Blue sat still for a few seconds and then tapped Arjun on the shoulder, interrupting his conversation with Ken. She said she would be back in a minute and he nodded without even looking her way.

She walked through the wings and took a right to head towards the hallway where the break room was.

As she walked in, Gael was already digging two cups out of the cabinet above the espresso machine. He was quite a bit taller than her and made reaching the top shelf so easy she almost felt jealous. His gray button-up was lifting slightly and she could see the same tan skin that she got a glimpse of weeks ago at the library. He sat the cups down on the counter and finally noticed her standing in the doorway, giving her a sly smile. "Did you get away unnoticed?" he asked.

Blue laughed nervously, "um, yeah, I think so...why are we being sneaky again?"

Gael gave her an incredulous look. "Well obviously because if they know what I'm doing in here they will all want to storm the break room and fight over the first cup - and before you say anything, yes it's that good, just wait and see - so we have to be sneaky."

Blue relaxed a little now that she was certain he really did just want to make her coffee; she couldn't believe her mind had gone elsewhere about his intentions. "Well, I guess I'll just have to be the judge of how good your coffee is," she said as she crossed her arms. "I swear I won't hold anything back."

Gael laughed her favorite laugh, the one where he squinted his eyes from smiling so big. "Oh, I don't doubt that one bit, mi Azul ."

She had almost forgotten about his nickname for her. And his sexy accent.

Almost.

Walking over to the counter, Blue decided to lean up against it and watch him work. He had already poured water into the reservoir so now he started grinding up the beans. They shot out into the portafilter while he looked up at her and smiled. When the grinder was done crushing them into fine grounds, she said to him, "you seem to know what you're doing. I'm assuming you do this often since it's conveniently located in the break room of the theater where you spend most of your time?"

He nodded and explained, "I try to every day if I can. It's one of the most relaxing things in my life, honestly. See, there are exact measurements and mechanisms which work the same way every time, if you do everything right and maintain it, of course. I guess I can depend on it to always come out the way I want, so it helps ease my mind and give me a break, even if it’s for just a few minutes. So much better than yoga..."

"Hey! I happen to love yoga!" Blue punched his bicep, joking that she was offended. He winced and rubbed his arm, as though she could actually harm him. "I totally get what you're saying though, this is exactly what yoga is for me. For even just half an hour I don't have to think about anything else and can clear my mind of all the clutter. It's methodical too, if you do it right there's a purpose to it and it gives you the result you were expecting."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense if you put it that way. Maybe I'd be a lot more interested in yoga if you were doing it with me?"

Challenge accepted.

"Okay, you make me coffee and I'll take you to a yoga class," Blue offered, completely expecting him to blow her off.

"Deal." He seemed serious. "But I'm only going if you sit next to me, I don't want to get stuck in a pretzel knot wearing yoga pants without someone nearby to help." He started leaning in closer to her, making her heart immediately race, but then he just reached over and pulled the lever down on the machine. The smirk on his face said he knew exactly the effect his closeness would have on her - she was beginning to think his flirtation was just as methodical as his espresso making.

Blue was also beginning to wonder what other signs she was supposed to be looking out for. He was obviously physically attracted to her, she got that loud and clear. But how far was he willing to take this? That's what she needed to know.

"What if I practice in a parka and combat boots? Will you match me so we can be yoga outfit buddies?"

He snorted and said, "if that's your outfit, I'm game."

She noticed clear water began running out. "Wait, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but aren't you supposed to put the grounds in the water to make the coffee?"

Gael rolled his eyes. "Amateurs. First of all, it's c afé exprés - espresso. Second of all, I'm warming the group and the cups so they don't cool it down once it starts to pour, plus this brings clean water through the pipes."

She nodded and acted impressed, "okay, si señor , that actually makes sense." She put her hands up in defeat.

He smirked at her and started to tamp down the grounds, then twisted his wrist as he pulled the tamper out. "This is to create restriction in the grounds for even extraction."

"How do you know all this?"

"My dad ran a c afé shop in Puerto Rico before they moved to the states. He showed me everything I know; taught me how to clean the machine so it keeps working, even how to make all the different drinks people would order from him. I have a lot of great memories of him making everyone happy with his coffee before he passed away." He smiled to himself as he slid the portafilter into the group then turned it clockwise until it locked in.

Blue noticed him reminiscing and it made her realize that she learned her love of yoga from a parent too. "My mom taught yoga for years...before she died." Gael looked up at her abruptly. "I remember seeing people hug her after classes and leave with the brightest smiles on their faces. It made me feel so proud of her, even as a young child I understood that she was making people happy."

