Page 19

Lyra

“Alrighty, all my sweet, sassy, spiiiicy…” my mother calls, dragging out the last syllables with a horrifying shoulder wiggle and attempt at a body roll. Oh, this fun is just getting started. “Sugar britches! It’s time to get this party started! Halle, hit the lights, Lyra….” Mama starts, but I roll my eyes and clear my throat.

“Mama, this is kind of my show. Mind if I run this one? Promise I’ll leave all the circus acts to you and Halle,” I chuckle at her blush as she ducks her head.

“You’re right, you're right. Do your thing, honey bear! Work it! Whoo!” I laugh again at her antics, but turn back to the room.

The way the guys have the “dungeon” setup is actually pretty similar to my studio at the gym. The only thing missing is the glass windows looking out into the gym on one side and the wall of mirrors on the other. Still, there are enough poles for each of us mounted down with heavy bolts. It's not just pressure like your normal at-home poles; I’ve seen way too many YouTube videos of those coming down. No, thank you. Plus, it's just as easy to lose your grip and fall on your own with the pole stable, much less having to fight with it.

That's another lesson these women are going to be learning today. This is a big core workout that will come with bumps, bruises, and even, in some cases, blood. I smile at the workout headed our way and return to the eager faces in front of me.

“Alright, ladies, there are a few things I want to go over before we get started. First, we will play some music in the background, and I will turn the lights on a little lower toward the end of class, but with you all being first-timers, we will take this slow so no one gets hurt. There is more to this than just being sexy, even though that is one of our main goals. We want you to find your sexy, find your grove, and find your comfort zone. We want you to feel like that strong, sexy goddess of a woman that you are, but we want you to do it safely. All that to say, we will go over the basic rules and movements, but this first half will not be a party. I want to have fun, but I want everyone to know your limits and what you are comfortable with. Do we all agree?” I ask and receive head nods from all the women around me. With that, I ran through all the safety measures and tips as we started our first class.

Damn, I didn't realize how easy it was to fall back into that teacher/instructor mode. I smile as the feeling of happiness takes over me. I love teaching secrets and tricks I’ve been fortunate enough to learn. Guiding people to the joys in life is what it’s all about.

“I think I got it!” Halle says as she jumps, or tries to jump, high on the pole.

She doesn’t make it very far, but she uses the toes of her hot pink high heels to climb higher. She makes it maybe three inches before we can hear her breathing pick up, and she wraps her small body around the even smaller pole.

Once she’s caught a small semblance of breath, she tries to maneuver herself upside down. It doesn’t work. She quickly slides a few inches down before she catches herself. She squeaks before huffing.

“Maybe we should wait for the second lesson….” I start, but she grunts and cuts me off.

“Nope, no! I got the hang of this,” she says. Shimming her butt and humming Apple bottom jeans as she slowly… and I mean slowly turns around the pole until she’s facing in our direction. When she notices us all staring at her, she places her foot on the ground and starts doing some weird grinding motion.

“I don’t remember you teaching us that move in class,” Sunny says, trying to contain a giggle.

“Should we tell her she looks like a possessed, rabies-infected chicken?” Jade asks as we watch Halle flap her arms and then try to, I guess, step up the pole using her foot, but all she accomplishes is stubbing her toe as she kicks the metal pole. She winces, but to her credit, she still tries to play it off with another dance move.

“I look good, don’t I? I should choreograph a routine for us! We can surprise our men! I can imagine Lokis's eyes on me as I grind my goodies all over this metal rod.” She smiles dreamily.

“So that does it. We all agree…” Piper trials off.

“Yup! We’ll leave it to Loki,” Jade says, and we all nod simultaneously.

We spend another hour having fun, dancing, laughing, and just having a fun time. By the time we’re done, we’ve realized Jade is the group's best dancer, but Izzy seems to have everyone outmatched on the pole.

She said something about having the feel and control under her fingertips. Being able to move freely all over the pole, confident in her senses, and the reassurance of the pole made her let loose, and she excelled.

Ophelia fell on her butt twice and decided to sit out. Sunny started sweating, so she decided to join her. One by one, the ladies all trickled down but still had smiles all over their faces. I had Grease bring down a cooler full of water, and I passed them out and sat down with the ladies.

“I can't believe you know how to do all of that stuff. You're kind of amazing,” Piper says, smiling softly at me.

“After having all these kids running around, I love having a fun workout. I hate the idea of running, but dancing has always been my passion. The pole added an interesting challenge.” Jade smiles.

“I still can't believe this is my life. That all you amazing ladies are in my life.” Ophelia smiles shakily.

“I know what you mean. I never imagined having people who care and make me feel so welcome and loved,” Izzy says softly.

“Alright! Enough with the mushy gushy! All the girls' nights seem to end in tears. Let's end this one with a good adventure and some greasy food. I’m thinking waffle house,” Halle says, smiling and hopping to her feet.

I roll my eyes, as do most of the ladies, but we all know she will bug us until we give in. Plus, after that workout, I would die for some hash browns and waffles. The other ladies seem to share my thoughts because they smile, and we all file toward the stairs.

“I’m thinking we make this a secret mission. We have to be quiet. I want to see how far we can get out of here with no one knowing.” Piper gets a devious look on her face.

“Ohhh… you all like to keep your men on your toes. Is that the secret to keeping the spice alive?” Mama asks, following behind. She’s smiling so big, and I have never seen her have so much fun before today. I’m not only happy I’ve found my place here, but these wonderful, amazing people have also opened their hearts and homes to my mama. No one deserves it more than her.

“We usually don't go far, but keeping them on their toes and giving them a bit of the chase makes bedtime all the more… spicy,” Izzy says, blushing. I’ve never heard her be so bold.

“Oh, yeah, girl! Say it like it is. It’s fucking HAWTTT!!! That spanking for being a bad girl. Oh, and then when he brings out the cuffs and ridi….”

“HALLE!!!” we all yell in unison.

“I was enjoying story time, Sugar Britches,” Mama consoles her.

“See what I’m dealing with here, mama? A bunch of prudes,” Halle pouts.

“Whenever you're done pouting, can we get back to the plan?” Piper asks, rolling her eyes. As she continues, she opens the dungeon door. “As I was saying, I think we should take the side door past… AHHHH!” She yelps as we all step in and are confronted with the men sitting at the table in front of us. Swift is watching Piper closely as he raises a brow and crosses his arms.

“Oh please, darlin’, continue with what you were saying.”