My Hockey Alpha
Chapter 675

Chapter 0675

Nina

"It's Nina, right?"

A familiar voice pierced through my calm. Opening my eyes, I saw Lea, the woman from my last class, standing over me with a smirk. "Back for more?" she asked, tossing her sleek, long ponytail over her shoulder.

I straightened up, meeting her gaze. Enzo's words of encouragement echoed in my mind, reminding me of how it was best to be the bigger person and not let her high school attitude get to me.

"Yes," I said, offering her a polite but stiff smile. "I am."

"You ran off yesterday," she said suddenly, her thin lips curling upwards into a smirk. "Something wrong? Pull a muscle?"

"Nope," I replied. "I just had some morning sickness to deal with."

"I see." Lea lingered, her foxen eyes sliding over me. I felt small beneath her gaze, and the way she was staring at me made my heart pound.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She shrugged. "No, nothing's wrong at all," she said with a smile that was more plastic than teeth. "I've just never had morning sickness, so I can't really relate."

I shot her a disbelieving look. She was clearly a little further along in her pregnancy than I was, and I found it difficult to believe that she had never had morning sickness. "You haven't?" I asked.

"Nope." She shook her head and continued to smirk at me. "It's funny, most people don't actually realize that morning sickness comes from a poor diet."

"Does it, now?"

"Mhm. If you cut out carbs and sugar, and don't eat junk and just eat salads while getting plenty of exercise, you won't get morning sickness. Actually, I didn't even realize that morning sickness was a thing, because I've just always had such a healthy diet that I wasn't affected at all. My doctor told me so."

I stared at her for a moment, feeling incredulous.

"Bullshit," my wolf hissed. "She's such a little liar."

"I know."

"So," Lea said, checking her nails, "are you"

"Actually, Lea, I'm just focusing on improving today," I said. "So I don't really have time to chat. Sorry."

Lea scoffed, her eyes scanning over me. "Well, you certainly need to focus if you're going to improve on that body," she said, a snide tone in her voice. "But I'm sure you know that already. Enzo Rivers does have some standards, I presume."

I watched, completely taken aback, as she sauntered away to join her group of friends. Even though part of me wanted to jump up off of my mat and call her out in front of the entire class, I didn't. I was going to be the bigger person and just ignore her.

So, I instead satisfied myself by rolling my eyes at her retreating figure and returning to my stretches. This was like high school all over again, and I wasn't about to get involved.

"Alright everyone," Hannah called out, tapping the side of a singing bowl with a wooden maller so that the sweet sound rang through the room. "Let's get started."

I took a deep breath. Even though Lea's words were biting, I just tried to push aside my annoyance and focus on the movements. We started with gentle stretches, easing into a flow that felt surprisingly soothing.

The movements were a welcome challenge, and I found myself gradually relaxing into the rhythun of the class. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Despite my efforts to concentrate, though, I couldn't help but notice Lea and her friends giggling and whispering in the

corner of the room. Every time I struggled with a pose or lost my balance, their laughter seemed to rise, pointed and mocking.

It was infuriating, but I was determined not to let them get to me. I refocused on Hannah's instructions, trying to ignore the nasty comments and laughter.

It was during a particularly challenging pose that I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a woman with a friendly face and a kind smile beside me. I hadn't noticed her much before, but she had been there the whole time; she was in downward dog next to me, her long brown hair dragging across the floor in the pose.

"Ignore them," she whispered, nodding her head towards Lea and her little clique of mean girls. "Lea always acts like that. She's just bitter because her baby daddy never stuck around."

I blinked, surprised by her candidness. "Oh, I... Thanks," I stammered, unsure of what else to say.

"And now," Hannah said, oblivious to—or maybe just ignoring-the drama, "let's move on into cobra pose..."

The brown-haired woman and I both took a deep breath in unison and moved into the pose. It was a nice stretch for my belly, and I liked to imagine the baby inside feeling a sense of comfort, too.

"I'm Sarah, by the way," the brown-haired woman introduced herself quietly, extending a hand towards me.

I took her hand, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. A friendly face, finally. I guess I had forgotten that Lea wasn't the only person in this class. "I'm Nina," I replied. "It's nice to meet someone friendly here."

Sarah laughed softly, "I know what it's like to be the new person in a group like this. Don't let Lea get to you. She's just projecting her own insecurities."

I nodded, grateful for Sarah's understanding. Maybe she was right; maybe Lea was just insecure and bitter, resentful of those whose lives seemed put together.

I think I pitied Lea a little, actually, after discovering that about her. I couldn't imagine being pregnant without my husband around, but more importantly, I pitied whatever insecurities she had about her body that she felt the need to bring other women down.

And I especially pitied her baby, who would likely suffer from a pregnancy during which his or her mother supposedly only ate salads and exercised constantly.

However, as we continued the class, I found myself glancing over at Sarah occasionally. I found myself oddly comforted by her presence. It was nice to know that there were some friendly faces around.

The rest of the class passed by in a blur.

Despite Lea's continued nastiness, I found myself enjoying the movements, feeling a sense of accomplishment with each pose I managed to hold. The stretches were doing wonders for my tension, and I could feel my body responding positively to the exercise.

After the class, as I rolled up my mat, Sarah approached me again.

"Hey, I was going to grab some tea at the cafe down the street," she said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. " Would you like to join me, Nina?"

I hesitated for a moment, thinking of how I had planned to go straight home under the assumption that the class would have gone horribly.

But then, the thought of spending more time with someone who understood my situation was too appealing to pass up. Maybe it would be nice to have a chat with her. And I was sure that Enzo would be glad to see me do it, too.

"Yeah," I said, standing, "I think I'd like that, actually,"