Angela

“Left.”

“Okay, now right.”

“Now left again!” she called, putting motion to her words. “Don’t forget to get up on your tiptoes in-between.”

There were several good-natured grumbles from behind her, but no outright protests, which was to be expected. It’s not like what they were doing was easy after all. It was work. Hard work. Her body protested, and she was sure some of the others had it even worse.

Still, Angela was glad she was here doing it. Well, not only doing it, but running it. She was the leader, the organizer, and the one the others were starting to turn to.

“Right, one more time,” she called, and her right foot went forward as she stepped into a lunge. In front of her the stroller moved forward several more feet as Angela kept her body upright and hands fixed to the push-bar.

Behind her wheels clacked over the hardwood of the studio as the eleven women in her class followed suit. She pushed upward with her legs, bringing her left foot forward until it was pressed to her right. Then she used her calves to lift herself up onto her tiptoes, enjoying the burn of the movement.

A rush of air half-whistled through her lips as she exhaled on the way down and turned to look at the others. Several of them, the ones who had been with her from the start, simply looked sweaty but happy. This decreased through the ranks to the newest joiners, who looked…well, rough would be a nice way to put it.

“Water break,” she called, strolling through and exchanging smiles and nods with her class, most of whom were her friends as well.

“How are you doing?” she asked, stopping in front of one mother whom she had thought was perhaps being a little ambitious when she came out to start.

“Ow.”

Angela grinned and took a seat where she could keep an eye on her own baby, though she knew that several of the other girls would keep watch for her as well. They were a team, all of them, and they helped one another out wherever possible. By looking after Cooper, they could allow her to help ensure the other women in the class were managing.

“Yeah, it’s definitely not easy at first. It’s going to hurt even more tomorrow, trust me.”

“I do,” she said. “That’s what scares me.”

Angela shared a laugh. “I have to admit, I thought you were a little ambitious coming out only two weeks in, but you go girl!”

“Yeah, I thought I’d be okay,” the woman admitted, wiping sweat away from her beet-red brow. “I…uh, I was wrong.”

They laughed again. “Sorry, what was your name again?” Angela felt silly asking, but she was terrible with names. It would take three, maybe four tries before she remembered them.

“Alannah,” she said.

Right. Alannah. Remember that!

“Well Alannah, I hope we’ll see you for the next one?”

“Friday?”

“You bet. Noon, here.”

“Yeah. I’ll be here. It’ll suck, but it’s so much easier doing this together as a group than just trying to go to the gym.”

“Exactly,” Angela said with a nod. “That’s why I started them. I’ve never been an overly active person in my life, though I try to eat more salads than fries and the like. But going to the gym just wasn’t an option. So I started running these classes, and I hope to graduate to higher levels as we all get there. There’s so much available on the internet for me to learn what’s necessary, and it’s good for all of us.”

Alannah’s face showed agreement through the sweat and hair plastered to her face. “I want to be a good example for my child,” she said softly.

Angela reached out and clasped her on the arm, trying not to let the ache in her heart show. Becoming a mother had changed her in so many ways she’d never expected, and sentiments like this were just one of them. It was something that she’d understood intellectually before parenthood, but that just sort of morphed into a core part of her being after she’d delivered Cooper.

Being a mother or father wasn’t for everyone, and Angela would never fault those who chose not to, and she sympathized with those who wished to but couldn’t, for whatever reason. Life was complicated, but now that she’d created it, she felt a sort of responsibility to ensure that her creation didn’t grow up to be a failure, or worse.

“I understand,” she said, and when she spoke those two words, they came with a meaning, a gravitas, that she knew Alannah would hear deep within her. “That’s why we’re all here. For ourselves, but also for our children. It’s going to be tough to do this as single parents, but that doesn’t mean we need to do it completely alone.”

“Thank you,” Alannah said.

Angela stood and offered her hand to the other woman. Together they stood and took several deep breaths. Alannah eventually produced a water bottle from her stroller and guzzled some of its contents with all the grace of a thirsty dog.

“So Friday?” she asked.

“Friday,” Angela confirmed.

“Bring it.”

Angela grinned, clasped her newfound friend on the shoulder, and made her way through the rest of her little group, trading words, jokes, and support as needed. This was her team, and she was proud of it. At the front of the group was some of her closest friends, Elle and Laura and Rachel.

The studio gym space was getting tight, she decided, with a dozen of them. If the numbers kept expanding she’d either have to get a bigger place, or do two classes. It might be worth it, so that she could start doing some more advanced work. The core four of them were definitely ready for it, and another two or three women would probably join, though they might regret the decision the first time or two.

