Head Over Wheels, page 4
“It happened after I checked in. I got in the elevator, and Jace was there too. I almost had a heart attack when I saw him! But I tried not to stare and make it too awkward.”
“Was he friendly? Or did he ignore you?” Tara shoots her questions at me, and I can tell the answer will matter.
“Actually, he surprised me. I thought he would ignore me, but he was really nice right away, and said hi and introduced himself.”
“Oh, good. I just knew he was as nice as he seems on camera.” Lisa clasps her hands together under her chin.
“Yeah, I thought the same thing, Lisa. Then when we were chatting, the elevator just stopped. We called for help, and it was a couple hours before they could get to us.”
“Oh, my gosh! That’s no fun at all, except for being stuck with Jace. That sounds pretty amazing.” Alicia winks at me.
“Why did Jace say it got tense?” Jeff pipes in.
“Ah well, towards the end, the elevator started making some weird, loud noises, and then it plummeted a few stories. It was pretty scary.”
Jeff reaches a hand out and places it on my forearm. “That sounds terrifying. Are you okay?”
The others echo his concern, and I wave them off. “We’re both fine. It wasn’t that bad really, other than the last thirty minutes.”
Right then, another instructor makes his way over to our group. Alex is just as loud and fun and vibrant as he is when he runs our classes, and everyone’s attention is thankfully pulled away from me for the moment.
As the event progresses, more and more instructors stop by until we’ve had a one on one with most of them. The emcee comes back over the speakers and grabs everyone’s attention.
“Hey folks. I’m sorry to say that tonight’s meet and greet is winding down. If you haven’t had enough fun yet today, don’t forget that there will be a special yoga class this evening in room 2B.”
This reminds me of my luggage. I hope that my bag is in my room when I get back upstairs—I really want to attend. Before we split up, we all follow each other on Instagram and then make plans to rendezvous back at the studio at 7:15p.m.
As I’m leaving the hall, a hand lightly touches my shoulder. I turn around to see Jace, beckoning me to stay behind. Before I can help it, I look behind me to make sure he’s talking to me.
He sees me and gives his head a little shake, waving me over again. Not wanting to embarrass myself any further, I turn to face him. The room has mostly cleared out now, and he pulls me into a little alcove away from prying eyes.
“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you’re feeling okay and see if you need anything else.” He’s looking at me with those clear blue eyes, and I’m trying really hard to stay focussed on his words. That thought leads me to look at his mouth, and those lips. Wow. Not helping the focussing.
“Ella?”
“Yep, hi.” Now he’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. Come on girl, get it together. Good thing I only drank ginger ale. “Thanks for checking on me. I’m okay, still going to steer clear of the elevators, but good otherwise. I hope my bag is in my room when I get back.”
“Right, yeah. I hope so too. Why don’t I give you my number so that if it isn’t there, you can text me and I’ll find some gear for you?” He pulls out his phone before I have a chance to keel over in shock. I’m about to put my number into Jace Altman’s phone! I tap the numbers in and send myself a text. I am seriously swooning inside.
“Don’t worry, I promise not to use it unless there’s an emergency,” I rush to reassure him, not wanting him to think I’ll go all fangirl stalker on him.
He lifts an eyebrow. “You don’t have to wait for an emergency, just text me if you need anything. It’s no worry at all.”
I gulp down the lump of emotion that has suddenly risen in my throat. “Wow, that’s really kind of you. Thanks.”
“Okay, I don’t want to hold you up any longer. Go check on your room and just text if anything comes up, okay? I’ll see you at yoga?”
“Yes, for sure. Thanks again.” I’m nodding and smiling and hoping I look like a normal person, not someone who’s doing cartwheels in her head because she’s swapping numbers with Jace. He gestures to the door, and we walk outside and cross the street together. A moment later, we’re laughing as we both, of course, head straight to the hotel stairwell.
