Author's note:
I failed to include several pages of key narrative when I published this previously. For those who may have read the first edition, you can skip to the word "scheme" and read from there...or feel free to read the whole thing again!
When Emmy arrived for her final class, Charlie was attentive. Things had moved quickly, as she knew they would, with Emmy compliant and needing whatever Jacob implied. Re-watching the most recent session, she was surprised at how it had aroused her. Emmy's fixation on Jacob's erect member, her pushing out of her labia and arching her back whenever she could, begging with her body to be taken. She kept re-visiting one moment in time when Emmy said something, so quietly Charlie couldn't hear it clearly. Eventually she figured it out: "Please." It was obvious Yogi Jacob had heard it though, moving his fingers against her, kneeling so his erection was at her mouth in Down Dog, helping her move herself onto it as she transitioned into Dolphin.
But something wasn't quite right with Emmy today; she seemed upset and distracted.
"Hi, Emmy!" Charlie added some emphasis. At her subdued response, Charlie continued. "Are you feeling okay? Is there anything I can get you?"
Emmy smiled weakly and assured her it was nothing; that she really could use this session with everything going on. Charlie gently suggested she could tell Yogi Jacob if there was anything wrong so he could adjust accordingly. Emmy smiled weakly again, assuring her she would tell Yogi Jacob whatever she needed and turned to enter the locker room.
After several years of offering these special classes, Charlie felt she'd seen almost every scenario, but even if that weren't the case, she could smell when things were heading off the rails. It's possible Emmy was having problems that could wash over into NamasteYoga's business. She buzzed Jacob to give him a heads up.
Putting down the receiver, she reminisced about how they'd gotten here. She was surprised at how easily they got their first client, smiling grimly at how it had been a complete fluke. Given how quickly they put that first class together, Charlie panicked, thinking her forecasts were completely wrong. But the second class took much longer, much closer to her original expectations.
Ashely, their first prospect, was curious when Charlie mentioned NamasteYoga was adding some services. She quietly intimated the classes could be private with more intimacy.
"Well, sure," she said uncertainly, scanning Charlie's face for any hidden meanings. "How much are you suggesting a private will cost?"
Charlie handed her a flyer with the various options and watched as Ashely read down the chart.
"Ummm," she looked up, confused. "What's the difference in these two columns?" She looked back down and then brought her hand to her mouth, flicking her eyes back to Charlie. "Are you serious?" She was smiling behind her hand, waiting for confirmation.
"It's the latest in Europe," Charlie said matter-of-factly, "and we were looking to be the first studio in town to offer it."
"I...wow...that's a lot of money...wait...hold on. You guys are going to do
group
naked yoga??"
Charlie nodded, giving a silent shout out to herself. She'd nailed her perfectly. "We're offering a grand opening special, 50% off, but we need four people minimum. If you have any friends who might want to join you, please feel free to let me know. We're reserving Tuesdays, 5PM for group and mid-mornings for privates. That special price applies to privates as well, by the way, so if you wanted to try it yourself, keep that in mind."
Ashely nodded, blushing but taking the sheet with her. "How long are you running the special?"
"We're not sure. It might be an introductory price for the first class. For sure til the end of the month."
Within a few days, Ashely had called back, giving Charlie names of folks she hoped would call. And a few days after that, NamasteYoga had its first group class scheduled.
"So, here's the thing, Jacob." She sat in his office going over last minute details. "I think we've got to play this straight for a few weeks to see how folks are with it. I've got profiles on all of the guests. Aside from Ashely, you've got five others: one more Type 2, two Type 1s and oddly one each Type 3 and 4. Either my screener needs to be cleaned up, or they misunderstood, or...I don't know. So, let's see what happens if you just run a straight class with no enhancements."
She had finally understood what he had been doing in his regular classes, and specifically what he'd been doing with her in their privates. Something about his aroma was much of it, but his suggestions and gentle touches were part of the recipe. He didn't even know he was doing it, it came so naturally to him. The two of them had had regular sessions together, working through sets for a variety of client types and skill levels, until Charlie realized she was spending far too much time with him.
She couldn't afford to get attached, either time-wise or emotionally. She was focused on building a business of her own and this was her first portfolio piece. Which was not to say the side-benefits weren't amazing. They had explored a variety of positions she'd never heard of or seen before, all requiring some flexibility, balance or strength. And throughout, no matter how or where he penetrated her, she would climax unlike any other in her past. On those rare occasions where she felt him jerk and stiffen, pride rushed through her, knowing she'd pushed him over the top.
But it was all captured as "research," and she had been careful to document exactly when he began to make his moves on her, when the sessions seemed to shift from clinical to personal. As they put the sets together, she would mark a position with an asterisk, indicating that was when he would most likely pivot. It was a warning more than guidance: to keep him hyper-aware of his unconscious tendencies.
"Until you are better at reading the room, and until we're certain your clients really want to go there, I think erring on the side of caution is prudent, right?"
He nodded, still perplexed at how carefully she was thinking it all through. For him, it was just teaching yoga. It flowed. If it flowed into something else, well, that's what the situation called for. He was still mystified by her insistence that something shifted whenever she had marked an asterisk. But he knew it was his blind spot, and if he wanted to understand it, he needed to be more present in those moments.
He was also mystified that clients would pay so much more simply to practice without clothes on. "This culture is so hung up on nudity," he remarked to her during one work session. "Why should naked classes cost any more than dressed classes?"
She explained in overly simplistic terms how pricing affects perception. "It's not so much that nudity itself commands a higher price," she summarized, "but that there are no other studios offering it. That creates a supply scarcity, which means we can charge a premium. Of course, that only lasts until some other studio offers the same classes and undercuts us."
But,