Her only concern was affording it. So far the local high school had been kind enough to loan her the use of their workout studio area, but if she kept expanding, she was going to need to move into the actual gymnasium itself. They might be less willing to let her have that for free, considering it was often rented by youth sports leagues.

I’ll figure something out. I’m not going to stop, that’s for sure.

With the class over the women were all packing up and preparing to leave. Several babies started to make noises, and the room promptly filled with giggles and laughs from mothers and their children as the others all picked up on cues from each other and started to become active in their strollers.

“The first time one of them cries in here it’s going to be disastrous,” Rachel remarked as she fell in line behind Angela on her way to the front lobby of the school.

“Shh, don’t jinx it!” she hissed. “We’ve got a perfect record so far, and I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible.”

“Good luck,” Rachel laughed, reaching into her stroller to tickle Karlie under the chin.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the joke seriously, knowing she was going to need it.

They emerged into the lobby, and Angela found her eyes immediately drawn to the tall, wide-looking figure standing at the doors.

“Hector is picking you up today?” she asked teasingly.

“I guess?” Rachel sounded surprised by her mate’s presence. “Who’s that with him though?”

Angela looked back over at the swath of doors that led in and out of the school, noticing for the first time the figure behind Hector, standing between the two sets of doors and looking outward. Like all shifters he was tall and broad at the top, tapering down to a firm waist.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But he’s got a cute butt.”

Which was true. The lights of the school were shining just right to let her see the curves of his rear, clad in the ubiquitous black tactical pants that all shifters seemed to wear unless forced to do otherwise by their mates. As she spoke he turned to look inside, possibly drawn by the noise of the women as they all filed into the lobby, talking to themselves and their babies.

“Oh,” was all she managed to say as she truly saw him for the first time.

He was gorgeous. Her eyes roamed shamelessly over him, from the

“Earth to Angela,” someone said.

A hand wrapped around her arm and gave it a little jerk, startling her out of the inadvertent staring contest with the mystery shifter.

“Um, yes?” she asked, still not turning her head away as she regarded the rest of him, etching his face into her memory.

“Over here,” the voice said, somewhat condescending, somewhat bubbling with laughter.

Angela eventually managed to turn her head away from the gorgeous specimen of masculinity and look at Rachel.

“Who is that?” she hissed.

Rachel snorted. “Think with your head for a moment.”

“I’m trying, but I mean, look at him,” she said dreamily.

From around her she heard several other women admiring the unknown shifter as well. An irrational shot of jealousy flashed through her system, doing more to bring her back to the present than anything Rachel had done. There was no reason for her to feel that way about him. She didn’t even know his name for crying out loud. How could she be upset that others were admiring him when she was doing the same?

“Yes, he’s not bad-looking, but Hector is also standing right there, and he’s got my eye, so you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t start flooding the school with the rest of you,” Rachel said dryly.

Angela reached out and swatted at her friend, not really putting any effort into the blow.

“Hey, play nice,” Rachel said, “or I won’t find out his name for you.”

A sliver of fear replaced the jealousy in a heartbeat. “No, don’t be like that,” she said. “You don’t need to try and play matchmaker for me.”

“Oh come on,” Rachel said with a very unladylike snort. “I can practically see the lake under you, and your nips are trying to rip through your shirt.”

Angela looked down in horrified embarrassment. She’d forgotten that she was still only wearing her active-wear tank top. It was great for working out in—thin, stretchy and covered her upper body while leaving most of her shoulders exposed. But it also had a tendency to allow anyone’s nipples to show through, despite the extra padding she wore underneath for obvious reasons.

She swiftly pulled her winter jacket on, glaring at Rachel.

“Oh come on,” her friend laughed. “Do you remember what you all did to me when Hector and I first started getting together? You do not get to take the high road now just because buddy over there has made Mount Vesuvius active in your pants.”

“You have a filthy mouth,” was all she could respond, the comment sending the two of them into fits of laughter as only best friends could.

The crowd of women was beginning to disperse as cabs or cars arrived to take them away, many of the women sharing vehicles for the short ride home. It was cheaper, and they were all living on a set stipend, so it just made sense.

“I’ll see you later,” she told Rachel, gave her friend a hug, and watched as the trio of them departed, Hector giving her a friendly wave which she returned, though her eyes were mostly focused elsewhere.

She couldn’t stop wondering who his friend was.

“Ready over there?”

She turned to see Elle all bundled up and waving at her before pointing to a cab outside.

“Coming,” she said, pushing Cooper in the stroller toward the door.

Who was he?

She needed to find out.