One
“You know when I said you needed to fuel up for class, I didn’t mean with a muffin.”
“What? It’s got blueberries in it. See? Fruit.”
Julianne Burke sat on the studio floor and stretched. “Somehow I doubt those are even real blueberries, Kayla. You need some serious protein before a workout. I mean, carbs are fine and well, but not in muffin form.”
“Then I guess this pack of cupcakes really isn’t going to help,” Julianne’s sister Harper announced as she sat down on the floor beside them.
Kayla chuckled. “And I can guarantee my bottle of Mountain Dew is going to be frowned upon.”
“You guys!” Julianne cried. “You need to be taking your health more seriously! You said you were going to work hard at this and I don’t think eating muffins and cupcakes for breakfast shows that you’re committing.”
“Jules, come on,” Harper said as she took a sip of her coffee and opened the dreaded cupcake wrapper. “We are taking this seriously, but some of us require a little extra sugar at this hour to make us get through the class without strangling you.”
Kayla snickered and popped a piece of muffin in her mouth. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Harper on this one. This is an ungodly hour not only to be awake but to be social and coordinated.”
“Please, you get up earlier than this when you’re on assignment,” Julianne commented.
“True. But anyone traveling with me knows to shut up and keep their distance until the sun has been up for several hours and I’ve had my two cups of coffee and…a muffin.” She waved the blueberry muffin around for dramatic effect.
“Fine. Whatever. If you’re not going to be serious, then why come to class?” Julianne asked as she rose to her feet and then reached down to touch her toes – her blonde ponytail swinging over her feet.
“Because you’d nag the crap out of us if we didn’t,” Harper responded with a grin.
For the next several minutes they were quiet - Kayla and Harper finished their “power” breakfasts while Julianne prepared for class.
“Who’s ready to ditch the workout and join the party?” Natalie called out as she walked in, making Harper and Kayla groan.
“Now there’s someone who doesn’t need any extra sugar in the morning to give her energy,” Kayla whispered to Harper and then they both laughed.
“Ooh…what’s everyone eating?” Natalie asked as she walked over, then instantly frowned. “Cake? You guys are eating cake? Why? You know the added sugar is just going to make you crash later on, right? And then…”
Kayla tuned her out. Seriously, it was too early in the morning for another one of Natalie Walsh-hyphen-Michael’s lectures and pep talks. They were friends through Julianne and if it weren’t for that connection, Kayla would never have crossed paths with Natalie. And if she had, she probably would have punched her and then walked away. There was just something about her that irritated the crap out of Kayla and even though they’d been hanging out together since the tenth grade, every encounter was a struggle.
Harper leaned in close. “If she turns this lecture into a wedding story, I swear I’m going to lose my shit.”
“I know. I never thought someone could turn every conversation into a story about their wedding and yet somehow Natalie manages it every time.”
“…and that’s why I made sure to eat a high-protein breakfast that morning. I needed my energy levels to be stable all day,” Natalie said as she turned and faced them again.
“Um…I’m sorry,” Kayla said in a serious tone. “But…what day was that?”
“My wedding day, silly!” Natalie said with a smile as she reached up and began stretching her arms.
“That’s it,” Harper said as she started to rise but Kayla grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.
“If your sister freaked out about our choice of breakfast food, imagine what she’ll do it if you attack Natalie.”
Harper sighed. “Okay, fine. But…can we somehow…cha-cha our way to the other side of the room once the music starts? The urge to trip her is strong.”
“Deal.”
Five minutes later, the studio was almost full and Julianne was taking her place at the front. She was encouraging everyone to take their places and stretch. Not that it mattered, Kayla thought. There was always about ten minutes of stretching to the music in the hour-long class and it was the perfect amount to ease you into all the moves that came after.
And there were a lot of them.
Julianne made sure to keep things fresh and exciting - her words, not Kayla’s.