CHAPTER 8
As I walk into my room, my shoulders slump in relief when I see my bag on the luggage rack. Not only that, but they’ve also dropped something more on the table by the window. I walk over to get a closer look. There’s a platter of six cookies, looks like a mix of chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. Yum, that will definitely come in handy later. There’s also a bottle of sparkling water with a card propped against it. It’s addressed to me, and the contents are essentially an apology for the inconvenience earlier with both the elevator and my lack of bag. It also says they’re comping my room for the whole stay, which is amazing news. It was a bit of a splurge coming down for the weekend, and not having to pay for my room almost makes up for the fact that I spent two hours stuck in an elevator. With Jace Altman. That’s never going to get old. My stomach flutters just thinking about it.
I open my bag and do a little organizing and unpacking, and I pull out my outfit for the yoga class. Deciding on my teal tank with black capri leggings, I quickly change out of Deb’s outfit. It feels good to put my own clothing back on, and I fold her things up, wondering when I’ll get a chance to return them. Maybe I can just give them to Jace next time I see him? Looking at the time on the hotel room clock radio, I see that I still have plenty of time before I’m meeting the group. I throw a hoodie over top of my outfit and grab my room key. It’s time to find a bite to eat before class.
As I wander through Gare Centrale, I’m thankful that the train station is attached to the hotel. Makes it the perfect spot to get something quickly without having to brave the elements. I’m deciding between sushi and a gyro when I hear someone say my name. I lift my head and am surprised to see Jeff standing beside me.
“Hey! I guess we both had the same idea about grabbing some food before class.” I nod to his hand which is clutching a Subway sandwich.
“Seemed like the perfect spot to go hunting for food between events.” He gestured with his sandwich.
“I’m just going to grab some sushi, I think.”
“Cool, I’ll wait here, and we can walk back together. If that’s okay?”
“Of course, sure. I’ll just be a sec.”
I hurry over to the sushi counter, and there’s one person ahead of me in line. What a crazy coincidence that we bumped into each other here. It’s such a big place. Oh well, life is weird like that sometimes. I place my order, pay, and then step aside to wait for my food. When I get my container, I turn around to find Jeff watching me.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I hope that didn’t take too long.”
“No problem at all, I’m happy to wait. Should we walk back?” He nods towards the entrance to the hotel.
“Definitely. We should have just enough time to eat and then meet everyone for yoga.” I’m eyeing my sushi and already thinking about how good it’s going to taste.
Jeff holds up his sandwich. “I was thinking I could eat half now and half later on, after class.”
“Look at you, planning ahead! Very smart. The hotel actually delivered some cookies to my room to make up for the elevator incident, so that will be my post-workout snack.” We’re back in the hotel lobby now, walking towards the elevator bank.
“Cookies are always a great snack. Lucky you.”
“I’m going to stick to the stairs, so I’ll see you at class.” I gesture past the elevators to the stairwell.
“It was nice to run into you Ella, bon appétit.” Jeff hits the button and watches as I head out.
“Bye, see you soon.” I’m getting pretty quick at these stairs, even with my hands full of sushi. I’m back in my room in no time at all, opening the bottle of sparkling water and pouring some into one of the glasses in the room. That makes me think of sharing my water bottle with Jace. It’s such an oddly intimate thing. Yeah, I may never wash that bottle again, I laugh quietly to myself.
The sushi is just as good as it looked, a mix of spicy tuna and salmon rolls. I skip the soy sauce to keep it as quick and simple as possible. I’m scrolling through my Instagram feed, and there are already lots of stories and posts from the meet and greet. My new friends are all on there too, and I see they’ve posted some fun snaps from earlier. Looking at the time again, I eat my last bite and then move to get ready for class.
When I get to the studio, I see my new friends there waiting for me. Jeff waves with his Subway cup, and he flashes a big smile at me.
“Hi! Sorry, I was running a little late.”
