“How are you feeling? Hungover?”
“Pshaw.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Shifters don’t get hangovers.” Getting up from the couch, she raked her fingers through her disheveled blonde hair. “What happened to you last night?”
“I sent you a text,” she said. “I wasn’t feeling too well. Bourbon doesn’t agree with me.” After Damon had torn her blouse, there was no way she was going back in there. Besides, he told her to leave. So, she ran all the way to her car and drove home.
“I was so drunk, hon, I couldn’t even see past my own face. So, where’re you going?” J.D. nodded at her exercise clothes.
“Out for a jog,” she said.
“Jog? This early?”
“I like to get my day started early. So, if you don’t mind …”
“Actually, I’d love to join you.”
“Join me?”
J.D. blinked and rubbed her eyes. “Yeah. I haven’t exercised in … well, not ever. But, maybe I should, you know?”
“Er … okay.”
“Don’t worry,” J.D. said with a chuckle. “I’m a shifter. I can keep up. Besides, you’re not familiar with the area, I don’t want you getting lost. Give me five, and I’ll meet you outside?”
“All right.” Reaching for her coat, she put it on. “See you in five.”
Soon, J.D. joined her outside. “Lennox Park is a couple of blocks away,” she said. “There’s a jogging trail around a man-made lake. It’s really pretty any time of the year, even now in winter.”
They walked a few blocks east until they reached the park and said jogging path. J.D. was right—it was beautiful out here, especially now just after dawn. The sun was already peeking from behind the mountains, bathing everything in a soft light. There were still patches of snow everywhere, which added to the winter wonderland feel of the place. She could almost forget about her problems and about last night, but it seemed like thoughts of Damon kept creeping into her mind. And when she did start thinking about him, she pushed herself harder.
Albuquerque never got this cold, but running definitely helped get her warm. After completing the jogging trail, she was sweating underneath her coat, so she unbuttoned it to let some cool air in.
“Woo, girl, you must be in good shape,” J.D. remarked. “You’re only winded now.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “It must be nice to have that shifter physique.” J.D. wasn’t even sweating, plus she was only dressed in a T-shirt and shorts.
“Yeah, it has its perks,” she said. “But we’re not all the same. And I’m not so flexible, plus I know I could be in better shape, like you. I mean, wow, how much do you work out?”
Anna Victoria laughed. “Exercise is kind of my thing.” If there was one thing she was proud of, it was her physique. She didn’t have the body of a weightlifter or anything, but she was in tip-top shape. “I got my B.A. in physical education from NMU. I thought it was an easy degree and would be mostly blow-off classes. But my teachers were pretty tough, and I found I liked it.”
“Really? What other things did they teach you?”
“Well, I’m actually certified to teach Pilates and yoga,” she said. “Though I’ve never really held a job in my field.”
“Sounds like now is the time to put that degree to use.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be your first ever yoga student. I know the perfect place too.” J.D. dragged her across the park, toward a frozen lake. They walked across a wooden bridge where there was a gazebo in the middle of the water.
“Oh, this place is nice.” The gazebo was covered in glass on all sides, and it was warm inside.
“C’mon, yoga teacher,” J.D. said. “Teach me, I’m eager to learn.”
She chuckled. “All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The two of them stood side by side as Anna Victoria led the flow. J.D. did well for her first time, though she wasn’t flexible enough to do some of the more advanced poses.
“Rubber limbs aren’t part of the shifter package,” J.D. said with a laugh.
“You’re pretty good, though. It’s like you have the balance of a cat.”
J.D. grimaced, and Anna Victoria suspected it wasn’t just because they were in a One-Legged King Pigeon Pose. “Maybe you can show me how to put my leg behind my head. I bet that would make me popular with the boys.”
Anna Victoria guffawed. “Maybe.”
When she declared the session over, J.D. collapsed on the floor. “Whew. That was a real challenge. Thanks. Have you ever thought of doing this for real?’
“For real?”
“I mean, as a job. You could be an instructor.”
“Huh.” She’d never really thought about it. “Does Blackstone even have a yoga studio? Or a gym?”
“A gym wouldn’t make money here,” J.D. said. “Not with so many shifters.”
“Yeah, everyone’s pretty fit and hot around here. It’s kind of distracting.”
“Oh?” J.D. sat up, a sneaky smile on her face. “Is there a particular fit and hot guy that’s caught your eye?”
“What? No!” She quickly turned around before J.D. could see her face burning. But the entire time, her brain—or maybe another organ—was screaming, Damon.
“Did you really go home by yourself last night?” J.D. teased. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that Damon went after you, and then you both disappeared from the party.”
“Wait, what? He didn’t go back?” She thought he had told her to leave because he didn’t want her there.
“So, you were with him!” J.D. said, excited. “Tell me what happened!”
“I—” Though she tried to scamper away, J.D. reached out and grabbed her hands to prevent her from escaping. “It was … meant nothing okay?” Oh, how was she going to get out of this?
“What meant nothing?” J.D. squeaked.
“Er …” It was too late. And J.D. practically had her in a death grip. “We, uh, kissed and—”
“Holy. Freakin. Shit!” J.D.’s eyeballs looked like they were going to pop out of her face. “You and Damon kissed! I knew it!” She hopped to her feet excitedly. “I knew it!”
“Knew … it?”
“When
