Akira found herself torn between laughter and pity; she settled for covering her mouth to stifle any sound that may escape as she switched legs. They completed the position and she whispered back, “Nothing really. Just involves combining balance, flexibility, and sweat.” For as the class progressed to more complex positions, contorting their spines (poor Hakuba, six feet, or nearly that, and trying to match the movements of a person of smaller stature such as herself), the room’s temperature rose to a balmy forty-one degrees Celsius.
At the class’s conclusion, Akira smiled at Hakuba, who was flushed with exertion. “First class is always the toughest. Welllll, actually the second class sucks. And the third. But everything after that is a breeze!” She hoped he would come back for a second or even third class; she could use the companionship.
“You know what? After hot yoga, I am always dying of heat, and I’m feeling pretty good about myself for exercising of my own free will. I like frozen yogurt. Would you be so kind as to join me?”
"Frozen yogurt?” Hakuba found the ability to string the words together somewhat taxing after such a long and torturous class. Embarrassment was the feeling of the day, and his cheeks hadn’t lost any of their color, even after several minutes of cool down.
Yet, as embarrassed as he was and as much as he wanted to crawl home, shower, and never come out from under his covers again, he had to admit that frozen yogurt did sound fairly tempting.
“If you haven’t lost all faith in me as a human being and still wish to be seen with me in a public setting then sure, yes, I will accompany you to get frozen yogurt."
The detective sighed, He didn’t want to go back to yoga ever again, least especially after having taken the class. But he didn’t want to give up what Baaya was holding over him, and Akira seemed like a really nice person, despite whatever crazy possessed her to willingly return to class each week.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe the frozen yogurt would make it completely worth it. Or, perhaps, the chance to make a new friend.
All were interesting possibilities… so he shrugged. If she was okay with him, so be it. They’d go get frozen yogurt. But that didn’t mean that he would ever have to come back to class again.
Hot yoga was over.