Foul Pole by Tina Gallagher
Chapter Twelve
Leo
“Wake up sleepyhead.”
Clay’s voice pulled me out of a very satisfying Savasana. I opened my eyes and looked up, blinking him into focus.
“I think I dozed off that time.” Shifting to sit, I grabbed my water and took a long drink then rested the bottle on my thigh. “I guess it was bound to happen.”
“I would have let you go, but you said you wanted to talk to Anjannette before her class starts. You have another forty-five minutes or so before her students start arriving. And I’m assuming you’d prefer to see her before they get there.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
“Ugh! You look just as sappy as Trey.”
“Sorry,” I said, feeling anything but.
Truth be told, my Savasana had been so enjoyable because as my mind drifted, a memory montage of our last couple weeks together played through my head like a dream. Since the train ride and our little sex talk beforehand, things have been great. Anjannette has been much more relaxed and doesn’t seem as nervous about spending time with me.
“I’m guessing things are going well.”
Clay raised his voice on the last word, turning his sentence into a question.
“Yeah, they are.” I dragged my fingers through my sweaty hair. “She’s really amazing.”
I stood and went through the process of cleaning and rolling up my mat.
“There must be something in the water at First Allegiant Bank Park. It seems like whoever plays for the Waves ends up getting married.”
“We’re just spending time together and enjoying each other’s company. I didn’t say anything about getting married,” I said, although the word didn’t make me cringe as much as it normally would.
“They were just talking about it on ESPN. First Dan McMullen, then Jack Reagan, and no one ever thought he’d get married. They were followed by Cal Chase, Dale Montgomery, Jimmy Chavez, and Rusty Russell.” He waved his hand. “And I’m sure there are more, but the one who convinced me that something is in the air down there is Trey. Who would have ever thought he’d settle down?”
“Not me, that’s for sure.” I grabbed my duffle and slung it over my shoulder then stepped into my slides. “But he and Nori are perfect together, even if they look like total opposites.”
“Kind of like you and Anjannette,” he said with a smirk.
“I have noticed the similarities, but Anjannette and I are just starting out here.” I opened the door and a faint beat floated up the stairs. “Tomorrow at two?”
“Yep. See you then.”
I jogged down the stairs and gave a quick knock, then opened the door and peeked into Anjannette’s studio. And holy hell.
She sat in a perfect L-shape with her legs straight out in front of her, which in itself isn’t necessarily impressive, but the fact that she was using just her arms to pull herself up the pole was. I stayed quiet until she reached the top and settled into what I now know is called a pole sit.
“I’m in awe.”
I leaned against the door jamb and flashed a smile. Her eyes widened then they met mine and she returned my smile, adding a little sass to hers.
“Want to give it a try?”
With the same controlled movement, she made her way back down to the floor.
“I think I’ll leave that to the professionals.”
She stood and walked over until she stood directly in front of me.
“Oh come on.” She squeezed my bicep then flexed her arm. “If I can do it with these piddly things, you can for sure do it with those guns.”
Leaning down, I gave her a quick kiss then rested my forehead against hers.
“Why do I think you’re setting me up?”
She shrugged. “No idea.”
I straightened.
“Okay, I’ll give it a try.” I set my duffle on the floor and slipped out of my slides. “But you have to promise not to laugh.”
“I can promise no such thing.”
“That’s not very nice.”
I walked across the room and sat on the floor with my legs straddling the pole. Anjannette stood next to me, arms crossed over her chest.
“Get closer to the pole.” I moved forward just a fraction. “Closer.” She chuckled when I looked at her, my brow raised. “The closer things are to the pole, the easier it is, if you get my meaning.”
Oh I got her meaning, but I’m not really thrilled with that idea. Call me crazy, but cramming my balls against cold metal isn’t my idea of a good time. But the challenging look in Anjannette’s eyes kicked my competitive spirit into high gear and I scooted my butt until the boys nudged against the pole.
I wrapped my hands around the pole and pulled, trying to lift myself, but they kept slipping and I went nowhere. After wiping my palms on my sweatpants, I gripped the pole tighter and tried again, with the same result.
“Okay, what am I doing wrong?”
She walked over to the table in the corner and picked up a bottle then returned to my side.
“Here, try this. It’ll help with your grip.”
I held out my hands and she added a drop of liquid to each and I rubbed them together.
“Are you sure I need to be this close?”
She stopped me when I went to wrap my hands around the pole again.
“Give it a minute to dry,” she said. “And yes, it’s harder if you’re further back, plus unless you’re totally controlled, you’ll smash into the pole as soon as your butt leaves the ground.”
“I definitely don’t want that to happen.”
She put her hand over her mouth after I said that, but not before I saw her smile.
Placing my hands on the pole again, I pulled and this time felt my ass leave the ground, but barely. Tightening my grip, I pulled harder, and moved a fraction of an inch higher.
“Now let go with your bottom hand then reach up and grab the pole as high as you can.” I looked over at her, doubt written all over my face. “You can do it.”
“I appreciate your confidence in me, but I’m not feeling it.”
I forced those words out through gritted teeth then immediately followed her directions, moving as quickly as possible. And it worked. Sort of. Gripping the pole tight again, I pulled myself a little higher.
After repeating the process a couple more times, I barely eked up two feet off the ground. Anjannette had looked so graceful and fluid as she pulled herself to the top of the pole, but I look awkward and strained. I barely recognized the tense, red-faced man in the mirror.