“Good morning! I’m Julianne and this is Zumba! Do we have any first-timers here today?” Julianne asked as she began her spiel. Several people raised their hands. “Awesome! I am so glad you decided to join us today! This is a cardio dance class but don’t worry if you don’t have any dance experience - you don’t need any. And don’t worry if you don’t pick up the steps right away because we’ve all been there!”
After sitting through three of Julianne’s classes a week - whenever she was in town - for the last three years, Kayla could recite this part of the class right along with her friend. Instead, she let her mind wander to what she had to do in the upcoming week.
There was another round of bridal gown shopping after class. Why Julianne insisted on making them go right after dancing their asses off for an hour was beyond her, but she wasn’t going to argue. After being friends with Julianne since the fifth grade, Kayla learned that there was no winning an argument with her. Julianne had a knack for reasoning with you until you wanted to jab something pointy into your ear just to have an excuse to stop listening. She wasn’t mean about it though - nope - she was always sweet and level-headed.
She just knew how to talk to people to get them to do what she wanted.
Like this Zumba class.
“So let’s all let go of our stress and worries for the next hour and just dance and have fun!” Julianne called out as the music started.
At twenty-six, Kayla Shaw was in the best shape of her life. The Zumba class wasn’t the reason - although it certainly helped - but her job took her to some exotic and out-of-the-way places where she had to climb mountains and sleep in tents. It definitely wasn’t a job for the faint of heart and it helped that she was an athletic person to begin with.
It was actually her love of sports that first brought her and Julianne together. They were paired up for field day in fifth grade and did a three-legged race together. They completely kicked ass and won and she found in Julianne what she now called her “spirit animal” - they were both competitive and weren’t afraid to play hard.
So, Julianne became a fitness instructor and personal trainer and Kayla hiked her way around some of the most remote places in the world.
And they both looked fabulous while doing it.
This whole wedding thing was going to be great and Kayla was really trying to be conscious of all aspects of it so she could be here for her friend. Sometimes, though, it was beyond her control. The thrill of picking up on a moment’s notice to fly to Africa or Australia for a shoot was the sort of thing Kayla lived for. Other than the wedding, she didn’t have any other ties or commitments - no boyfriend, no office job and her family already accepted the fact that they needed to take advantage of the times when she was home because when she left on an assignment, there was no telling when she’d be back.
And up until now it worked just fine. But with Jules getting married, she was stressing about the whole thing - what would happen if she got called away and missed some important pre-wedding event? She knew - in the end - that Julianne would be okay with her missing out on a dress fitting or even the shower, but what about the actual wedding?
“Ow!” Harper hissed. “Pay attention!”
Right. The class. Kayla had stepped right instead of left and ended up stomping on Harper’s foot. “Sorry.”
Thank God for Harper, she thought. No one knew Julianne better than her sister Harper and there had been several times since the engagement when Harper successfully talked Julianne down from the ledge when she got worked up over Kayla’s schedule.
It was going to be a rough couple of months.
Or six.
Ugh…six months of wedding planning and stress? Maybe she could find her dress today and it would fit perfectly and require no alterations. It could happen. Then she could leave, buy her shower gifts, hand them off to Harper and find a freelance gig that kept her out of the country until right before the wedding. That could work, right?
****
“And one, two, cha cha cha!” Julianne called out and Harper did her best to follow along. This morning she just wasn’t feeling it. There had been a moment or two when her alarm went off when she contemplated turning off the snooze button and just rolling over and going back to sleep.
Everyone deserved a day to sleep in, didn’t they?
But it wasn’t the class that had her not wanting to get out of bed - it was the shopping afterwards. She was thrilled for her sister and Gavin. After dating for four years, they were finally getting married. Good for them!
Unfortunately, Harper couldn’t seem to stay happy for them for more than a few minutes at a time when her mother was around. Her mom had a knack for continuously finding ways to remind Harper of her failed trips to the altar.
