Partly because of that, and partly because we’re only about halfway through our session, I’m determined not to let Hannah see that I’m wearing down so quickly. So even though my arms are starting to tremble from this plank pose I’ve been holding for what feels like an eternity, I take several deep breaths and engage my core muscles to try to redistribute the strain.

“You’re doing really well,” Hannah says from the mat next to mine.

Her body is straight as a board, and as far as I can tell, there isn’t a single muscle on her amazing body that isn’t effortlessly locked in. It’s kind of hard to believe that she’s having an easier time with this than I am—I’m the professional athlete, after all—but that only makes me admire her more.

She’s so good at this that she doesn’t even see it, and she doesn’t have to think about it. It comes that naturally for her.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” I wheeze, and she smiles at me. The look alone is almost enough to make me collapse, and I really feel like I’m about to give out—so to cover it up, I lean over and steal a kiss from her.

She laughs and pulls away. “Nice try, but we need to stay focused. We’re almost done.”

“And what happens when we’re done? Do I get a reward?”

“The only way to find out is to finish. Come on, I’ll give you a break,” she says and lowers herself down into cobra pose, her back arched away from the mat.

I have to put my knees down to get my body to lower into the pose without falling, but I manage it. My reflection in the mirrors around us shows that I’m nowhere near as flexible as Hannah is and my arch isn’t anywhere close to as sharp as hers is, but I feel like I’m definitely seeing an improvement.

Still, she’s so close and the muscles are so tightly engaged that I can’t help myself from reaching over to run my hand across her ass. She laughs and swats me away with her free hand, but I can tell from the way she’s looking at me, from the heat flashing in her eyes, that her mind is probably just as full of the same thoughts.

“You’re making progress, that’s for sure,” Hannah says, looking at my lower back to judge the quality of the stretch and so she doesn’t have to look me in the eye. “But let’s see how you handle your favorite pose.”

“Oh, come on, hummingbird. Do we have to?”

“Do you want your reward or no?”

“Alright, fine. I’ll give it my best,” I grumble and push myself up off the mat to get into downward-facing dog.