times to keep from falling.
“Don’t worry so much,” Sambit said, his foot coming gracefully back to the ground. “Everyone has a stability side and a mobility side. You will always balance better on one side than the other, but that will improve with time and practice.”
“You say that like I’m going to do this with you again,” Derek said, sitting down on his cot again.
“You will.” Sambit’s voice was so confident Derek almost refused just to annoy him, but when he took a deep breath and took stock of his body, he realized he was more relaxed than he’d been before. Sore from stretching so much, but more relaxed.
“Maybe. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.”
Chapter 5
S AMBIT left Derek alone after their shared yoga time. As much as he would have liked to linger, Sambit could tell Derek needed a break. The thought amused him because he’d only known the other man for a few hours, but even with the yoga practice, tension rolled off Derek in waves, far more so than when he’d first arrived. Out in the hall, Sambit moved through a few more advanced poses, letting the familiar movements stretch his muscles and ease his own troubled thoughts.
Finding the body of the second shift manager had shaken him. While not as strict as many Hindus about the caste system, he had grown up with a distinct aversion to dead bodies as unclean. To Lyrica, though, the body hadn’t been unclean. It had been a friend who deserved a better end than lying facedown in the mud and being left to rot. Sambit consoled himself that the hazmat suit had protected him from everything else. It could protect him from contact with a dead body as well. That had been bad enough, but the readings on the Geiger counters as they climbed around the core containment buildings were far more troubling in the long term. That level of radiation could kill them—and render large portions of the surrounding areas unusable—if they couldn’t get them under control.
And then there was Derek. Foul-mouthed, prickly Derek, who had adopted a stray dog and now defended that dog with all his considerable temper. Defensive, combative Derek who had insisted on going outside with Lyrica and Sambit even though it was so far beyond his area of expertise that he could have used that as an excuse to stay where it was safe. Out-and-proud Derek.
That was the hardest part for Sambit to understand. He had never felt the need to share his sexuality with anyone other than his lovers, not that he’d had all that many. His family had given up on arranging a marriage for him after he’d repeatedly refused to meet the girls they’d picked out, but that was a matter of principle. Whether he stayed with a lover for a few weeks or for the rest of his life, he intended to pick that person, not have his parents make the decision for him. He’d told them that in no uncertain terms. He’d simply neglected to mention the preferred gender of those lovers. He had a hard and fast rule about mixing business and pleasure, so he’d never dated anyone at work, which meant his colleagues didn’t know he was gay, but they didn’t need to. When they had gatherings away from work, they always invited him and a guest, but since he hadn’t met someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he’d never brought anyone with him. One coworker had tried to set him up, but he’d put an end to that immediately as well.
“You put my yoga instructor to shame.”
Sambit looked up from a monkey pose to see Lyrica standing in the corridor. “I’ve been doing yoga since I could walk,” he explained. “My mother started every day with fifteen minutes of yoga and ended it with an hour. It’s a habit I never saw a reason to break.”
“No reason why you should,” Lyrica said. “If we end up here for very long, I may join you. I go to classes twice a week.”
“You’re welcome to join me anytime,” Sambit said. “I’m hoping Derek will join me as well.”
“Good luck
“Don’t worry so much,” Sambit said, his foot coming gracefully back to the ground. “Everyone has a stability side and a mobility side. You will always balance better on one side than the other, but that will improve with time and practice.”
“You say that like I’m going to do this with you again,” Derek said, sitting down on his cot again.
“You will.” Sambit’s voice was so confident Derek almost refused just to annoy him, but when he took a deep breath and took stock of his body, he realized he was more relaxed than he’d been before. Sore from stretching so much, but more relaxed.
“Maybe. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.”
Chapter 5
S AMBIT left Derek alone after their shared yoga time. As much as he would have liked to linger, Sambit could tell Derek needed a break. The thought amused him because he’d only known the other man for a few hours, but even with the yoga practice, tension rolled off Derek in waves, far more so than when he’d first arrived. Out in the hall, Sambit moved through a few more advanced poses, letting the familiar movements stretch his muscles and ease his own troubled thoughts.
Finding the body of the second shift manager had shaken him. While not as strict as many Hindus about the caste system, he had grown up with a distinct aversion to dead bodies as unclean. To Lyrica, though, the body hadn’t been unclean. It had been a friend who deserved a better end than lying facedown in the mud and being left to rot. Sambit consoled himself that the hazmat suit had protected him from everything else. It could protect him from contact with a dead body as well. That had been bad enough, but the readings on the Geiger counters as they climbed around the core containment buildings were far more troubling in the long term. That level of radiation could kill them—and render large portions of the surrounding areas unusable—if they couldn’t get them under control.
And then there was Derek. Foul-mouthed, prickly Derek, who had adopted a stray dog and now defended that dog with all his considerable temper. Defensive, combative Derek who had insisted on going outside with Lyrica and Sambit even though it was so far beyond his area of expertise that he could have used that as an excuse to stay where it was safe. Out-and-proud Derek.
That was the hardest part for Sambit to understand. He had never felt the need to share his sexuality with anyone other than his lovers, not that he’d had all that many. His family had given up on arranging a marriage for him after he’d repeatedly refused to meet the girls they’d picked out, but that was a matter of principle. Whether he stayed with a lover for a few weeks or for the rest of his life, he intended to pick that person, not have his parents make the decision for him. He’d told them that in no uncertain terms. He’d simply neglected to mention the preferred gender of those lovers. He had a hard and fast rule about mixing business and pleasure, so he’d never dated anyone at work, which meant his colleagues didn’t know he was gay, but they didn’t need to. When they had gatherings away from work, they always invited him and a guest, but since he hadn’t met someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he’d never brought anyone with him. One coworker had tried to set him up, but he’d put an end to that immediately as well.
“You put my yoga instructor to shame.”
Sambit looked up from a monkey pose to see Lyrica standing in the corridor. “I’ve been doing yoga since I could walk,” he explained. “My mother started every day with fifteen minutes of yoga and ended it with an hour. It’s a habit I never saw a reason to break.”
“No reason why you should,” Lyrica said. “If we end up here for very long, I may join you. I go to classes twice a week.”
“You’re welcome to join me anytime,” Sambit said. “I’m hoping Derek will join me as well.”
“Good luck
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