Stronger With Her

by JA Hensley

  It takes several seconds to get my breathing and my cock under control. What the fuck was I thinking?

  “James, are you going to answer the call or do you want me to take a message?” Simone’s voice comes through the speaker again.

  “I got it, thanks,” I say as I pick up the receiver. “James Owens.”

  “Mr. Owens, this is Shara Johnson with the DOD. I’m calling to check on the contract we have pending with your company.”

  “Yes, we’re almost done with the upgrades to our computer security. Our specialist anticipates having everything up to the contract specifications by Thursday of next week. I believe that gives us an additional seven days for your people to do their tests.” I’m trying to do the math in my head and make sure that I’m right about the days.

  “You’re correct. I’m glad to hear that things are still on schedule. Please contact me when you’re ready to proceed. I look forward to your call. Good day, Mr. Owens.”

  She hangs up before I can answer her. Why can’t all government people be that efficient?

  When I open my laptop I remember what I was doing when Stephanie first walked into my office. I’ve got The Shady Sprocket’s website pulled up. I have been hoping that Vixen will be working again soon, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth it. It seemed easier than pining after a woman I didn’t think I could have. Though things may be working out in my favor now. Replaying the almost kiss has my dick responding, something that’s still foreign to me.

  I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. It’s a text from Paul.

  Dude, she’s dancing on Saturday. You in?

  I really need to give it up. Stephanie is real, not a fantasy. She’s brilliant, beautiful, and has accepted my invitation for a date. It would be really fucking stupid to risk all of that to see a woman I’ll never have take her clothes off for a bunch of strangers.

  Hell yes. Meet you at 8?

  What the fuck am I doing? I need to back out. This is stupid, but then I remember her striking blue eyes, that amazing figure, plump breasts, and legs that would be perfect wrapped around my waist. I can’t believe that I want two women this much. I’ve been celibate so long that I figured this part of me was dead too.

  See you there.

  The text pulls me out of my head. I’m probably going to Hell for it, but I tell myself I only need one more dance. I just need to see her one more time and finally get her out of my system. I won’t go back after Saturday. Yeah, right.

  Present day

  It’s Saturday night and I’m doing shots with Paul at The Shady Sprocket. I don’t really like tequila, but I’m determined to have a good time. I checked the Sprocket’s Facebook page just to be sure Paul was right, and it showed that Vixen is dancing tonight. I can’t get her off my mind and it’s starting to really piss me off. Hopefully seeing her again tonight will end this madness once and for all.

  I watch impatiently as a lot of dancers come and go from the main stage. This isn’t the classiest place and most of the women look like they’ve been rode hard and put away wet. I realize that it’s a living and they are making a choice, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I put in an order with our waitress for another round of shots when the announcement I’ve been waiting for comes over the speakers.

  “Now on stage is the lovely Chastity and next up will be our very own Vixen. Get ready folks, it’s about to get hotter in here!”

  My heart rate spikes when I hear her name. What the fuck is wrong with me? I’m never this worked up over a woman. In fact, I’ve pretty much sworn off them. I can’t take another brutal hit like the last time. But this pull is undeniable and I’m powerless to resist it.

  The bouncers take the stage when the last dancer leaves, wiping down the pole and cleaning the floor. It’s obvious that they treat Vixen much better than the other girls. By the size of the crowd, I’m guessing that she brings in a lot of business for the club. The lights dim, the first guitar riff of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” starts, and the crowd is on their feet, all vying for a spot by the stage. Thankfully my height works to my advantage and I don’t have to clamor to be right up front.

  The first thing I see when she comes out from behind the curtain is her shoes. Tonight she’s wearing fuck me red platform heels that make her legs look a mile long. I take my time working my eyes up her body, admiring each part that I see. Her calves are toned and her thighs are tight. She has on a sparkling red thong that doesn’t leave much to the imagination, just enough to make a guy wonder. Her belly button is pierced and there’s a bunch of jewels hanging from it. I keep perusing upward to her spectacular breasts. There’s more than a handful there and I’d love to find out how much I can pull into my mouth. She’s got them covered with a tiny top that matches her thong, but I know that won’t be there very long.

  She spins around and shows us her back, that ass is luscious. I can picture myself kissing, licking, and biting that flesh while she writhes around underneath me. She’ll spread her legs and let me take my tongue where she wants it the most. My cock is now straining against my zipper, trying to get a peek for himself. I adjust things a little to try and lessen the pain but it doesn’t do much good. Vixen starts to sway to the music, dancing backward toward the pole. She does something that makes her ass wiggle and the crowd goes wild. Once her back meets the pole, she reaches up with one hand and slides slowly down to the floor, ending in the splits. Her flexibility is amazing and I’m sure it shows in bed. I’d like to have those legs wrapped around my head as I dive into her with my tongue. As the music reaches the first chorus, she pulls herself up from the floor and up the pole. She then wraps her legs around it and falls backward, hanging upside down, her tits almost falling out of her top. As she hangs there she puts her hands on her chest and slowly unties the bow on the back of her top. She takes her time and then pulls the material away from her body, lowering herself to a handstand on the stage. The men are practically screaming now, trying to get her attention.

