I take Sara, Hallie, and Ryan upstairs, where there’s a dance studio and a party room for children’s birthdays. I flick on the lights, illuminating the wooden floors and ballet barres installed against a mirrored wall. Sara sets out the two yoga mats and a pile of foam blocks. Hallie stands with her back to the mirror and one hip jutting out, her arms crossed skeptically over her chest.

“Sara and I are roommates, and she’s a great teacher,” I tell Hallie, trying to warm her up to the idea.

When I suggested yoga to Hallie, she had balked at the idea. Even after relenting to one private lesson, she still wasn’t thrilled to try it.

“Have you ever done yoga before?” Sara asks Hallie.

Her voice has an extra drop of honey in it. It’s clear that Sara recognizes this is not exactly Hallie’s idea.

“Yeah, once, back in middle school gym class, before I got a tutor,” Hallie says flatly.

I can practically read her mind: This is exercise?

“I didn’t really like it,” Hallie adds, as if she can make this lesson disappear just with the sheer force of her surliest teenage attitude.

“Well, this will be totally different,” Sara says cheerfully. “Look, I’m not some weirdo old gym teacher who wears basketball shorts with tube socks.”

It’s a good point: Sara’s wearing matching leggings and a cropped tank top in a pink, orange, and purple ombré that reminds me of the sunset. She looks visibly, recognizably strong, and this seems to soften Hallie to her slightly.

“I guess,” Hallie says, tilting her head.

“Here, why don’t you do the honors of picking today’s playlist?” Sara offers, handing Hallie her phone.

“Cool,” Hallie says swiftly, nodding.

She starts to scroll through Sara’s Spotify.

Sara gives me a bemused glance, as if to say, Look. We’ll be fine.

“Um, guys? This is a private lesson,” Sara says to me and Ryan, pointing to the two mats on the floor. “I promise I’ll return her in one piece once the hour’s up.”

“Right, right, we’ll be going,” Ryan says.

“Yeah, we’ll go… somewhere,” I say, scrambling to temper my voice so I don’t sound too thrilled by the prospect of a free hour with Ryan in front of Hallie.

“See you soon… and have fun,” Sara says.

I follow Ryan down the stairs to the first floor, but when we reach the lobby, neither of us has anywhere to be. He looks blankly toward the gym, then the office.

He steals a glance toward the parking lot. “We could get out of here.”

“We can’t!”

He shoves his hands into his pockets and gives me an irresistibly flirty grin. “Who’d notice?”

“What if Hallie needs us?” I point out.