Stronger With Her

by JA Hensley

  I turn the car around and go back to my spot. I spend the short time trying to come up with any excuse to get myself out of this fucking mess. I can’t mess this up, but I don’t think I owe him anything since one job has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

  When I put the car in park, the locks disengage, and James is out before I can turn the engine off. This is going to be great.

  I’m pulled from my thoughts when my door opens. I gather my courage and slowly exit the car. James doesn’t give me much room to move, and once I’ve cleared the door he pulls me against his large body. Next thing I know his lips are on mine and I’m being kissed senseless. Once my brain catches up to what’s happening, I push against the warm hardness that’s pressing me into the side of my vehicle. This earns me a deeper kiss, his tongue darting into my mouth. My body betrays my mind by relaxing into his hold, which is more like a bear hug since he’s so much taller than I am.

  It seems that this public display of affection goes on forever, which doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it should. I hear the whimper come from my throat when James finally breaks our connection, causing my cheeks to heat in embarrassment.

  “Sorry, I’ve wanted to do that since I first laid eyes on you,” he says gruffly, the desire coming out in his voice.

  “Um, okay,” I reply. “Did you still want to talk?” I have to lean my head against the car to look up into his eyes. Part of me wants to go back to the kissing, but the rational part wants to make sure this isn’t messing up my company.

  “Oh, yeah,” he says taking a small step back. I instantly feel chilly with the loss of his body heat. James reaches out and takes my hand which is completely swallowed by his, leading me to the back of my car.

  “So, tell me what you’re doing dancing at The Sprocket,” he says with a look that makes my mother’s skunk eye look tame. I take a moment to get my thoughts together, knowing that how this goes will determine my entire future.

  “Does it change things with our contract?” I’ve got to buy some time because I don’t know if he’ll believe the real reason.

  “That depends on what you tell me. Stop stalling, Stephanie,” he says contemptuously, “why do you take your clothes off for money in a place like this?” He leans back against the trunk and crosses those massive arms across his equally defined chest. I could stare at his physique all night. I start to fantasize about what else I’d like to do all night when the sound of him clearing his throat brings me back to the moment.

  “I’m waiting and we’re not leaving here until you explain what’s going on. I can be a very patient man when I have to be. So, you decide how long this is going to take.”

  I breathe deeply and hope that I can keep my explanation brief but give enough information to satisfy his need for knowledge.

  “It’s not what you think, James. I don’t do it for the money,” I say, looking down at the ground.

  He laughs loudly causing me to look up quickly. “Right, that’s what every stripper says. Don’t bullshit me. If it’s not the money then why do it at all?”

  “Look, I really don’t think that I need to explain myself to you. What I do on my own time is none of your business. There is nothing in my contract with your company that says anything about my private life. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?” I square my shoulders and stand up to my full height, but he’s still so much taller than me that it’s like Mike Wazowski trying to be as big as Sully from Monsters, Inc. It’s probably just as comical to anyone who might see us, too.

  “I don’t give a fuck about that contract. I want to know why someone as brilliant as you feels the need to take your clothes off in front of a bunch of horny men. So I ask again, if it’s not the money, then why?”

  “You know what, if you don’t “give a fuck” about the contract,” I say making quote marks with my fingers. “then you don’t have to worry about what I do on my own time.” I mimic his pose, leaning back against my car again and cross my arms over my chest. We stare at each other like two men engaged in a showdown.

  “I still think you’re hiding something, but I really don’t want you to do this anymore,” he says with a small smile. I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

  “I’m sorry,” I mumble. Inside I’m kicking my own ass for being such a dick.

  “It’s okay,” she replies quietly. I take a chance and look at her. She’s staring at the ground, watching as her right foot kicks at a rock. Great, now I’ve really fucked this up.

  “Why don’t I go get my truck? Then, if you want, I’ll follow you home to make sure you get there safely.” I’m not letting her go just yet.

  “I’ll be able to get home on my own,” she responds quickly.

  “I would feel much better if you’d let me see for myself,” I say with more authority than I intend. The tone gets her attention and her head snaps up. The look on her face speaks volumes of her irritation with me.

  “Fuck you, James. I’ve made it this far on my own, and I don’t need a babysitter. I’ll take you back to your truck but you are not following me home,” she says as she moves past me and gets into the driver’s seat.

  I don’t want to leave her, and that scares the shit out of me.

  “Look,” I say following her, “I don’t want you to be upset with me. I’m not sure what came over me tonight. I normally don’t act like this,” I try to explain something that I can’t understand.

  “It’s fine. I’ll still plan on being at the office on Monday to finish the system. Let’s just forget this ever happened, okay?” She gives me a look that tells me to just agree. I nod my head and tap the roof.

  “I’ll see you on Monday,” I say as I back away from the car. She drives off, leaving me in a cloud of dust.

  “That went well,” I mutter to myself, making my way to my truck. Once I’m on the highway headed home I take a moment to mull over the events of tonight. I’m most shocked by my reaction to finding out that the little woman we hired to protect our company is the same one I haven’t been able to get out of my mind for the past few weeks. I chuckle at the thought of her as a “little woman” and I believe that she would try to kick my ass for that one. And, what was the whole caveman thing? I’ve never been like that, not even when I was with Danielle. There’s just something about Stephanie that makes me want to try and protect her, keep her from the sharks at the club, and make sure that nobody ever hurts her. I never thought I would feel this way about a woman ever again.

