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,
she thought,
will they have figured out who to cater to and how?
She was betting on the marketing and analysis to keep NamasteYoga's prices above the competition. And of course the enhancements. Clearly Yogi Jacob had something special.
The first class was all women, and Charlie suggested he keep a loin cloth on. He looked skeptical, wondering why he shouldn't also be naked with the students. "It seems like they'd feel more self-conscious if their teacher wasn't undressed, no?"
She reminded him that as a teacher there were many different ways he was unlike his students: he didn't do all of the positions, he moved among them, he touched them, he spoke. Being minimally dressed continued that status/power difference, and she assured him it was not only okay, it was expected. "As friendly as you are, you know you will never be their friend."
She offered to help orient them, again keeping his role as teacher separate from the administrative parts of the work. As each woman arrived, she greeted them with a smile, offering them a wrapped gift of robe, incense, passcard key and printed card of instructions. Although phones were never allowed inside the studio, she made it clear that there would be no photography or videos permitted for the naked sessions.
They were asked to undress in the locker room and enter the studio with their robe, with the belief it would make the transition less difficult. With nothing to guide them, everything in those early days was an experiment. As the classes became more routine, and they needed fewer incentives, they stopped offering robes. The naked classes never were scheduled at the same time as any others, so having to cover up became superfluous.
She watched from a window they had installed high above her desk. It required a short stair to a platform, and even then, she sat on a high stool. As expected, Ashely was the first to disrobe and was least self-conscious. She stood at the top of her mat, at the front of the others, casually exposing her dark muff of hair and letting her breasts hang free. She set the tone for the others, who seemed self-conscious until they saw her. Even Toni, the Type 1, was hesitant for a few minutes until Ashely engaged her in casual conversation, apparently oblivious to her nudity.
It's not like they hadn't seen each other naked—they showered and dressed together, at least the ones who had taken classes before—and they were obviously friends: Ashely had invited all of them. So, this seemed like the right formula.
The group's mood changed when Yogi Jacob entered the room. He greeted them warmly, dressed in his tunic, but they all froze, momentarily suffering self-conscious embarrassment at being naked in front of a dressed man. They busied themselves at their mats, looking down and away as he pulled his tunic up and over his head. Except the Type 1 and 3. They both stared at him, surprised at seeing his penis was still covered, before readying themselves at the top of their mats.
The class went well—very well given it was their first. They discussed it later that day at the bar.
"Thoughts?" She sipped at her cocktail, remembering back to the scenes in the studio. She had pages of notes, but wanted to hear his impressions.
"It went well, I thought." He stared at the wine in his glass, thinking. "I'm not sure I understood the differences between Ashely and Morgan. You keep saying they're different types, but I couldn't tell as I was facilitating."
She nodded. They couldn't have been more different, but she saw that he had been trying to treat them the same and it was confusing the situation. She had a few notes on that.
"Do you know if they were aroused afterward? You know I can't tell." He took a sip appraising the wine.
