Chapter 13

Chapter 13:
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She might have lived in Boystown, with all the gated apartment complexes in beautiful brownstone, but her apartment wasn't the least bit glamorous. She was lucky her best friends were gay, otherwise she would have no idea how to style her apartment. It wasn't that she was bad at it, she just had no idea where to shop. These boys knew every designer within a 100 mile radius and were constantly getting her new pieces every few months.
She lived on the first floor, which was convenient because her dog had a fenced in yard to roam around in. She just had to share it with everyone else on that side of the first floor because the whole property was gated. She chose to leash her dog in the mornings though so her neighbors wouldn't have to pick up after her dog because she didn't have time to let him run around visiting everyone. She had to jump in the shower and get straight to work. She was a yoga instructor, and while the pay was good, the hours were strict and people were paying her to learn how to relax. It was kind of impossible to do so when a person refused to shut off her cell phone, but in spite of that she loved her job. She looked at her watch. Despite not wanting to get up, she had a decent amount of time to get ready. Her dog finally found a spot to do his business. After cleaning up after him, she went back inside to where it was nice and warm.

Her apartment was 1f, all the way at the end of the building. Although she loved the corner spot, she understood why no one wanted to live there. It was by far the one that invited all of the noises and smells the city had to offer, including the bad ones. Being so close to the street, if someone was drunk and peeing on a window, it was most likely her window. She learned the hard way never to leave the window closest to the street open, despite the fact that it had iron bars. It prevented anyone from trying to sneak in, but did not prevent any sort of liquid from coming in if the person aimed well enough.
It was because of this that she had scented candles everywhere, and they came in great use on Friday and Saturday nights. But for now she was safe, it was too cold to open up anyways.
Robert came bounding over to her. A very hot but way obvious gay man in his early 30s, Robert was her number one gossip queen. He was the eyes and the ears of the building, quite possibly the entire block. He was about 5'9", wirey, and had the most beautifully piercing green eyes she had ever seen in a human. She could almost swear that there was something other worldly about him, like although he loved to talk, he had a heart of gold and was her absolute best friend, aside from her bff Jayde who was now pursuing a singing career.
"Hellooooo gorgeous!!" he called out to her, stopping to give her kisses on both her cheeks. Mystic eyed him curiously, but Robert was perfectly fine pretending the big dog didn't exist. If he couldn't tuck it under his arm with the latest bling, it wasn't a real dog. He managed to give it a weary pat on the head, to which Mystic gave exactly one half of a tail wag and returned to Violet's side, where he always was.
"have I got some news for you, girl," he said in his sassy "I know something delicious" voice. Violet decided to bite. "I only have a minute, so tell me while you walk me to my door," she said in her "I'm interested but could we hurry this along?" voice. "rumor has it, this guy moved into the apartment building next door, and he is straight." Violet's eyes grew wide as she digested the news. They were almost to her apartment. "oh yeah?" she asked, clearly wanting this story to continue.
"I haven't caught his name yet, but word on the street is that he's single and gorgeous. He has the most beautiful eyes, they're brown but with flecks of green, he has a smile that could light up even the dullest romantic comedy, and he has an ass to die for." while Robert went clamoring on about this guy's different body parts, Violet's mind wandered to the guy she had seen earlier, in her dream. She knew she had seen him before, but was having trouble placing him. Maybe it would come to her later.
"well, this is my spot," violet said. "thanks for the head's up on the cute new guy."
"no problem, beautiful. He might be gorgeous but if he says or does one thing you don't like, let me know."
"how will I do that? How do I know I'm even going to meet this guy?"
"oh, you will. I have a plan. But you will be late for work if you don't hop into that shower right this very second."
"yes sir, toodles," Violet said, kissing him on both cheeks before  leaving Robert. She'd have to take him out for a drink later.
Closing the door behind her, she smiled to herself. Today was going to be a beautiful day, she could feel it.
She got her outfit ready and turned the water on, waiting for it to get warm before jumping in. As she lathered up she kept getting flashbacks in her head of this boy she used to go to school with, John. She remembered his kind eyes, his charming smile, the way they could just talk about everything and how he used to just look at her. They never went out on a date, but she often wondered about him. Suddenly the pictures clicked together. The man of her dreams wasn't a stranger at all. The man she had felt so connected to was someone she had already known and had been friends with for a while. She would have to look him up later to see what he was up to.
Hurrying up, she got out of the shower, dried off, got herself together and out the door with a few minutes to spare before she'd be really late. The day was beginning to warm up and she could see the barista behind the Starbucks counter making her caramel apple spice before she even came blasting through the door.
She paid for her drink, grabbed a sleeve so her fingers didn't burn, left a tip, and disappeared as quickly as she had come in. If a person wasn't paying attention, she might have looked like a blur or an abstract painting. Little did she know, someone was watching and smiling. Everything was going right. He was at yoga class, waiting for the instructor to show up. He had a heavy project at his job (he was an environmental architect), and this was the only time he had to destress. As it was, he was going to have to leave a little bit early so he wouldn't get stuck at work till 10pm again.

