324. Chapter 324

It’s James’s fault.

Or at least that’s who Alex blames.

Because at first, she had her morning runs and DEO sparring sessions, and Maggie had her pullup bar and heavy bag.

Separately.

But then somehow – she still can’t figure out who brought it up first – James and Maggie started hitting the gym together.

And Alex got roped into yoga with Maggie.

And then she got roped into the gym, too.

Maggie would be the eager one.

“Come on, Danvers, it’ll be great. James is picking up protein shakes on the way!”

“What the hell shake place is open at this unholy hour?”

“What, so you can go for runs before sunrise but the gym is too much?”

“I don’t have to talk to anyone on my runs.”

Maggie grins bashfully and takes the hint, but preens when Alex softens her words with a kiss.

Maggie drives. Alex tries not to complain about the time and instead tries to focus on how damn good Maggie looks in her Adidas running jacket.

But the moment they step into the gym – and Maggie bounds up to James and leaps into his arms (“Look, Al, I’m giving him his warmup!”) – Alex tunes into her body and tunes out her general distaste for all things morning (all things morning, that is, except Maggie naked in her arms. Because that morning thing? That morning thing, she’s in love with).

She hits the treadmill while James and Maggie hit the mats for a more plyo-oriented warmup – there’s always been something calming to her, something like running on the beach to get her body primed for a long day surfing, about the rhythm of running – and generally, they’ll meet somewhere in the middle to push each other through their workouts.

Twice a week, it’s sparring, it’s weighted vests and double-unders and box jumps and sprint drills. Twice a week, it’s who can push harder, who can jump higher, who can run faster, who can recover quicker.

The rest of the time, it’s bodyweight drills and it’s cardio intervals and it’s weight training, Alex and Maggie grabbing sweaty kisses between sets while James racks the weights with a small grin on his face.

Alex isn’t used to the stillness of weight lifting, but – like with yoga – she trusts Maggie to show her, she trusts Maggie to build her skill at moving slower, at pushing her body differently, steadily, mentally, without her life on the line.

And it’s hard – hard, because Maggie and James are better at weight training than she is, and she’s unaccustomed to being bested – but neither of them tease her. Both of them meet her where she is, help her learn to move her body, to move with control when she isn’t aiming for someone’s throat, to move with explosive discipline when she isn’t trying to save the world.

And when she realizes that it’s both calming and exhilarating – when she realizes that it’s both centering and energizing – she lifts harder, she lifts better, she lifts more. And she watches James’s eyes glint with pride and Maggie’s sparkle with a combination of pride and lust, and she stands a little bit straighter, grins a little bit harder, because this whole gym thing?

Is totally worth getting up early for.