Okay, so maybe Harper had more failed trips than most. Three was pretty bad, wasn’t it? And as much as she’d like to blame her exes for that, she couldn’t. Okay, she could totally blame Dom for one. He cheated so that gave her a free pass on their canceled engagement, but the other two were completely on her. Harper had no problem falling in love - in fact, falling in love was one of her favorite things to do!
It was staying in love that proved to be challenging.
So while she loved watching her little sister try on wedding gowns and listening to her talk about her wedding wishes, their mother tended to suck the joy out of those moments by reminding Harper or comparing whatever it was that Julianne was doing to a time when Harper had done it.
Or three times.
Yeah, shopping today was going to be more of a test of her endurance than Zumba.
The music changed to a little hip-hop - her favorite - and it didn’t take long before she was really getting into it and singing along. She loved this! She loved when the burn started to kick in and her heart was beating rapidly and it was a good song…if only the whole day could be like this!
Don’t think about the bad stuff, she reminded herself as she kept on dancing. Just dance.
And she did for a few more songs.
“Psst…” Kayla said as they changed to some belly dance moves.
“What?” she whispered.
“We need to stick together later.”
“Why?”
“Did you get the pictures from Natalie on the dresses she wants us to look at?” Kayla asked.
Unfortunately, she had. “I’m not wearing any of those. I already planned a very loud veto.”
“Okay. Whew! I thought I was the only one.”
Harper shook her head. “I’ve got your back. No worries.”
Yeah, Natalie was becoming an issue. Somehow she had gone from being a bridesmaid to a matron of honor and for the life of her, Harper had no idea how that happened.
And neither did Julianne.
Well, her sister could have spoken up and corrected Natalie when she started calling herself the matron of honor, but she didn’t. So now there were going to be battles over who did what and which responsibilities went to whom and Harper knew there were going to be some fights. As the sister of the bride and the maid of honor, there were certain things she was unwilling to let Natalie take over.
Like picking out their dresses.
Or organizing Julianne’s shower.
Or their bachelorette party weekend.
No way.
Harper and Julianne were three years apart, but they were extremely close. And as corny as it sounded, they really were best friends. But Julianne was the kind of person who was friends with everyone and hated to disappoint people. She wasn’t afraid to argue, but she certainly hated hurting anyone’s feelings.
Hence Natalie’s matron of honor role.
“Who doesn’t love a cowboy?” Julianne called out as the music took a swift turn to country.
A cowboy. Hmm…haven’t met one of those, Harper mused to herself. And no doubt if she did, she’d fall in love with him too.
She grinned.
Yeah, falling in love was an incredible feeling. An amazing feeling. The best feeling.
She just wished she could figure out how to keep that feeling around forever.
****
“One, two…do the wash. Three, four…pick up dog. Five, six…go to bank…,” Natalie chanted these things as she tried to keep up with the cha-cha. It was a catchy little way to solidify her to-do list in her mind while burning calories.
Multi-tasking at its finest.
“Good job, everyone! Keep it up!” Julianne called out and Natalie smiled. Her best friend was a powerhouse up there in front of the class! She always admired Julianne’s ability to make everything look so effortless. She had a gift - that’s for sure - and Natalie appreciated how just being in Julianne’s presence made her want to work harder.
So she got up extra early three times a week and came to Zumba. It wasn’t a hardship - she was an early riser anyway - and she knew the workout was helping her to stay in shape. Jayce was certainly reaping the benefits, she thought and then blushed. They were still in their newlywed phase and she really wanted to do everything she could to make sure they didn’t become one of those couples who lost interest in each other or started taking each other for granted because they were married.
Of course, it wouldn’t kill Jayce to maybe put in more of an effort.
She gasped as soon as that negative thought crossed her mind. Negative thinking wasn’t something she should indulge in because it would only lead to her taking it out on Jayce or Julianne.
Or Harper and Kayla.
Yeah, they’d be her first targets.
Looking over her shoulder, she spotted them two rows back. They had started out beside her and now look at them. Did they think she didn’t notice how they did that every time? Why bother starting out like they were a unit if they were just going to dance their way to another spot?