The crease in his brow made it seem as though Gael didn't want to push the topic any further; maybe he was as bad about trying not to think of those who were gone as Blue was. Trying to create a distraction from the somber tension, he pulled the lever down to release the water and let it shoot through the grounds. A thick brown stream of espresso began to slowly flow in a straight line, steam rising from the hot liquid as it filled the cup. He looked at her through the side of his eye and noticed she had already turned around to grab some milk from the fridge, more than willing to move on from such a difficult topic - one she never spoke openly about with anyone. She handed the carton to him with a small smile on her face, "I'm not brave enough to have a shot, let's see how good your lattes are."

He began to steam the milk and froth it with the steam wand. "Anything for mi Azul. Actually, I think I'll even have one myself."

He carefully poured the milk into the side of the cup and then did a classic latte design as the foam began to pour. Handing her the cup carefully, her hands folded over his and he held on for a second, purposefully keeping the contact between them. Blue couldn't tell if it was the heat from the drink or his skin on hers that sent shivers down her arm.

"Are you sure you can handle this, it might be stronger than you're used to and there's no sugar."

Blue scoffed, "honey I'm from Texas, we were built for sweet tea and strong coffee. If I can't have the sweet, I can appreciate the strong."

She took a sip as he watched every second of her experience closely, wanting to see her reaction to the drink he made for her.

"So?" he asked.

Blue thought about making a joke, as she usually did, but decided to be genuine since it seemed to be something he really cared about. "It is without a doubt the best latte I've ever had in my life. Ever." She took another sip and a small moan escaped her mouth as she closed her eyes and savored the full flavor.

When she looked back up at Gael, his eyes were darker and his face was full of color. He stepped a little closer to where she was standing, so close he could have easily bent down and kissed her.

Why was she thinking of kissing right now?

But his full lips were so close and they looked even more delicious than his latte. She wanted to taste them so badly-

"There you two are!" Arjun interrupted and they jumped apart. Blue spilled a drop or two of her latte over the edge of her cup onto her hand. She started to lick her fingers one at a time, then she noticed Gael still staring at her, his eyes betraying his thoughts even though they weren't alone anymore. She quickly stopped and turned to Arjun, "hey, you scared the shit out of me! I'm holding hot coffee here, I could have been seriously injured. These hands are my most valuable possession, you know?" and she winked at him as she started walking towards the door, leaving Gael stranded to pick up his own cup and head out the door as well.

"Yeah well coffee break is over, you guys have to come back and let me bore you all with my budget and schedule plans. It's exciting stuff, I even color-coded the budget with a different color for each department! Don't worry, I gave wardrobe the blue column." He nudged her as they walked back into the stage.

"Aww, you're such a sweetheart," and she sat down trying to inconspicuously shake off what just happened.

Who knew lattes could be so hot?

————

Blue was exhausted from the long meeting that day. Sitting around talking about ideas is fun for the first few minutes, but she could only stand it for so long. She wanted to actually do something instead of only talking about it, so a six hour long production meeting was excruciating for her.

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Luckily she had a coffee break in between.

Blue rubbed her temples, she couldn't decide if she had a headache from taking in so much information that day, or from being so confused about Gael. How does one go about asking their sort-of-boss, 'hey I know you think I'm attractive, right back at you by the way, but are you ever going to do anything about it? Or is this just a fun way to pass the time?'

Now that she rubbed her neck, she realized she was so sore from sitting in an uncomfortable folding chair all day. All her muscles ached from being tense since Gael was sitting so close, she didn't want to accidentally bump his arm or anything. God forbid. She looked at her phone, it was only 4:30 in the afternoon so she had time to swing by for a quick yoga session and still be able to grab dinner before crashing at home in her lovely bed. She turned left instead of walking straight as she had been. Namaste was only a couple blocks this way. Suddenly she stopped.

What if she invited Gael? Would it be too presumptuous to assume he would actually go with her? She had tasted his latte, after all, so he did owe her one session, technically. She decided to text him quickly before she overthought it.

Hey, it's Blue. Heading for a yoga session in 20 minutes - thanks to sitting in the most uncomfortable chairs in human history all day long, I need it. If you were serious about it I'll send you the link. I mean you do owe me for the coffee, but I'll understand if you chicken out...if you're brave enough, then don't forget your combat boots and parka!

She added a laughing face emoji to show she was kidding, then hit send. She found the address link for the studio and sent it right away so he could find it.

Immediately the three dots popped up on the screen, meaning he was typing. She kept walking so she didn't have to think too hard about what she just did. This was definitely not her pursuing him, just her trying to help a friend out. His back was probably sore from sitting all day too, they were all more used to working on their feet or with their hands. Not the sitting types at all. Plus he was the one that had said he would go to a-

Her phone buzzed and she looked down. All he sent was the thumbs-up emoji and the yoga guy emoji.

