Chapter 4

"My parents are expecting us for dinner at seven tonight."

Isaac kisses his way down my thigh, catches the lace of my underwear, and pulls it down.

"I remember that. Keep in mind that I have yoga in an hour and a half, so hurry up with the foreplay."

After taking off his T-shirt, Isaac removes my underwear and leans on top of me, his belt buckle digging into my stomach. I help him take off his jeans, wait for him to put on a condom, and then wrap my legs around his hips. Isaac became my first boyfriend three months after we started dating, and I can't imagine anyone else in his place. I like feeling his toned muscles against me. I like his smell and his passionate kisses. Our fathers had long since married us off in their dreams. After we announced our relationship, their companies unexpectedly signed a cooperation agreement. The idea of marrying Isaac after graduating from college has firmly taken root in my mind, and I'm fine with that.

Ruby once asked me if I would regret having only one sexual partner and having no one to compare him to. I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it, but I have no desire to engage in a risky experiment. My mother told me that my father was her first and only man. As a result, they have had twenty-two years of a happy, unclouded marriage. This gives me reason to believe that Isaac and I will have the same.

"I'm almost there, baby," Isaac says, breathing heavily and looking into my eyes without stopping his hip movements. "Did you come?"

I shake my head and wipe a drop of sweat rolling down his temple before it falls on my face. I do orgasm during sex, but not always. I see no point in hiding that from him or faking it. Lying to someone I'm close to and intend to spend my life with will lead us to a dead end sooner or later. At least he'll think to change positions.

Closing his eyes, Isaac moans loudly as he finishes inside the condom. Then he pulls out and rolls onto his back. We lie there silently for a few seconds. Then, he props himself up on his elbow and looks at me intently.

"On Friday, on the porch, when you were standing with Jaden... It seemed to me that you were arguing. Don't you want to tell me about it?"

The unexpected mention of my ex-boyfriend makes me flinch, and a suffocating lump rises in my throat again. I think I need to start seeing my therapist again.

"There's nothing to tell," I say, sitting down on the bed and looking around for my shirt. "It was just a misunderstanding involving a friend he brought along."

"I don't like him, Tasha. I don't like the way he looks at you, either. People like him can hold a grudge for years...”

Before I could put my arms through the sleeves, I looked suspiciously at Isaac. In turn, he looked at me with genuine concern.

“What do you mean by ‘people like him’?”

"You know what I mean, Tasha. A guy from a low-income family who works as a waiter or car washer and spends his whole life envying other people's money." Have you ever wondered where he got the seventy thousand dollars to pay for a year of study here?"

My face flushed because he so easily accused Jaden of something I knew he had never done. When I was a child, I once tried to give Jaden a gold chain that my mother had bought me. He refused, saying he would definitely break it or drown it in the lake. He always said things like that when I wanted to share some of my childhood treasures with him, whether it was a music player or an old cell phone. But when I gave him a scribble I drew for his birthday, he said it was a very nice gift and that he would definitely keep it. At that moment, I believed that people could like things made with soul. However, a year later, Wanda Abbott and my homemade card convinced me otherwise.

"No, Isaac," I say coldly, a mocking smile playing on my lips—a mask for my anger— "I didn't think about that. Since we're talking about the past, let me remind you that you have far more reason to hold a grudge against him. After all, Jaden broke your nose, not the other way around."

Isaac's blue eyes flash with resentment and amazement, but I don't care right now. If I have the right to be angry with Jaden, then I won't allow anyone to attack him, especially someone who is partly to blame for his leaving many years ago. I have my own score to settle with my former friend.

I get up, gather my underwear from the bed, and head for the shower. It's a twenty-minute walk from campus to the university hall where yoga is held, and I don't like being late.

"Why are you defending him, Tasha?" Isaac stabs me in the back as soon as I grab the shower door handle.

I don't have a clear answer to that question, so I silently step over the shower threshold and close the door behind me.

I change into leggings and a sports top, tuck a mat under my arm, and head to the hall. About ten people, including Ruby and Jenna, have gathered there.

"I thought you were stuck having wild sex with your boyfriend and would be late," my friend says with a playful smile as she hugs me around the neck.

"It's just that I know how to manage my time, unlike you."

Jenna comes over, kisses my cheek, and eagerly examines my tracksuit. I conclude from this that she will come to the next class wearing the same thing.

"What about the volleyball uniforms?" I look at her questioningly. "You said Alicia would give you the samples today."

Jenna blinks a few times, looking confused. She shifts from foot to foot and mumbles quietly.

"She hasn't been in touch all day."

Clearing her throat, Ruby narrowed her eyes and pouted her lower lip, signaling her intention to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Rumor has it she went home with Jaden yesterday, the new guy. Maybe he knocked some sense into her, and now she's not interested in competitions."

My face flushes to the roots of my hair, and for a second, I forget about the bikinis entirely. I can accept the idea that Jaden is having sex—he is twenty-four, after all—but damn it! He should do it far away from the university. I don't need to hear about his escapades in yoga class. How long has he been studying here? Four days?

"Make sure I have the uniform tomorrow morning," I say, trying not to betray my sudden irritation. I give Jenna a stern look. "The competition is on Saturday, and we need to decide on the sizes."

"But if she doesn't show up..."

You volunteered to help organize the event. If you need to, go to Alisha's house, take your dick out of her vagina, and get the uniform."

Jenna lowers her eyes, bites her lip, and nods several times. I don't feel sorry for her. Next time, I'll be more careful when choosing performers."

'Namaste, girls,' says the deep voice of Miss Talbot, our yoga instructor. "Are you ready to start the class?"

During the forty minutes we spend doing asanas, I am filled with peace once again. I used to dance and was even a cheerleader until I injured my knee. I had to stop performing, but I couldn't imagine my life without sports, so I switched to yoga, which is safer. I'm now taking an advanced class, and my flexibility allows me to perform the most difficult poses. My injured knee hardly bothers me anymore.

I press my palms into the floor and lift my hips up to form a perfect right angle. Jenna groans in exhaustion on my right. Her "downward dog" makes it look like she's about to do push-ups. How many times have I told her to take a beginner refresher course?

I stare at the diamond pattern on the mat, trying to breathe evenly and fill my body with calm while exhaling negativity. The stretch in my forearms and the back of my thighs gives me a special physical pleasure. I enjoy feeling my body. At least until the discomfort of being watched interferes with that feeling. My pulled-up buttocks burn unbearably, as does the strip of skin between my leggings' elastic and my waistband. Who in this room has nothing better to do?

I tear my gaze away from the floor and turn my head toward the doorway, feeling my face flush. Jaden is standing there, leaning against the doorframe and shamelessly ogling me. What is he doing here? Guys never come to this wing. Our eyes meet, but he doesn't look embarrassed at all. He tilts his head to one side and continues to stare. The desire to get up and slam the door in his face fades quickly, and I turn away, lowering my eyes to the floor. I won't let him think he can get to me.

His gaze lingers on my body for a few more seconds, then disappears.

"Sit in the lotus position, girls," the voice from the center of the room commands. When I straighten up and glance at the door furtively, Jaden is already gone.