“And exhale, and bend at the waist,” Gabe murmured. The class obeyed, bending down to touch their toes. The Omega padded around the room, trying to keep his focus, and not doing a very good job of it.

The Alpha, Logan, looked like a lion among antelope: he towered over all the Omegas in the room. But the tiny yoga shorts he was wearing that clung to the perfect muscular curves of his ass made him seem somewhat less threatening.

Gabe had expected the Alpha to call him out on his fake yoga class dress code, but Logan had gone along with it. Then Gabe had been sure the Alpha would run when he offered Logan the tiniest pair of yoga shorts he had in stock; they were barely more than a speedo. But the Alpha had simply grinned and asked where the changing rooms were.

Gabe’s other clients had been a little startled when he pulled them aside and told them an Alpha would be joining the class for the day, but when he lied and said the guy had lost a bet, they all took the news with glee. When Esme, a striking Omega beauty in her early 40s caught sight of Logan in the tiny shorts, she whispered to Gabe that she hoped he lost a lot more bets.

And now there the Alpha was, sweating and stretching through the class, looking like a Greek god while doing it. Gabe had caught the other Omegas in the class sneaking peeks in the mirror, and no wonder. The man looked like he was carved out of marble. And not the bulging overdone muscles of a bodybuilder, but the powerful, functional body of a top athlete. That wasn’t to say Logan wasn’t built: Gabe was pretty sure he could have done his laundry on Logan’s abs.

“Good,” Gabe said, forcing himself to focus. “And bend at the knees, bringing them down to the mat. Let your forehead come down, resting in child’s pose. Focus on your breathing, in and out.” The Omega had expected that Logan would either be self-conscious or sarcastic about the class. But he was surprised to see that the Alpha appeared to be taking it very seriously. He ignored the other students, focused on his form, and adjusted his poses with Gabe’s verbal corrections.

The Omega wondered what the catch was with this guy. Because he knew, deep down, that there had to be one. Life had taught him that.

“Come up to hands and knees, then raise your hips into downward facing dog,” he instructed. Never mind that raising one’s hips also raised one’s ass, and Logan’s was pretty damn amazing. Gabe caught sight of himself in the mirror and was horrified to see a red blush creeping up his neck. Get a grip, idiot, he scolded himself. This is about your students, not about hitting on some random Alpha.

He did his best to ignore Logan and focus on the Omegas, and the rest of the hour passed quickly. Gabe dimmed the lights and let them rest in corpse pose, quietly letting himself out into the front room to give his students space to get up at their own pace. He sat behind the front desk and waited.

Jenny and Sam left with cheerful goodbyes and kind compliments. Esme did the same, but slipped him her phone number “to give to the Alpha.” Gabe rolled his eyes but grinned and agreed.

Then Logan emerged, still wearing nothing but those tiny shorts and a fine sheen of sweat. He grinned down at Gabe with a smile that set the Omega’s heart skipping a beat. “How did I do, yoga master?” he asked.

Gabe glanced out the window and shrugged. “Your Sun Salutation series could use some work, but your Cat and Cow poses were pretty decent. Are you sure this was your first class?”

“First, but not the last,” the Alpha answered, surprising him. “I always thought yoga was super easy, but a lot of that stuff was basically bodyweight strength training. And the flexibility could come in handy too. Not to mention how much I love the dress code. It’s so… freeing.”

Gabe laughed, knowing from the Alpha’s tone that he’d figured it out. “I think we can relax the code for the future, if you’re interested,” he said. “And as a thank-you for being a good sport, let me take you out to lunch. Pick a good place only locals know about.”

“Deal,” Logan said. “Let me borrow your shower and I’ll be ready. I know just the place.”

After he’d sauntered off, Gabe cursed himself. Lunch? He was supposed to be getting rid of the guy, not spending more time with him. But something about Logan made him want to stay. Everything about him was annoyingly attractive, from the slight curl of his auburn hair to the hint of a southern drawl when he spoke. Gabe knew he would have to be very, very careful.

But still, it was only lunch. What could happen?

* * *

Gabe had been expecting the Alpha to drive some giant truck or rugged SUV, so he was surprised when Logan led him over to an ancient Lincoln Town Car, its champagne paint dulled by exposure to the salt air. The Omega grinned when he saw it. "One of my high school buddies used to have one of these," he said. "Got it from his Granny when she got too old to drive it. Lots of good memories in that car.”

"Gotta love old people cars. This one was my Grandpa's baby," Logan answered, shaking his head. "Every Saturday morning like clockwork, he'd be out washing it in the driveway. Usually wearing this godawful bright pink flamingo-print Speedo bathing suit. God knows where he got that thing. I’m pretty sure it was just to embarrass us in front of the neighbors." 

Gabe laughed. "He sounds amazing. Does he still live around here?" 

"No. He passed away a few years ago.”   

“Oh, I’m sorry," Gabe said, a little embarrassed. 

“Don’t be. He’s with Grandma now,” Logan said, as he pulled out of the parking lot. And part of me thinks he's still running around up in Heaven with those flamingo shorts."

The Omega had to smile at the mental picture. Logan turned onto the highway that ran parallel to the beach, and Gabe watched the noon sun sparkle on the ocean, a glowing path of light.

“I have to say the class impressed me, Logan said. “How did you get into fitness?”

Gabe leaned back against the seat, gazing back out the windshield. “I liked to run as a kid, but I kind of fell out of the habit after high school. I still tried to eat healthy and work out occasionally, but I wasn’t really serious about it. When my husband and I -” He paused, then corrected himself: “I mean, my ex-husband and I decided to try for kids I decided I wanted to get in shape for them. The kids didn’t happen, but I liked working out. I decided to get certified to teach group fitness and do personal training.” He felt the old twinge of pain, thinking of his failed marriage, but forced himself to shrug nonchalantly. “The marriage didn’t last, but the gym rat habits did.” He glanced over to Logan. The Alpha’s eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses. “What about you?”

“Oh, I started young,” Logan said, smiling. “My grandpa was one of those bodybuilder fitness gurus back in the fifties.”

Gabe laughed. “Man, he sounds like a fascinating guy. I wish I could have met him. What was his name?”

“They called him ‘Iron’ Kelly,” Logan said. “You probably haven’t-“

The Omega gasped. “You’re kidding! I’ve seen his old competition videos on YouTube,” Gabe said, remembering. He had been famous back in his day, one of the original old-school bodybuilders.

The Alpha looked startled. “I didn’t think to look there,” he said.

“I watched a bunch of documentaries on vintage fitness trends just for fun a few months ago,” Gabe explained. “I can’t believe Iron Kelly was your grandpa! How cool is that?” Looking at the Alpha now, Gabe could see the family resemblance: the smile, the jawline. What a crazy coincidence.

Logan smiled, and despite the dark glasses Gabe could see it was genuine, unguarded. “We still have some of his old trophies back at the house. When I was a kid, he would take me to the fitness club where he worked, and I was just fascinated by everything. He would run me through little workouts and I loved it. Then when I got to high school I was on the football team, so I was always working out with that. I guess it’s always been a part of my life, you know? And now it reminds me of Gramps, like he’s still here with me.”

Gabe was startled to hear such warmth coming from the usually-sarcastic Alpha. Logan must have sensed it, because the genuine smile dropped from his face, replaced by his normal cocky grin. “Anyway, you’ll like this place. But fair warning, I’m going to order the fanciest thing on the menu to make up for those tiny yoga shorts.”

The Omega grinned. “Fair enough. Let’s go.”