not surprised. A woman like that probably had a dojang or dojo she attended. She was obviously much more than someone who wanted a tight butt, or a reason to dress in Spandex. Casey hoped she would at least see the woman in the lobby again sometime, so she could start up a conversation. She would like to have an ally—although with women like that there was no telling if she would be an ally or an enemy. Casey would simply expect the better of the two choices, but be prepared for the worst as well.
She found the CD of ocean sounds and slow music she’d chosen the day before and got the sound system set up, including the mic pack, which she clipped to the back of her shorts. She was hooking the mic over her ear when someone thrust a hand in her face.
“Andrea.” The woman’s light hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, her eyes still puffy from sleep. “Welcome to the Land of the Dead.”
Casey shook her hand. “Excuse me?”
“That’s what we call ourselves. The six-o’clock crew. We don’t exactly want to be here at this ungodly hour, but it makes the most sense in our schedules.”
Casey laughed. “Gotcha. I’ll try to make the session enjoyable.”
“Enjoyable? I’ll take bearable.” The woman grinned and found a spot on the floor, between two others who looked just as asleep as she.
When the clock read six, Casey turned on her mic. “Good morning. My name is Daisy Gray. I’ll be doing your classes the next few days as kind of a try-out for the job, so if you have comments, you can direct them to Mrs. Williams. Are you ready?”
There was a collective groan, and Casey started the music. By the time the hour passed and the women had stretched, sweated, and held positions most normal people couldn’t halfway manage, they were finally starting to wake up. When Casey turned off her mic, Andrea and another woman came to the front.
“That was great,” Andrea said. “Better than the last instructor, for sure. You’ll be back tomorrow morning for aerobics?”
“I’ll be here. Anything in particular you like to do?”
“Like to do? Not exactly. Whatever gets our blood pumping, I guess.”
“She’s not bringing men, Andrea. At least no one’s tried that yet.” The other woman slung her towel around her neck and gave Casey a slow smile. “I’d be up for it, though. Give me a good man in the morning, and I’m ready to go for the day.”
“Krystal!” Andrea laughed. “You’re awful.”
“What? It’s true.”
Casey didn’t doubt it. Krystal, with her curvy body and bleached blonde hair, looked like she spent a good bit of the time attracting the opposite sex. Even Casey could feel her magnetic pull. It was amazing that while Andrea, the first woman, had the same coloring as her hottie friend, she definitely had the girl-next-door appeal, while Krystal was undoubtedly the femme fatale.
Casey looked around the all-female class. “Do men ever show up for this?”
Andrea giggled. “Never. But there are some over in the weight room right now, praying for a glimpse of Krystal as she leaves.”
Krystal shrugged. “It’s my gift to them.”
Andrea swatted her, but smiled at Casey. “The last two instructors were guys, but they don’t really count, as far as attendees.”
“You didn’t like them?”
Krystal harrumpfed, and looked at her fingernails, like she had more important things to think about.
“They were all right,” Andrea said. “Richie is a total sweetheart and Brandon was super buff, but neither one really fit here. I sometimes think people here didn’t give Richie enough of a chance, but it wasn’t up to me.”
Krystal took a step away and pulled at Andrea’s arm. “Enough about him. Come on.”
Andrea gave Casey one last smile. “I guess we’re off then. Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
There were no more classes until eight-thirty, the empty hour and a half being time that would be filled with personal training, should Casey get the job. But once it got close to eight-thirty, people began to trickle in for step class, much more lively than the group at six. This was more of a mixed bag, age-wise, but again it was all women. Casey had a feeling any interaction she might have with men would take place in the weight room.
Sissy bounced in, this time in a raspberry-colored warm-up suit, with lipstick to match. The contrast with her orange hair was enough to make Casey go a little cross-eyed. Sissy came right up front. “Pilates go okay?”