Seriously? Was that a yes?

That was a yes, I'll see you in 20 after I dig through my closet for my winter coat...

She smiled down at her phone and started walking quickly to Namaste. When she arrived, she changed into an outfit she had in her locker, this one was black leggings with a white tank top. She loved it because the back of the top had crisscrossed straps that showed off a little of her yoga-toned back. As she was coming out of the bathroom, Gael was walking into the studio.

He had on a pair of black Adidas training pants and a plain white fitted t-shirt. His hair was pulled back into a man-bun again and she couldn't believe how good he looked, even in such plain clothes.

When he finally spotted Blue, he smiled like he was being held against his will while trying to be nice to his captor so he could get extra rations. "Wow, I can't believe I'm actually doing this again. I swore after the last time that I would never try to hurt myself on purpose and call it yoga, yet here I am," he said as he waved his hands around the room.

Blue gave him a pointed look, "If you're going to be this dramatic about it then you'll have to be on the opposite side of the room. I don't want you to throw off my groove with all your complaining." She pointed at his outfit, and then hers. "At least we still somehow managed to match, so that's a plus."

He laughed and reached for one of her straps on her back, threading his finger through it and brushing her skin slightly. "Yeah but my shirt doesn't have these, I feel like you're still slightly cooler than me..." he said, then let go of the strap and turned to walk into the room where everyone was gathering.

Blue just stood in amazement at how forward he could be, while still playing it so cool. She could see in his eyes as he touched her back that he was enjoying every second of it, just as she was, but he acted like it was no big deal.

She followed him in and headed towards the back corner, her favorite spot to lose herself in the practice and feel like she was alone; except this time she most certainly was not alone, and in fact, would be trying to not think about the guy sitting right next to her the entire time.

They both sat down and rolled out their mats next to each other. She crossed her legs and started taking deep breaths while peeking at Gael out of the corner of her eye.

He was sitting too, hands in his lap, and looking around like he was questioning his decision to come here.

"You ready?" she asked him.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. You promise you won't make fun of me, right?"

She laughed, "I swear I will not only keep my comments to myself, but I'll try to help out along the way. I want you to see this can be just as relaxing as a shot of espresso - I can't believe I even just said that, it makes no sense at all, but you know what I mean."

He gave her a hesitant smile and nodded his head. "Okay, whatever you say."

The instructor Mira came in and everyone quieted down. She softly asked everyone to begin breathing and clear their minds of any uneasy thoughts.

Yeah, right.

They took it slow at first, gently easing into every pose. She tried to leave Gael alone since he should be capable of the basics, at least she hoped so. When they were holding their arms up steadily in virabhadrasana 1, or warrior 1, she looked over at him and saw that he was focusing really intently.

"This is supposed to be relaxing, not something you are trying to conquer," she whispered to him.

His furrowed brow smoothed out and he looked over at her, "who says I'm not relaxed?” he grunted. “This is so incredibly easy, I am pretty sure I could do this in my sleep."

She quietly laughed, "it's not meant to be easy, overachiever. Think of it like you're moving your body in order to open it up and release any tension you're holding on to. Change your mindset, listen to your body, not just your inner thoughts and feelings."

He took a deep breath and she could see him visibly relax a little. "Much better," she whispered to him.

They continued the class, letting Mira guide them until Blue actually was starting to relax. A few times she would reach over and tap his shoulder to tell him to push them down and back, or nudge his foot to be parallel with the other one. More than once, she would look over and see him staring at her. She would give him the thumbs-up sign, as though to ask 'you okay?' and he would just smile and nod his head.

Mira quietly instructed everyone that this part of the session was over and that now they should join together with their partner on one of their mats.

Partner?

Gael looked at her suspiciously, "partner? Did you know we would have to find partners?" His hushed voice actually sounded a little flustered. "What if I get stuck with Karen over there?" he joked and he pointed at a woman in her mid-fifties, obviously only there to brag to her friends about doing yoga, but really just wanting an excuse to wear yoga pants every day.

Blue was nervous but still gave him a small laugh. "Fine, I'll rescue you from Karen. But you have to promise not to drop me?"

The smirk dropped from his face and his eyes got wide, "uh, what do you mean 'drop you'?"

At first, all they had to do was sit down and put their feet together in the air while sitting a few feet away, then reach around their legs to hold each other's hands. The hardest part was keeping their legs straight since Gael's were so much longer than Blue's. She began to quietly giggle, mostly from the nerves but also from the sight of them in this awkward position. She honestly couldn't believe he had agreed to this.