Everyone rushes to reassure me that I’m right on time, and since I’m the last one to join, we walk into the fitness studio. There are already quite a few people setting up in the room, so we position ourselves in the back corner. This is actually my preference, because while I love doing yoga, I’m certainly not great at it. The last thing I need is to be caught on video in my imperfect poses. My mat ends up between Tara and Jeff, and I nod at both of them as I sit down cross-legged to start getting myself into the right mindset.
It’s not long before Deb’s voice is calling the class to attention. She looks fresh and ready to go as she walks us through the template for this evening’s class. I find myself checking out the rest of the room to see if Jace came too. He’s not too hard to find—on the other side of the room with a couple of other instructors who came to support Deb. They’re intermingled with some lucky members, and he can’t see me watching him. He’s looking fantastic—in all black, his usual T-shirt and shorts, with bare feet. It’s so nice to watch him interact with other people; his grin is bright and he’s chatting quietly to the guy beside him.
I feel a tap on my arm and turn to see Jeff. He gestures to the front of the room where Deb is leading us into our first pose. I nod and thank him for bringing me back. His jaw looks a little tenser than usual. I wonder if he thinks he sucks at yoga or is taking it very seriously since we’re with the instructors. I shrug and tune back into Deb’s voice, leading me through the warmup stretches.
CHAPTER 9
When class ends, we decide to get a drink at the hotel lobby bar. The group, seven of us now, heads over to Nacarat, and thankfully, they have room for us. We get seated at an orange table with an off-white banquette on one side and chairs on the other. I slide onto the banquette, and Jeff slides in beside me. Tara and Lisa sit across from us, and the others move in beside them. The waiter comes by, and everyone orders a cocktail, so I go for my favourite Aperol spritz. We’re all buzzing about how fun it was to do an in-person yoga class. I feel pretty Zen because we finished with ten minutes of meditation, and it almost lulled me to sleep.
Others from the class start coming to the bar too, and I watch as they get seated around us. We’re waving at each other now, because even if we don’t know their names, we’ve become friendly with all the weekend attendees. I’m thinking how lucky I am to have found this great group of people so that I have friends to hang out with between events.
Suddenly Alicia leans in. “Hey, look who’s here!”
As one, we turn to face the entrance. A group of Elevate instructors is walking into Nacarat. I see Alex and Raj, and behind them are Alia and Jayenne. My heart sinks when I realize that Jace isn’t with them. I push the disappointment back, wondering why I even care so much. It’s not like we were going to hang out all night anyhow. They get seated at the table beside us, and I find myself next to Alex. His personality is so big that I can almost feel it, just sitting this close. He gives off this burst of energy, and when he turns his energy on me, it lights me right up.
“Hi, I’m Alex. You’re here with Celebration Weekend, right?”
“Yes, hi. I’m Ella.” I introduce the rest of our table to him, and he favours each person with a smile.
“What did you think of the first class?” He’s giving us his full attention while the rest of his group is discussing something amongst themselves.
Tara responds first. “I loved it! It felt so good to do it in person and be able to see everyone else around me while I hit the poses.”
Lisa nods. “Totally loved it. It’s so much more fun and engaging this way.”
I throw in my two cents. “Yes, it was a great class and a nice gentle way to kick off the weekend’s classes.”
“I’m so glad you all enjoyed it. And what about you?” Alex directs this last question at Jeff.
“Yeah, it was a good class.” Jeff snips, and I wonder—is he a little starstruck? He looks away from Alex towards the bar entrance.
My eyes follow his gaze, and my stomach does a salsa dance when Jace and John choose that moment to walk in. Jace scans the room. I see when he spots us, and I try not to grin too hard when they walk right over. They say hello to us and slide in on the other side of Alex’s table. I sense Jeff stiffen beside me. I’m chalking it up to nerves that now there are even more instructors joining our group.
Raj chooses this moment to slide out of the booth, telling everyone he’s got to take a call. This leaves a spot open for Jace, who moves in next to Alex.
His eyes meet mine with a smirk. “We keep running into each other.”
Alex looks at him, then me. “How do you two know each other?”