  It’s nearly midnight by the time I pull into the driveway at Ma’s house. I know she’ll be asleep so I try as hard as I can to be quiet as I enter the front door.

  “Where have you been?” I hear from the couch. I jump a foot in the air at the shock of someone speaking to me from the dark room. I reach over and flip the light switch, flooding the room with bright light. My pain-in-the-ass brother, Jacob, is sitting there with an open beer next to him.

  “What the fuck are you doing sitting in the dark? Don’t you have your own place to live?” I shout at him. He’s such an ass.

  “Ma called me to come over and open a jar for her. She said you were gone and weren’t here to help her. Of course, that made me wonder where you would be, since you never go out. So, tell me, little brother, where have you been?” He raises one eyebrow and crosses his arms, settling back into the cushions to wait for my answer.

  “None of your goddamn business, dickwad. I’m going to bed,” I say as I walk out of the room.

  “You know I’ll find out, right? I’m not letting this go,” I hear my brother yell. I don’t answer him as I climb the stairs and go directly to the shower. I’m sure there will be hell to pay because Jacob is like a bloodhound when he wants information. I won’t make it easy for him because I know what he’ll do with the information he finds.

  Sunday morning wakes me with the sun shining through the mini blinds and the smell of bacon wafting under the door. One of the advantages of living with my mother is that she always coo
ks a big brunch on Sunday so I never have to worry about being fed. The bad part is that all my brothers and their women show up. It’s not that I don’t love my family, but today I need quiet and solitude to think through how I’m going to handle being in the same room with Stephanie tomorrow.

  “Runt, get your ass down here if you expect us to leave you anything to eat,” I hear Joe yell from downstairs. I know he’s serious about them not leaving any food behind so I get out of bed and put my jeans and shirt on as I’m walking down the hall, grateful that I showered when I got home last night.

  Once I get to the kitchen the noise nearly knocks me back. We’re an Irish-Catholic family and we don’t do anything small. Everyone is talking over each other, trying to be heard, which just increases the volume. Ma is at the stove finishing a large pan of scrambled eggs, Maureen is helping her, but it looks like Ma would prefer to do it alone. Joe, Jason, and John are arguing about politics and Jacob is sitting in the corner watching it all.

  “Where’s Betsy today, Jason?” They’ve been dating for almost a year and she usually comes over.

  “She’s at her parents’ this weekend. Something about her grandmother, I don’t know,” he replies and jumps back into the verbal sparring with my other brothers.

  I walk over and kiss my mother on the cheek. “Morning, Ma. Do you want some help?”

  She shakes her head, not taking her eyes off the stove. “You can help me by getting out of my way. You know I don’t like it when you boys are in the kitchen. Go sit with your brothers. We’re going to eat in a few minutes.” She pushes me away and I follow her direction. No need to have another woman pissed at me.

  “So, Runt, are you going to tell me what happened last night or not?” Jacob asks loudly. My brothers stop fighting and stare at me. Fucking great.

  “You need to learn to mind your own fucking business, Jacob, or I’m going to teach you in a way you won’t like,” I say with as much menace as I can.

  “Whatever, dude, you don’t scare me. Did you get laid or what?”

  “Jacob Owens, you stop that this instant,” my mother scolds him. “I don’t need to know the answer to that question and we will not talk about s-e-x at my table. Go get washed up for brunch, and when you come back you will find a more suitable topic of conversation, understand?” It’s times like this that I love my mother even more.

  “Yes, Ma,” he answers, pouting like a petulant child. He doesn’t argue with her, just gets up and goes to the bathroom to wash his hands. My other brothers take the whole thing in while, wisely, keeping their mouths shut.

  “Boys, come get these plates and bring them to the table. Maureen, grab the juice out of the fridge and everyone sit down. It’s time to eat,” my mother decrees and we all jump to do her bidding.

  After we’ve eaten everything and cleaned up the kitchen, Joe, John, and I are sitting on the back patio enjoying the afternoon sun.

  “Tomorrow should be interesting,” Joe says. “I’m curious to see how the rest of the installation and testing go.”

  “What installation?” John asks. He’s a gunsmith by trade but chose not to come to work for Owens Ammunition when I opened it. He thinks it would be too much to work with all of us, but he does do some independent testing when we need it.

  “We hired a computer expert to get our system compliant with the new DOD contract,” Joe answers. “She’s some sort of genius and was able to hack into our system five different times before she even started.”

  “Oh, shit,” John says. “So, what does she look like?” Typical asshole.

  “Well, you know I only have eyes for one woman,” Joe replies, winking at me. “She’s fucking gorgeous, nice rack and an awesome ass. Don’t you think, Runt?”

  I can feel my fists start to clench while Joe talks about Stephanie like she’s a piece of meat. I want to beat the shit out of him for even thinking about her, let alone looking at her.

  “Bro, what crawled up your ass?” John asks.