She sighed. It was a ridiculous thought to even ponder. So what if they moved away? For an hour they were supposed to be focused on dancing and Julianne’s instructions, not standing together like…like a group or a squad or whatever it was that Julianne kept calling them. This class was about getting themselves healthy and staying fit, not about sticking together as a unit.
Another glance.
Okay, so they were smiling and talking to each other. So what? They were probably talking about what a great job Julianne was doing today. She did have a great energy this morning and it was slightly infectious. Natalie put a little extra pep in her step as she moved around. Dance had never been her thing but she and Jayce took several lessons before their wedding so their first dance would be flawless.
And it was.
The Zumba classes had helped, too.
Maybe she’d mention to the girls later how taking some ballroom classes would be helpful for them all for the first dance! How fun would that be? They could bring the entire bridal party so that on the day of the wedding, they’d all be in sync and be so well choreographed that the wedding guests would be in awe!
It sounded fabulous - she just wished she did it that way for her wedding last year. While she and Jayce had looked like a young Fred and Ginger, the rest of the bridal party were a little…hmm…flat. Yes, that was the word. Flat. She didn’t want that for Julianne and Gavin. They should have a showstopper of a first dance.
Oh, maybe one of those dances from a movie like Dirty Dancing or Scent of a Woman that they could learn! Excitement filled her and she used it to fuel her hip-hop moves - her least favorite of the class. But no matter, if you are going to do it, you need to do it well, she reminded herself.
After they were done showering, Natalie made a mental note to bring up the subject of the dance classes - the timing would be perfect because they’d all be revved up and in dance mode from this class.
She couldn’t wait to see the look on Julianne’s face! As someone who liked order as much as Natalie did, she just knew they’d be on the same page about this. Plus, Julianne was in Natalie’s wedding party and saw Natalie’s amazing first dance with Jayce. And once she explained how much better it would be if the whole bridal party joined in, how could she possibly say no?
And dammit, she wished she had thought of it for her own wedding.
****
“Okay, everyone, we’re going to slow it down a bit and cool down!” Julianne said to the class.
It was a full one today, just the way she liked it. Her classes were some of the most popular ones at Fitness Frenzy and last month they’d given her the largest studio to use and she loved it. She loved seeing it full with people coming to see her and dance with her and learn from her! Yeah, it was a definite high for her and part of it was because she really enjoyed being in control like this - telling a large group of people what to do and not having them argue with her.
Like what was going to happen after class.
Seriously, how was it that normal, level-headed people could go from being happy and having a good time to being positively rabid toward each other over the color pink? It was mind-boggling! And really, if she could just find a color that she wanted, she knew she could cut back on the amount of arguing amongst the girls. But she hadn’t found it yet - the color, the style or even the will to care.
Yup. That last one was becoming a real problem.
No one told her that as the bride, she would make all the decisions and then everyone would give their opinion on why those decisions were wrong.
Clearly that was in the fine print somewhere in all of those wedding books she’d been reading.
Dammit.
When Gavin proposed, Julianne had to admit that she hadn’t given much thought about how much went into planning a wedding.
Maybe she should have.
Now here she was planning one and floundering. Why? As someone who thrived on being in control, there was just too much to control! She thought part of the problem would be solved by hiring a wedding planner, but working with Hailey and the girls at Enchanted Bridal seemed to come with far more questions and issues than she had imagined. And it was all coming at her at once!
What style of dress did she want for herself? For the bridal party? And what about flowers for her bouquet, the throwaway bouquet, and the bridal party’s bouquets? How many different types were there?
Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? She had no idea because she had zoned out impatiently after the fourth binder of options were brought out. Seriously, how did people do this? Why did people do this? And how did Hailey and her staff not lose their damn minds from it all? That was something she was going to ask her as a diversionary tactic next time she pulled out more than one binder for Julianne to look at.
Good plan. Good plan.
There was something to be said for going through life with a plan - it kept you on track and helped you stay focused. But something about the way this wedding planning was going told Julianne that it didn’t matter what she tried to do, there were going to be many, many deviations from the plan.
