Raelynn smiles brightly. “I’m good good good!”
“Did you have fun with Minnie today?”
The little girl nods emphatically. “We colored and played on da slide and danced sooooo much!”
“What an awesome day. I saw your mommy outside. Are you staying here, or is your grandma picking you up?”
“Gram Gram’s coming. Oh, dere she is! Hi Gram Gram!” Raelynn grins at a woman who is clearly Haven’s mom. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a strong family resemblance.
“Hi, baby girl. Let’s go grab some dinner. I’m thinking tacos.”
“Woo hoo!” Raelynn’s little arms go up in the air. A minute later, she’s walking out the door with a tiny pink backpack on her shoulders just as Haven is coming in. Haven stops for a goodbye hug.
“Damn, Gloria is a hard ass,” she says once her mom and daughter are gone.
“What’d she make you agree to for your espresso shots?” Lizzie asks with a grin.
Haven rolls her eyes. “Inventory tomorrow. You know how much I hate inventory. Especially if you aren’t there to help keep me entertained.”
“Sorry, we’re going to Tillamook tomorrow.” Lizzie’s shoulders go up to her ears in an exaggerated shrug.
Haven sighs heavily. These two love to play up the drama. “I will accept cheese in place of entertainment then.”
“Is this cheese really worth the hype?” I ask.
They both turn and stare at me. “The curds are. But the drive is my favorite part. I love the forest and river,” Haven says.
Amelia walks into the lobby and claps her hands. “Alright, are we standing around and talking or are we dancing?”
“Dancing!” About fifteen people are waiting, and they all head down the hallway to a big room with a wall of mirrors.
“Got room for a couple more?” Lizzie asks.
Amelia shrugs a shoulder. “Sure. Go find a spot.”
I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not dancing.”
“Scared you won’t be able to keep up, Alex?” Amelia teases me. Holy shit, she even smirks a little bit.
“Ooooh, a challenge.” Lizzie walks past me with a grin.
“Fuck.” I sit down, kick off my old sneakers, and pull on the new ones. If Amelia wants me to dance, I guess I’m dancing.
Haven chuckles and stops next to Amelia. “She do good today?”
“Of course. She’s going to do great when preschool starts up again in a few weeks.”
“Good. Thanks, Min.”
Amelia pulls the younger girl in for a hug. I hear her whisper, “You’re doing great, little mama.”
Seeing her support her friend is incredibly heartwarming and makes me fall even more in love with her.
Once we’re all spread out across the floor, Amelia starts some music and leads us in warm-ups before teaching us moves and combinations. Almost an hour later, I’m fucking thankful that I work out every day because it was, in fact, hard as hell to keep up not just with Amelia, Lizzie, and Haven, but also with the rest of the class full of people from seventeen to about seventy.
It didn’t help that I kept getting distracted, my eyes naturally finding Amelia every few seconds. She’s captivating. Fucking hypnotizing. I tripped over my own feet more times than I care to admit.
“Great job, everyone! Dance-off will start in five minutes.” Amelia smiles and chats with a few people while we sit on the floor and drink water. A couple others stick around to watch, and two more stay on the dance floor.