  “What are you talking about?” I bark back at him.

  “Well, you look like you’re about to pummel Joe right now. If you squeeze your fists any tighter you’ll probably break your fingers. What’s wrong?” John asks looking worried.

  “Nothing, sorry, I’m fine,” I answer quickly.

  “Is there something going on with you and Stephanie that Jason and I need to know about?” Joe asks. “You know mixing business with pleasure doesn’t work.”

  I stand up and move toward the front of the house. “I’m gonna take a drive. Be back later,” I say as an answer to both of their questions. I’ve got to get out of here before I do or say something stupid.

  Once I’m in my truck and heading out of the neighborhood, I start to calm down. What is it about this woman? She’s lied to me, she’s a fucking stripper, but she’s got me all tied up inside. Now I’m thinking about fighting my brother. “Maybe I do need to get laid to get her out of my head,” I say out loud, but not believing it will help. I hit the highway, hoping the miles will fix this problem.

  I’m not sure what woke me up first, the dream about James and what happened last night or my cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. I look at the clock and see that it’s already past noon. I never sleep this late. The phone starts to vibrate again and after checking the display I answer.

  “Hey, Becca, what’s up?” I ask trying to sound more awake than I am.

  “Oh, sorry, did I wake you?”

  “No, it’s fine. I should have gotten up hours ago. Is everything okay?” I can’t hear anything in the background to give away her location.

  “Yes, everything’s good. I was just bored and wondered if you wanted to do something today. Colin has to go to the office and deal with something Jude messed up so I don’t know how long he’ll be gone. I need to run a few errands if you want to come with me, or we could just meet for lunch,” she says quickly, as if she’s afraid I’ll turn her down.

  “Lunch sounds wonderful. Since it’s Sunday we’ll have to go to either Raffiki’s or Cheddars. I can be there in thirty minutes.” I get out of bed and go to my closet to pick out something to wear.

  “I’ll meet you at Cheddars. I’m in the mood for one of their salads. See you soon,” she says as she ends the call.

  I smile at my reflection as I put my phone down. Becca continues to amaze me with her positive outlook on life. I need to try and be more like that, I think as I step into the shower for a quick rinse and to get my hair under control.

  Twenty-five minutes later I’m standing in the entrance of our third favorite restaurant waiting for the one person who’s never on time for anything. Christin gives her a hard time about it, probably more than she should, but I just know what to expect. It takes another ten minutes before Becca comes into the building in a rush.

  “I’m sorry, Steph. Traffic was a bitch,” she gives her usual excuse. We all know that traffic really isn’t as bad as Becca’s inability to plan her trips.

  “No worries, my friend. I’m just glad you got here in one piece.” I nod at the hostess indicating that we’re ready to be seated.

  Once we’re settled into the booth and our orders have been taken, we slip into the comfortable conversation we always have.

  “How are you? You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

  “You don’t miss anything do you? I thought we all agreed that you wouldn’t psychoanalyze any of us despite your degree,” I say laughing, trying to take the focus away from myself.

  “I’m not doing that, I just know you and something seems off,” she says looking me directly in the eye.

  “Nothing you need to worry about. I’m finishing that new contract this week and it’s taken over a lot of brain space,” I reply skirting the issue.

  “That’s exciting. Can you talk about this job or is it like your other stuff?” She knows that much of what I do is confidential or classified so she understands that what I can disclose is limited.

  “No, I can talk about th
e basics. I’m building a secure network for Owens Ammunition for some contract they have. It’s not a big deal, but it is the first thing for EPOM, which is really exciting.”

  “You’re so good at all that technical stuff. I’m lucky to know how to turn on my laptop,” she says as she starts typing on her phone.

  “What are you doing? I know you have this weird ability to multi-task, but you’re freaking me out right now.” I really don’t know how she can concentrate on two completely different things at the same time.

  “I was pulling up your employer to see what they do exactly. Oh, the CEO is hot,” she exclaims.

  “Keep your voice down, silly. You sound like a teenager in heat,” I laugh.

  “I’m not wrong. Wait, there are more of him? Three brothers run this company and they’re all gorgeous. How have you been able to work in that environment and keep your panties on?”

  I shake my head at her. “You’re engaged, remember, and your guy is equally as hot. Plus, you get to go home to him every night so just stop ogling my bosses,” I say as I take her phone. I spare a glance at the screen and my eyes are immediately drawn to James standing between his brothers. He’s just so strong, confident, successful, hot, muscular, amazing. I’m not sure that I can narrow anything down, but I really like it.

  “Wow, you’ve got it bad,” Becca says as she takes her phone back. “Which one is it, no, let me guess. The one on the left looks like he’s fun, the one on the right looks pretty serious but I’m guessing you’re lusting after the one in the middle. James Owens, CEO of Owens Ammunition. Am I right?” she asks still looking at her phone. I don’t answer and she looks up at me.

  “Yep, I’m right. Your eyes are dilated and your cheeks are flushed. And before you start, I’m not “shrinking” you,” she says making quotes with her fingers. “I knew it had to be a man to make you so distracted.”

  “It’s nothing, just let it go. I don’t have time for a relationship right now.”