  Vixen kicks off the pole, bends her spine backward, and stands up. It’s like an erotic gymnastic routine. She’s smiling and obviously enjoying her dance. She looks around at all the men and their money and starts to work each one for a few seconds as they tuck their bucks in her thong. All of a sudden she stops and I realize that she’s looking at me. I meet her eyes and I almost fall down. I can’t fucking believe this.

  Vixen is Stephanie, my computer system security specialist.

  No, no, no, this isn’t happening, I keep repeating in my head. There’s no way that James fucking Owens is here in this shit hole. Why would a man of his social standing be here. I chose this place because it’s in a different county from where I live and work and I could have anonymity. Fuck. I’ve got to finish this routine and get the fuck out of here. Hopefully he didn’t realize that it’s me since I’m wearing my wig, contacts, and pounds of makeup. I make sure not to look his way again and continue with my dance, trying to make every man feel special for the two seconds I spend with him. As the song winds down, I make my way toward the curtain and end my dance in the splits, a move that is always a crowd pleaser. I don’t waste any time getting up and rushing to the back, knowing that Trevor will collect any cash that’s still on the stage.

  Once I’m in the dressing area, I take a minute to calm my nerves. I look at myself in the mirror and know that I don’t look anything like Stephanie the computer nerd. My Vixen persona is highly developed and hasn’t failed me yet. But, just to be sure, I’m not going to take off my disguise, in case James tries to approach me. Wait a second, he was here last time but he had a beard. I knew he seemed familiar; he’s my dolphin!

  This is all too much to process. I sit down on the disgustingly dirty bench and try and catch my breath. I can spin this, somehow, I have to. He can’t know that I take my clothes off for money. It will ruin my reputation before I get my business off the ground. Think, Steph, what would Erin say?

  I hear the door open and I look up expecting to see Tr
evor standing there with my money. Unfortunately, it’s another equally big man, but one I don’t want back here.

  “Stephanie, I know it’s you,” he says. I’m going to try and lie my way out of it.

  “I have no idea who you are or how you got back here. My name is Vixen and if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get dressed,” I say covering my bare breasts.

  “Stop. Just stop this. What are you doing here? You’re a computer genius for fuck’s sake. You don’t need to dance nude for money, especially with what I’m going to be paying you.” He takes a step toward me and I scoot back.

  “Get the fuck OUT OF HERE!” I scream as loud as I can, hoping that Trevor is close by. Fortunately my wish is granted as he barrels into the room.

  “Sir,” Trevor says as he puts a hand on James’ shoulder, “you need to go back out front. Employees only in this area.”

  “I’m not leaving without her,” James says, brushing the hand off his shoulder. Wrong move, James, wrong move.

  In a split second Trevor has James pushed up against the wall and his arm wrenched behind him. “I don’t believe you understood me correctly, sir, but you’re going to have to leave this area,” Trevor says as he pulls James out of the room, closing the door behind them. I jump up to lock the door so no other uninvited guests show up in here. Then I hurry to get my bag and put my clothes on. Now I just have to figure out how to get out of here without dealing with James again because there’s no telling what he’ll do next.

  Once I’m dressed, I pace around the room trying to come up with an escape plan. Most of the time I’d use the back exit, but it’s been closed off because of some construction mess they’ve got going on. I’m sure the fire marshal would shit a brick if he knew about that. Think, Stephanie, think.

  A knock at the door stops me from my laps around the room.

  “It’s Trevor, you can open the door now,” I hear from the other side. I hurry over to let him in.

  “Thanks for showing up when you did. I appreciate the assist,” I say hugging his waist quickly.

  “No problem, you know that’s what I’m here for. Although, I will say that this guy isn’t like the others. Once we got out of here, he calmed down and I got him to talk a little. He says that he knows you and he only wants to make sure you’re okay. Do you know him?”

  I look away in defeat. Might as well come clean with the one guy in this place who has never let me down.

  “Yeah, I know him from my legit work. I just didn’t want anyone from that side of my life to find out about this, you know?” I feel the burn of the tears starting to form.

  “I know you’ve done everything you could to keep this a secret, but it looks like you’re going to have to tell him something,” he says as he pulls me into a hug. “He’s not leaving and he hasn’t really done anything to warrant calling the police to have him removed. I can walk you to your car if you want, but I don’t think you’ll be able to avoid him forever,” Trevor looks down and kisses my forehead. He’s so good to me.

  “I know you’re right. I’m going to have to face the music sooner or later. Might as well be now. Is there a private room available I could use? I don’t want to do this out on the floor or in the parking lot.”

  “I’ll go make sure that number six is open. That way you’re at the end of the hall with total privacy. Give me five minutes and go on in,” he says as he walks back into the club.

  If I’m going to be completely honest, I might as well do it as Stephanie. I start removing my makeup, false eyelashes, contacts and wig, returning my appearance to my “regular” self.

  Ten minutes later I’m standing outside of the private room. I’m losing my nerve and thinking about making a run for it, knowing James is in there. I could get away quickly and easily and not have to deal with this tonight. No, I tell myself, just get it over with, like ripping off a bandage. I take a deep breath for courage and put my hand on the doorknob, hoping that I don’t lose the first job EPOM has gotten.