My muscles protested and my hands started to cramp. Before I strain something and reverse all the good the yoga has done, I relaxed my legs and placed my feet back on the floor.
“Now I’m even more impressed by what you did,” I said. “Shit, that’s hard.”
“You have the strength to do it, you just need to get the technique down. If it’s something you wanted to do,” she quickly added.
I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her against me.
“Maybe I’ll have to spend more time here so I can practice.”
She looped her arms around my neck and smiled up at me.
“I do offer private lessons.”
“Do you think you can fit me into your calendar?”
“For you I’ll make room.”
I leaned down to kiss the sexy smirk off her lips, but as usual, once my mouth touched hers, all bets were off. We stood in the middle of her studio, our bodies plastered together, as her tongue met mine stroke for stroke. Pulling back just enough to turn my head and change the angle of the kiss, I opened my mouth over hers again. She dug her fingers into my hair and moaned.
I’ve always enjoyed kissing but admittedly, usually a means to an end. But it’s different with her. I could kiss her sweet mouth forever just for the sheer enjoyment of the act. There are other things I’d love to do to her as well, but that will have to wait until she’s ready.
Anjannette
With our mouthsstill locked together, I loosened my grip on Leo’s hair, dropped my arms around his neck, and pulled up onto my tiptoes, desperate to get closer. My breasts smashed up against his hard chest was the sweetest torture. If his answering moan was any indication, it was for him, too.
He cupped my ass with his big hands before sliding them to the back of my thighs to lift me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on as he spun me around and set my back against the wall without missing a beat in the kiss. The man is an excellent multi-tasker, not to mention a master kisser. He seriously should get some kind of award.
The kiss went on and on, hot, wet, and deep, as his hips held me in place. Neither my pole shorts nor his thin sweatpants provided much of a barrier to his impressive erection. A desperate groan vibrated through my chest as I tightened my thighs and he pressed right against my throbbing clit. It wouldn’t take much to push me right over the edge.
I banged my head against the wall as I pulled my head back, abruptly ending the kiss. His eyes locked on mine, at first full of confusion, then with understanding. This is not the time nor the place for this, especially not with my students arriving for class soon.
He released his hold on my ass and I slowly let my legs slide down until my feet rested firmly against the floor again. Leo held onto my waist until I was steady, then stepped back.
I fought to keep my eyes focused on his face. There was recently a meme circulating on Facebook celebrating gray sweatpants season but what Leo has going on right now is a million times better than any of those pictures.
“Sorry about that.”
His hoarse voice sounded even sexier than usual. Instead of focusing on that, I shook my head.
“About what?”
“I wanted to stop in and invite you to dinner Friday night.” He gestured toward the wall I’d just been plastered against. “And as amazing as it was, that wasn’t part of my plan here.”
“It’s fine. Really,” I added when he shook his head. “In case you didn’t notice, I was a very eager participant. Unfortunately, I have a class starting shortly.”
He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes shifting over to the wall. After taking in a deep breath and letting it out, he looked back at me.
“I was hoping we could get together Friday night. But instead of going out, I’d like you to come to my house and I’ll cook dinner for you.”
“You cook?”
“I can make a few things that are edible.”
His sexy smirk set my lady parts tingling again and I crossed my legs to nip that in the bud.
“Um sure, yeah, that sounds nice. What can I bring?”
“Just yourself. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss then took a giant step back. “You have open pole until seven, right?” I nodded. “How about if I pick you up at seven-thirty?”
“Oh, that’s okay, I can drive myself. That way you won’t have to leave in the middle of cooking dinner.”
Plus I won’t have to rely on him to take me home.
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll text you my address.” He slipped back into his slides and picked up his bag. “See you Friday.”
“See you then.”
I sat on the floor, my back against the wall Leo just had me pinned against. But before I could fixate on what just happened, Keera walked through the door. She looked over at me with a knowing smile.
“Your lips look just as swollen as Leo’s. Hmmm.” She tapped her index finger against her chin. “Interesting.”
“I’m surprised to see you. I thought you had to work late.”
She sat on the floor across from me and put her hands flat on the floor behind her and leaned back.
“Yeah, there’s a training class going on and I was supposed to stay and lock up after everyone leaves. But Simon is there doing some after-hours system updates, so he said he’d do it.”
“You know he has the hots for you, right?”
“No, we’re just friends.”
“That may be true, but I’m pretty sure he wants more than that.”
“Well regardless, we’re just friends.” She shook her head. “I’m done with relationships. They’re too much of a pain in the ass. I like my life the way it is now.” Sitting up, she crossed her legs and leaned slightly forward, resting her elbow against her knee. “The dick band aids keep me happy.”
“Do they?”
“It’s much less complicated. Not to mention less stressful.”
“If you say so.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to be one of those people in a relationship who thinks everyone else should be in one, too.”
“No, I just think Simon is really nice. Sweet. Different than all the other guys, which is probably a good thing.” Then something she said registered. “Besides, I’m not really in a relationship so your theory is shot.”
Shaking her head, she let out a sarcastic chuckle.
“Anjannette.” Her eyes met mine. “Leo is crazy about you and whether you’re willing to admit it or not, you feel the same about him. You may not have had sex with Leo yet, but you two are definitely in a relationship. ”
Yet being the key word in that sentence.
Because over the last couple weeks, even though we technically haven’t done more than kiss, things have really been heating up between us. And it’s getting harder and harder to stop. More and more often I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time to end my self-imposed celibacy.