Yeah," he fluffed his hair up and smiled at Louis, "definitely. I've got my car with me, so I can give you a lift home, too."

"Great, thanks."

"Actually, um," Harry lowered his voice, the instructor taking her place at the front of the class, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yeah?"

They both stood up from the floor with their feet about shoulder width apart, their posture mirrored by the other class members. They let their heads drop backwards, their hands clasped together and pushing up underneath their chins.

"Yeah, but it can wait until after class," Harry whispered.

Louis whispered back, "Okay," already able to hear Harry's deep breaths next to him.

Ninety minutes, a lot of sweat, and only two bumbled poses later (Harry was distracted by the stretch of Louis' legs in standing bow pose, while Louis almost toppled over when he saw Harry in back bend pose), the class was over, all of the students resting on their backs with their eyes shut.