At that moment, she blasted through the door with one minute to spare. John couldn't help but stare, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He felt a slight blush on his face as he took her in. There was something about her he couldn't quite grasp, something his mind couldn't quite grasp. She looked as familiar as if he had known her his whole life, yet the flashbacks of the dreams he'd been having lately came creeping into his mind, and suddenly he found himself thinking up baseball statistics. No need for further embarrassment, he thought to himself.
Finally, the angel spoke.

"hello, everyone. And namaste. I see we have some new faces in here, so allow me to introduce myself. I'm Violet. In today's class, we will be learning..."

John's memory shot through him like a bolt of lightning through an oak tree. Of course she was Violet, his high school friend and crush. And also, the woman he had been having some very provocative dreams about lately. Was it just his imagination, or did her eyes light up a bit when she scanned the room and saw him standing there, awaiting her instruction? Did she falter a bit, was there a slight blushing of her cheeks as she started up the relaxing music and instructed the class to prepare for sun salutation? She had to have recognized him as well, yet she gave no indication of this as her soothing voice and calming energy filled the room. She touched his shoulder as she  made her rounds, looked him right in the eye and winked as she gave the instructions of each step.  After that was over, she walked back to the front of the class and continued the poses she wanted the class to focus on, graciously assisting John as he fumbled and faltered his way through his very first yoga session.
As the class came to a close, Violet instructed everyone to lay down on the floor and relax as she started the calm down. As she spoke, her words were an incantation that mesmerized his soul. Through her words he felt as if his body were floating to another plane of existence, and all he could see were fields of green grass and the bluest sky he had ever seen. Was this heaven? He turned his head to see sunflowers, reaching high as they longed to be as close to the sun as possible. They were as tall as trees. He could see trees in the distance, and was about to walk towards them until he heard the sound of a gong that brought him back into the present.
Whatever he had just felt and seen, he had to have again. His heart immediately broke at the separation of this vision and he hardly understood why. It was just a field, it was just a sky, and they were just sunflowers. And they were just trees. But to him, it was more than that. And he'd be a fool not to attempt to feel that again.
With a deep sigh he got up and walked over to Violet. With palms sweaty and heart pounding he willed his legs to walk right up to her. As she smiled at him, he willed his mouth to open. At first, he resembled a fish out of water. "hey, stupid, say something," his mind was shouting. He smiled back at her, clearing his throat. He tried again. "hello, Violet."
"hello, will you be joining this class?" violet asked, a hint of red in her cheeks although she was trying to remain calm. "I sure am," John said as he smiled and took her hand. "I'm John, by the way," he said. "of course you are!" violet recognized her childhood friend at once and gave him a huge hug, not caring about being polite.