Bon Bons to Yoga Pants

Chapter 29-ZUMBA

"Oh good," Kenzie said when we walked into the room. "Stephanie is teaching it today. She's fabulous."

I stepped into the room and tried to keep my mouth from falling to the floor. While I'd heard of Zumba before, I didn't realize it was popular. In fact, lots of woman did Zumba.

And lots of them were my size.

Kenzie giggled. "See?" she asked, seeing the look on my face. "I told you! It's like a safe girl haven. Guys hardly ever come. Besides, no one will be looking at you. They'll just be watching Stephanie or themselves."

She stashed her car keys and coat in a cubby on the wall, waving to a few people in the crowd. I hadn't even known Kenzie came to things like this, let alone knew people there.

"So what do I do?" I asked, trailing right behind her, feeling a bit lost. The big crowd meant I could hide in the back and avoid the awkward confrontation-of-self with the mirrors.

"Just follow whatever Stephanie does. She's that girl at the front with the microphone."

"The one with a six-pack and toned arms that would make Jennifer Aniston weep?"

Kenzie laughed. "Yes, that one."

Despite the anonymity of the milling crowd, I still felt nervous while glancing over the fifty or so women present. Some of them, like me, didn't make eye contact with anyone else and still managed to studiously avoid looking at themselves in the mirror.

To my delight, the lights flipped off moments later. A disco ball descended from the ceiling, and the Jennifer-Aniston-Wannabe Stephanie hopped onto a platform at the top of the room.

"WHO'S READY FOR ZUMBA?" she cried. I already wanted to hate her but couldn't because she was one of those attractive people you couldn't hate. Her enthusiasm was infectious. A little buzz of excitement rippled through me. Maybe this could be fun.

A wild cheer rang through the crowd just as an upbeat song blasted through the speakers. I tried not to feel like I was in a rave, but couldn't help but feel fascinated by the excitement.

And not one of those women looked at me.

I relaxed a little and turned my attention to Stephanie.

"We've got a new routine, new songs, and a great butt blaster workout planned for today. So let's start with a warmup!"

Seconds later I joined the world of Zumba.

I squatted, hopped, shook my hips, slid, twirled, waved my hands, and danced in combinations that I'd never before dreamed. I sweated, laughed, panted, and cursed under my breath when we held a squat for thirty seconds. Under the cover of the dark room and so many women just like me, I stopped caring about what others might be thinking, or whether my body moved in ugly ways underneath my too-loose t-shirt.

After a while, I just enjoyed the music and danced.

"Here," Kenzie said, throwing a towel at me at the end. She grinned, her neck glistening with sweat. "Great, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It wasn't so bad."

"You should buy a heart rate monitor and see how many calories you burn. It's a better workout than the elliptical I bet."

I couldn't argue with that. Sweat had accumulated underneath my nose, something I didn't even know could happen during a workout.

"How often do you come?" I asked. "I'd . . . I'd like to do this again. Maybe a couple times?"

We shared a silent moment of sisterhood, something that I couldn't recall ever happening before unless it was bonding over a shared banana split when I was ten.

Kenzie's smile widened. "I'd love that. I come three times a week to Stephanie's classes in the evening."

The idea perked me up. I could still work out with Mira in the mornings and add an extra workout in a few times a week to lose even more weight.

"Come on," Kenzie said, grabbing her coat. "Let's go buy a healthy smoothie or something. There's a new mango flavor that I'm just dying to try."

WHO LOVES ZUMBA?

You do. You know you do. If you don't , you need to go try it. F'real. I haven't done it in a couple years, but man I worked up an awesome sweat and felt like a boss.

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MUAH.