KICK IT | JENLISA

47

Jennie

I lowered my eyes and slacked my mouth into an unamused dead face. With as dry a voice as I had, I offered a rare compliment. "Then brace yourself because I think you're strong enough."

"You do?" Lisa's eyebrows lifted. When I nodded, she puffed up her chest and popped into a muscle pose, with her biceps flexed. Humility has officially left the building...

"I also think that you're full of more hot air than a blimp." I rolled my eyes and flicked her bicep with my middle finger. "Put those away. Every other aspect of your life is screaming for improvement."

With one ego deflated, demonstrated by the tick in her jaw and deflating warrior pose, I refocused, "Let's start with some shoulder warmups and stretches to find the edge of your pose."

"Edge?" she shifted until we sat facing each other.

Our knees were spaced two inches apart, and a sense of calm radiated from her. Her fresh shower scent smelled pleasant. As much as I wanted to say she smelled like a bloated ego, I couldn't. I wasn't sure if Lisa's behaviour or my impression of her changed, but a definite shift occurred over the past two weeks. She loaned me her old, sentimental truck from college. Even more of a mindfuck was Lisa's polite but obvious, consistent brushing off attention. She wasn't proving to be the disgusting, sex-craving asshole that her previous behaviours implied.

Whether Lisa herself or my view of her changed, grey and ambiguous was an unfamiliar relationship dynamic. It was as uncomfortable as shaving my armpits with a sea urchin.

"I'll explain as we go. Breathe in." I lifted my hands overhead, pressing my palms together so my arms hugged my ears. "Exhale."

Instead of fanning my arms, I lowered them to my heart in prayer. Repeating the movements, pushing our hands up and drawing them down with chicken wing elbows engaged and warmed my connective stabiliser muscles. Lisa's face remained slack, prompting me to go through five rounds. Our breaths blended into slow even sounds contrasting the wild beats of my heart. The intensity built in Lisa's eyes, darkening the warm brown to a rich hazelnut. The longer she stared at me, the more warmth rushed up my neck.

"Keep moving." I exhaled a loud puff. "Your muscles have limits for every pose. There's a point where pushing too far into a position hurts or feels uncomfortable, but doing less is not enough work. That's the edge, the border for a range of motion."

Her concentration was so serious, staring at my knee and breathing with purpose. She seemed to digest my words. "Finding it takes practice. Only you can feel it, but since you're as open as a swinging gate, I'll help."

"Swinging gate." Amusement sparkled in her eyes, pulling her mouth into a smirk. "A..."

"Football play." I interrupted. "Overloading one side of the offense to throw off the defence, limited only by the imagination of a crazy offensive coordinator."

"Crazy?" Her jaw clenched. "It's effective for two-point conversations."

A slight tremble shook my lower lip. Dad loved that play, and Mom screamed every time he ran it. "It's reckless and unpredictable for a quarterback."

"Not if you have the right person to sacrifice for the team." she whispered, curving up the corners of her mouth until the dimples in her cheeks appeared.

Our arms stopped, but my breath wasn't calm and steady anymore. My heart beat so fast as if it wanted to explode. We sat, knees almost touching and gazing at each other in thick, and uncomfortable silence. Another tugging sensation pulled into my chest, uncertainty fluttering my stomach. Diversion. I swallowed the dryness in my mouth. "Was there anything we did this week or last that you didn't like?"

Lisa paused for a moment. "The one we did on Monday, crossing one leg over?"

"Eagle." Standing up, I grounded my feet, then crossed my right thigh over my left. Squeezing them and grounding my left heel, I crossed my left elbow under my right, twisting my arms and pressing my palms. "This one?"

Lisa's eyes scanned my ankles and thighs, followed by a thick swallow. Her gaze didn't linger, but the throbbing between my legs did. "Yeah. It smashed my balls." Her candid admission made me laugh, wobbling my standing ankle.

"Sorry." I untwisted, leaned over, and grabbed my block. Catching her eyes on my chest, not that I offered much of a view, I reached over and tapped her nose with the end of it. "Next time, use one of these for some breathing space."

Lisa's fingers brushed mine in a callous scrape of skin. I dropped my eyes and blushed. "Cross your leg so it's comfortable. The benefit is in the ankle, knee, and hip stabilisers on the standing foot, so open up some space and let the balls breathe."

As she moved to stand, a better suggestion came to mind.

"Keep your feet grounded because I did the pose for your shoulders. Try it seated." Reaching over, I crossed her arms into place. Her forearm muscles were as tight as steel cables, so I adjusted her hands further apart to release the pressure.

"Squeeze your elbows." I murmured at the way her mouth tightened. She exhaled, her eyes as serious as me administering an entrance exam. "Hold them in, and slowly lift your elbows. Stop if your shoulder tugs."

I scrutinised every micro reaction in her face during the upward lift. Her cheeks turned pink when her biceps flexed into definition. A slight cringe arched her eyes when her elbows lifted to her chin height, so I stopped her with my hand on her arm. "Hold there. Breathe." As I expected, her muscles quivered. "Too much, Lisa."

Lightly pushing her arms down, I stopped when her muscles slacked and held my palm at their limit. "Shaking from exertion after holding a pose is good, but not to start with. Lift and lower your arms again, elbows going no higher than my hand."

She repeated the slow movements with another stretch tucking her elbows and leaning forward to round and open the muscles. Once warmed up, I swung my feet around and palmed my mat. "Turn and get on all fours."

Once she was in the same position, I dropped my elbows so my hands and forearms were flat on my mat and hinged my ass up. "Start here. If it feels okay, ground your feet and straighten your legs. Slot your ears between your biceps like in down dog but keep your elbows on the mat."

"Dolphin." I explained as she moved into the inversion. "It should improve the supraspinatus' abduction and flexion, and hopefully reducing pain."

Lisa's torso bounced with her laugh. "Alright, Jen."