  I’m pacing like a caged animal in this room. After the bouncer told me that I was going to get to talk to Vixen, I calmed down a little. I’m still reeling from the knowledge that my newest contract employee is also a stripper. It just doesn’t make sense. Sure, she’s absolutely fucking gorgeous, which is somewhat rare in this industry, but that’s not all. If I really think about it, I knew there was something different about her last time I saw her. Some of the pieces are falling into place, but I still have more questions than answers. The top one being what the fuck is a computer genius doing in a crappy strip club?

  I check my watch for the hundredth time but only ten minutes has passed. I’m starting to feel caged in, and that usually gets my blood boiling. If she doesn’t show up soon I’m going to go find her. I’m not leaving here without the answers I need.

  I stop pacing when I hear the door knob turn, spinning around to face her when she walks in. But, the door never opens. I’ll give her a few more seconds then I’m going to pull some caveman shit and pull her in here. I count to ten and when the door fails to open, I stalk over and practically rip it off its hinges. I’m shocked to find the hallway empty.

  “Son of a bitch,” I yell at the wall. I take off toward the front of the club, hoping to catch her before she bolts. Once I get to the main room, the crowd has grown and there’s no clear path to the door. I start shoving people out of my way, not really giving a fuck if anyone is pissed off. Most people don’t challenge me because of my size so I use that to my advantage. It takes more time than I would have liked to make it to the door but I don’t see her anywhere.

  “Where the fuck is she?” I ask the bouncer that threw me out of the dressing room.

  “Who are you looking for?” He answers without looking at me.

  “You know good and goddamn well who I’m looking for. Where the fuck is Vixen?” I step up and bump his chest with mine. We’re equally matched in height and size so any physical altercation would be interesting.

  “Sir, you need to step back if you expect me to answer your questions,” he says calmly. He obviously doesn’t understand the urgency of this situation, but I still give him the space because I want to know where she is.

  “Where is Vixen? She was supposed to come see me in the private room, but she never showed up. You told me she would.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but Vixen has left. She asked me to tell you that she had to go.”

  “She what?” I feel my blood pressure spike and my fists clench.

  “I think it’s time for you to go, sir. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he says as he opens the door and indicates that I need to leave. I don’t fight it, because what I want isn’t here anymore. I brush past him, making my way into the parking lot and toward my truck. I can’t believe that she did this. Monday morning is going to be very interesting, indeed.

  I’m a chicken shit. I just couldn’t do it. Facing James in that place is too much. I’ll have to deal with the consequences on Monday. Maybe I’ll just communicate with Joe only from now on. He’s a good guy. Hopefully that will keep a buffer between James and me until I get the project finished.

  After Trevor walked me to my car, I’ve been sitting in the dark for a while trying to get my thoughts in order. My heart is beating so fast it feels like it’s going to come out of my chest. I try the deep breathing exercises that my therapist taught me after Erin’s suicide. It takes several minutes but I finally begin to calm down. Once I can think clearly again, I start my car and back out of the space. As I’m leaving the parking lot I see James walking out of the club. I try to drive carefully past him, but he steps in front of my car. I have to slam on the brakes so I don’t hit him, which would probably hurt my vehicle more than it would him.

  With him standing in the headlights, I can see just how pissed off he is. The scowl on his face, the clenched fists, the stance all scream angry man. This is not what I wanted to happen. I don’t know what to do now, and he looks like he’s not going to move.
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br />   We stare at each other, neither giving up anything. There’s no way for me to drive around him since the club is packed and all the spots are filled. He’s just standing there, alternating between having his arms crossed over his chest and then down at his sides. I’m about to put the car in reverse when he stalks over to the driver’s side of my car.

  He stands at my window with one hand on the roof of my car. I feel paralyzed, not knowing whether to drive off or roll the window down. As I’m working this out, he knocks on the window. I sigh in defeat knowing that I’m not going to escape this tonight, yet mentally chastising myself for being such a wimp.

  I roll down the window but I don’t say anything.

  “Are you trying to run away? We need to talk,” he says, bending over to peer into the car. I’m struck again by how gorgeous his eyes are and how they seem to look right through me.

  I sigh and answer, “No, you need to calm down. I don’t think there’s anything to talk about.”

  “The fuck there isn’t. You’ve got some explaining to do, and I’m not moving until I get some answers.”

  If I’ve learned anything about James Owens over the past few weeks it’s that he doesn’t give up on something he wants.

  “Fine,” I say dejectedly. “Follow me back to the employee lot.” I know there are security cameras there just in case things get out of control.

  “All right, unlock the door and I’ll ride with you,” he says as he stands up. I don’t argue, I just do what he says. He slides into my Altima, moving the seat back as far as it will go, but he still looks like he’s riding in a clown car.

  “Are you sure you want to ride with me?” I ask. “You look incredibly uncomfortable.”

  “I’m fine,” he replies sharply, making me jump in my seat. “I’m not letting you try and get away from this conversation, so I’ll endure a little discomfort to make sure this happens.”