“She’s my elevator buddy from earlier.” He’s obviously told the rest of his team about our ordeal.
Alex’s eyes widen. “Oh, my! What a terrible way to start off your weekend. How are you doing now, hon?”
Instead of impulsively answering that I’m okay, I take a moment to contemplate. “I’m still processing it, I think. But as long as I stick to the stairs, it’ll be just fine.”
Jace nods at me. “I’m going to be avoiding elevators for a while too.”
I feel a hand on my forearm. Jeff leans in close to me and speaks quietly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m sure it was really scary. If you need any company on the stairs, let me know. I’m available anytime.”
“Thanks, that’s really sweet.”
I turn back to Jace and Alex and see Jace looking at where Jeff’s hand was on my forearm. I can’t believe he’s just casually hanging out with us right now. I’m going to live off the excitement of this weekend for months.
As I tune back into the conversation around me, Lisa, Alicia, and Tara are talking about calling it a night. Jeff looks at me and raises his eyebrows in question. Classes do start early tomorrow morning, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to go. Before I can answer, Alex leans over.
“Oh, are you all leaving already?” He puts an arm around me. “Please tell me you’re sticking around, Sweet Ella. I still have to get this afternoon’s story out of you. Jace only told us the bare minimum.”
I look over at my friends, but they’re standing now and saying good night. Even Jeff has pushed his chair back.
“I’m happy to stay if you want me to,” he says.
Alex waves him off. “She’ll be just fine. We’ll take good care of her, won’t we, Jace?”
Jace nods at my group. “Alex and I will make sure she gets back to her room safely.”
I get waves and see you tomorrows from my friends as they leave our table. Jeff looks reluctant to leave, but Alex shoos him off playfully.
“She’ll be fine, I promise!” Alex waits until they’re out of earshot to lean over. “Is that your boyfriend?”
“Jeff? No, not at all. We just met this weekend.” I can’t help but notice Jace’s expression relax when he hears my answer.
“Well, if he’s not your guy, he definitely wants to be.” Alex smirks, and I can’t help but laugh back.
“You’re ridiculous.” I shake my head at him and pick up my drink to take a sip.
Before I can get too comfortable, Alex grabs my and Jace’s wrists. “Do you want to go dancing? No one ever goes dancing anymore!”
Jace looks across at the other instructors. “Anyone up for dancing?”
Everyone nods, and before I know it, I’m being swept up with the group and towed out of the bar. I guess Alex didn’t really want to hear the elevator story after all. Alia mentions that she’s heard there’s a good spot for dancing in the hotel, and we follow her.
The club is on the main floor, off the lobby. I hear music pumping well before I see the entrance. There’s an EDM mix playing—I think it’s Avicii—and I’m suddenly so happy with this change of plans. Jayenne grabs my hand, and the three of us girls hit the dance floor while the guys go to find us drinks. I want to pinch myself. It’s hard to believe that I’m in the middle of a club, dancing with the Elevate instructors. I try not to think about the fact that the women are all professional dancers and just get my groove on. Although I may not be the most rhythmic dancer, I love to move. I throw my hands up in the air and sway happily as the song moves into Rüfüs Du Sol.
The boys are back and setting our drinks on a nearby table. Raj and John sit down while Jace and Alex join us. We move to the music, flowing from one song to the next. And then it happens. Jace grabs my hand. It seems so natural—one minute we’re dancing beside each other, and the next our fingers are intertwined. He twirls me around, and those dimples are making me weak. My head spins. Now we’re dancing together, the rest of our group standing apart from us. I can almost see the electricity zipping between us. It’s like the rest of the club has just faded away. It’s just us. Dancing. Twirling. Staring into each other’s eyes. Jace moves a little closer, and we both slow down. He’s swaying gently, coming closer. I close my eyes. Is he going to kiss me?
A new voice rings out, snapping me back to the present.
CHAPTER 10
“Hey! I was wondering where you all went. I was at the bar, but no one was there.”
