"Ella"

All material, writing & editing done by Sammy J

Prologue

She was worn and she was tired. Her eyes felt heavy and wet. The tears fell over her cheek like rain over velvet. It hit her lips - salty. Her arms hung heavy at her sides. She couldn't move.

His hands were on her now - soft and subtle. They moved slowly from her slender hip up to her face. "What do you want Ella?"

Their eyes were set on each other. The room silent.

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Chapter 1

The waves weren't as reckless as they had been the day before. The sun was just as bright. Ella moved to the porch just off her bedroom and stretched taking in the beautiful sight. The air was light with spring. Her favorite.

Her home is quaint but just big enough to host her yoga classes off the sunroom and a 70 pound golden retriever, Rex. The house was set just off the beach in a small town in Maine. The kind of small town that one cherished but where you were still dodging your sophomore year hook up as you pass them in the corner store.

Rex wagged his tail impatiently waiting for her morning to get started. "Five more minutes buddy", she patted his head as she stretched into a perfect plank. Her arms were lean and her legs strong. Ella was just short of her mat and had long wavy auburn hair. The sun had streaked it with gold around her face. Even after a long winter.

"Alright, alright let's go." Rex raced her to the kitchen and practically sat in his bowl. She fed him and got herself some granola and a banana. Ella kept her home warm with gold and blue tones. The large panel hardwood floors

"Let's see what we got on tap for today," she reviewed the calendar on her refrigerator that was scribbled over about a hundred times. Complete with post-its and the attempt at color-coding. "I really need a better system."

“We have 40 minutes to ourselves before the mats roll in for our first class of the day,” Rex panted in acknowledgement and followed her back to the bedroom. Ella started to peel out of her pajamas and grabbed the outfit she had laid out. Her yoga pants hugged her hips and showed off one of her best assets beautifully and it’s just that, her ass. A by-product of her lifestyle and something Ella has always secretly loved.

Her sports bra, a lime green, popped against her olive skin. She grabbed a tank top and slid it on. Her fingers immediately grazed the scar. It was on her left shoulder blade. It was slightly raised and about an inch long. It had been part of her for only a year but felt as though it had been there forever. Her stomach ached. That ache. She pulled the tank all the way down.

Rex was in heaven as the women filed in, petting and kissing him as they went by. Ella's sunroom was just big enough to hold about 15 people per class. All of the colorful mats spread out in front of her and the fresh air blowing in - her haven.

"Shhh! She'll never go for Matt. She hasn't even blinked in the direction of a guy since Luke," Lainey said to McKenna in her attempt to whisper. McKenna rolled her eyes, big deep brown ones that had lashes for days, "That may be true but that doesn't mean things can't change. The girl needs to get some." Lainey giggled in agreement.

"Hi babes, what's so funny?" Ella had walked over to their mats to see what all the fun was about. "Oh just something Brayden did last night. We grilled and watched a movie. Nothing big. How was your night?" Lainey fibbed but only half way, her and her husband of one year did in fact grill and watch a movie. Lainey hoped her face wouldn't give anything away; Ella hated when her friends worried about her love life. Or lack their of.

"Hm hm, right. Well, my night consisted of laundry and cleaning. I was in bed by 10. It seems to be a pattern lately.”

“Well that is going to change tonight. We’re all going out. We’re going to get dressed up, get drinks, get hit on and eat late night food,” McKenna laid out the plan as she flopped on her mat. Ella looked weary immediately. “Come on Ells, you need to take that ass of yours out for a drink. Rex gets more action on his walks than you.” Lainey winced at the comment and hoped her firecracker friend wasn’t going to scare the other off.

“Tell me how you really feel, Mckenna,” Ella laughed and then rolled her own eyes. “Fine. I’ll be ready by 8. I’m not pleased by this ambush though. But I’ll get over it; with a martini. A really big, juicy martini.”

“Thatta girl,” Mckenna smiled proudly.