Not cool.
Her heart rate was slowing down and she noticed how the room had thinned out a little. Why did people think it was okay to skip out on the cool down? Didn’t they realize that it was better for them to ease into stopping rather than doing it abruptly? She’d have to start addressing that next time. As she scanned the room she saw so many familiar faces - people who had been taking her classes from the beginning - and a whole bunch of new ones. But it was Natalie and Harper and Kayla’s faces that meant the most to her. Julianne knew she kind of bullied them into taking the class. None of them needed it - they were all in great shape - but it was comforting to have them here.
They were her friends.
Her family.
Her squad.
Yeah, they all made fun of her for calling them that, but if it was okay for the likes of Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lawrence, then Julianne saw no harm in using it for them. They were a squad, a group of friends who did everything together. And so what if she used the hashtag on all of her social media posts about them? What was wrong with #squadgoals? She thought it was cute!
Either way, she loved them - no matter what they called themselves. And there definitely been some name-calling lately. It would have been nice if they could have outgrown that particular childish behavior but unfortunately, this wedding brought that out in everyone.
Including herself.
Over the last several weeks she’d called Harper a brat, Kayla a bitch and Natalie a bat-shit-crazy-wedding-ruiner.
Yeah, not her finest hour there. But in her own defense, Natalie was making this whole process a lot more about herself than about Julianne. And it wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the advice, but the wedding Natalie and Jayce had was not the kind of wedding she and Gavin wanted. And how did she know this? Because she and Gavin talked about it. A lot. Not that they were obsessed with their own wedding, but when they first started planning, they talked about other weddings they’d gone to - like Natalie and Jayce’s - and knew what they wanted and didn’t want. It was just one of the many reasons she loved Gavin so much - they took the time to talk to each other to make sure they were on the same page with major decisions.
The music began to fade and she took a steadying breath, then thanked everyone for a great class. People started picking up their things from the perimeter of the room and waving to her, promising to come back next week. That made Julianne smile.
“We’ll meet you in the locker room,” Harper called out as she, Kayla and Natalie began to head toward the door.
Julianne picked up her bottle of water and waved to them. “I’ll be there in a few minutes!”
When everyone was gone, she picked up her belongings and said a quick hello to Brady Bennett who was coming in to teach the next class - it was kickboxing or something like that. Hmm…
“Hey, Brady, can I ask you something?”
He was a former Marine and six foot plus of solid muscle. Nice enough guy but she didn’t spend a whole lot of time hanging out with him. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Kickboxing,” she began. “Is it just good for cardio or do you think it could be good for letting out some aggression?”
He laughed as he set down a towel and a couple of bottles of water. “It’s definitely good for both, but if you’re looking to just get out some anger issues, you might want to go at one of the bags.”
“Bags?”
He nodded. “Kickboxing is a great workout, but you’re essentially kicking and punching at air. Sometimes letting your fist and foot connect with something really takes the edge off, you know?”
She didn’t, but it made total sense. And it was something she was going to think about in the coming week.
“If you’re interested, I’ve got some time free time Tuesday night to walk you through some moves,” he suggested. “You’ve got a class at six, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m training a boxer upstairs in the ring at the same time. Meet me up there after class and I’ll help you out.”
The thought of hitting something - even if it was four days from now - had her feeling better. If anything, she’d probably need to hit it even more then than she did now. “Thanks, Brady. I appreciate it!” With a wave, she did a final check of the studio to make sure none of her students left anything behind before heading toward the door. “Have a good class!”
“Thanks,” he called out, but his back was to her and he was already setting up his music selection.
Walking through the lobby, she waved to her boss Debbie and continued on to the locker room. praying everyone was playing nice. Thinking again about the upcoming shopping trip, she wondered if she should find a minute or two to herself so she could call Gavin and talk to him for a little encouragement.
And maybe, just maybe see how he felt about the possibility of eloping.