"I can't believe I agreed to this," he joked as they wobbled a little and tried not to disconnect their feet.

They made it through a few more poses, including one awkwardly intimate one called parivritta sukhasana where they were sitting back-to-back and had to reach around and grab each other's knee to stretch their spine. She could feel his back up against hers, completely touching every square inch. His hand on her knee was firm, but he kept it where it was supposed to be like a gentleman. Maybe he really was taking this seriously?

Each pose was a little more difficult, but they were getting slightly better at knowing what to do. Luckily Blue had done this more than a few times, so she was able to keep as steady as possible to help Gael stay rooted.

"Remember, this is as much an exercise for your own strength as it is an exercise in working with another person," Mira said. "You must look into their eyes and notice how they are doing, adjust in a way that might help ease their burden. This is to open your mind to the world outside of yourself. We are all connected and when we help each other, beautiful things can be accomplished. You must trust your partner and let go of yourself."

They were currently in trikonasana , or triangle pose, facing each other. Their legs were split like when doing a hamstring stretch, one hand on the ground and one hand straight up in the air. The hands that they held up were supposed to be touching, but Blue's wingspan was significantly smaller than Gael's so she slowly slid her hand up the length of his arm as high as she could. She felt his skin spark under her touch, and it felt more intimate than she had intended it to be.

They stared into each other's eyes since they were almost nose-to-nose. She could feel his warm breath on her face and smell his scent again. Coffee, mixed with vanilla and cedar. She felt a little dizzy, probably from the blood rushing to her head, or maybe from being so close to him. His eyes were dark again, this time with an intense look in them. She felt like there was a connection forming between them, like a small silver cord that was starting to weave in front of her. She could see it beginning to link the two of them together, still thin and wispy, but growing thicker with every weave.

The pose ended and they both stood up at the same time, bodies still touching. Gael took a step back and ran his hand through the hair that was falling.

She wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her, right there in the middle of yoga class. This was starting to become agonizing, the back and forth between them. She knew now, at that moment, that she couldn't turn back. She wanted him, he wanted her, and not knowing exactly what he wanted to do about that was getting exhausting. Maybe she was wrong all this time, maybe she needed to make the first step? Based on what she knew about his past with Carrie, was it possible that he was afraid to make the first move and let go of his past?

"And now for our final pose together today we will attempt an acro yoga flying pose. If you do not feel comfortable trying this, please feel free to sit down on your mat and breath together. I encourage you all to trust your gut, but push yourself to try something new if you feel up to it."

Blue looked at Gael, "what do you think? Are you up for it?"

He shrugged and said, "I mean I'm basically a pro at this point, so might as well give it a try."

Mira continued, "It is important that you practice a very firm connection with this pose. Your mudra , or hand gesture, must fit perfectly together and your grip must be unyielding." She demonstrated with a woman at the front of the class. "Choose who will be your base, and who will fly."

"You can hold me up, right? You seem like you would be a strong base, all five feet of you," Gael joked with her as he reached for his water bottle at the top of the mat.

Blue smirked at him. "Nah, I'll let you be the base. I like to be on top."

Gael choked on his drink a little and he wiped his mouth with his arm. His mouth hung open for a second, then he shook his head slightly and muttered to himself, "I bet you do..." as he laid down on his back. He put his feet up in the air as Mira instructed and Blue leaned into them with her hips. His legs were bent so she could reach his hands with hers and he grabbed them.

"Okay now flyers, lean into your base, and let them gently push their legs up and into your hip bone. Keep your body in one line, from shoulder to heels. Bases, with straight arms, receive the weight of your flyer in your feet, then straighten your legs slowly. Make sure your heels are directly over your hips to keep as steady as possible."

Blue felt her entire weight push on Gael's feet as he slowly lifted her up. He wasn't struggling since she was so slight and small, but she still wanted to keep as steady as possible so she didn't fall. He was staring up at her and she began to make a funny face at him, trying to get him to crack a smile since he looked like he was focusing too hard on not dropping her, not enjoying the moment.

He grunted, "don't make me laugh, I might drop you!"

Blue began laughing at him which made her abdomen unsteady. They started to wobble and he let her fall to one side gently, landing on her feet. She sat down next to him on the mat, holding her hand over mouth trying not to laugh so hard.

"Your face!" she whispered. She couldn't breathe because the more she tried not to laugh, the more she laughed. "You should have seen the look you had when I started coming down, like I was about to fall to my death!" She was getting louder and it was contagious. Gael started laughing, then the couple next to them. Soon, everyone in the back of the room was wobbling and falling, laughing at themselves and each other.