Stronger With Her

by JA Hensley

  My phone rings after a few minutes and my heart stops. Could she really want to talk? I answer without looking at the caller ID.

  “This is James,” I say excitedly.

  “Hey, fucker. Where are you?” Joe asks. My shoulders drop and I sigh exasperatedly.

  “I’m on my way home. Why? Do you need me to come wipe your ass or something?” I’m not in the mood for his shit.

  “Uh, no, is everything all right? You left after lunch, and I thought something might be wrong.”

  “Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind. I went to John’s to finish up plans for tomorrow night. You and Jason need to be at his house by seven, by the way. We’re going to serve some cold beers and colder revenge on Jacob. It’s going to take all of us to make it work.”

  “You got it, man. We’ll be there. I really like Stephanie and what he did was totally uncalled for.”

  “Thanks for helping. It’s time he learned his lesson once and for all. I’ll see you guys later.” I end the call as I’m pulling into my driveway. As I walk in the front door Ma hollers from the kitchen.

  “Runt, you want something to eat? I’m almost finished with supper.”

  “I’m going to get cleaned up first, but thanks. Why don’t we sit down together when I’m done,” I say before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  “That’d be wonderful, dear. Do you have a date with Stephanie tonight?”

  “No, I’m going to go to the gym for a while. Tomorrow I’m going to John’s for supper so don’t plan on me. Maureen’s going out with her girlfriends so we thought it’d be a good time to hang out,” I answer as I take a bite of the chicken dish she’s cooking.

  “You boys are so close now. I remember when you were growing up how much they picked on you, especially since you were so small. Things sure have changed, haven’t they?” She swats my hand away from the pot.

  “Yeah, they have but it’s all good now. I’ll be back down in a few minutes,” I say as I quickly get another bite and rush away before she can hit me again. I hear her laughter follow me as I ascend the stairs.

  Today was a good day. I met with a couple potential clients and made appointments with a few more. I didn’t spend all day thinking about James, which was a nice change. My neighbor, Ms. Jessica as she insists on being called, is coming out of her condo as I enter the hallway.

  “Good afternoon, Stephanie,” she says with a snarky tone. I have no idea what I’ve done to make this woman hate me. I plaster on the nicest smile I have and aim it at her.

  “Hello, Ms. Jessica. How are you today?” I say drawing out the Ms. just to piss her off. I don’t really care, but I feel like being a bitch.

  “Couldn’t be better. I got to meet a fine looking man today. He’s just the thing to make my day go from good to fan-fucking-tastic. Too bad you weren’t here earlier, you missed him.” She flips her hair over her shoulder. There’s no way this woman is over thirty-five years old. What is her deal?

  “Well, I guess it’s your gain and my loss. I hope you have fun with him,” I say walking away. I can only take so much.

  “Oh, honey, I will. Can’t wait to climb him and hang from his limb, if you know what I mean,” she says with a somewhat evil laugh.

  “The poor guy,” I mutter to myself. When I turn the corner to my door, I see a candy dish on the floor. It’s full of my favorite chocolate mints and has a beautiful pink bow on it. My girls are so sweet to think of me and send the only thing that can make me feel better.

  After getting into the living room and putting everything down, I see that there’s a note attached to the bow.

  Stephanie,

  I owe you an explanation. I’m ready to tell you about Danielle and anything else you want to know about me. Please give me another chance. Call me when you’re ready to talk.

  Forever yours, James

  I put the candy on my coffee table and take a few out to munch on while I think about what to do. I know I want James in my life. He’s a great guy, but I can’t get past the fact that he knows my biggest secret and he still chose to keep something from me.

  My phone pings with a text message. I don’t want to look, afraid it might be him. After the alert sounds three more times, I finally get off my ass and find my phone. Thankfully the message is from Christin.

  You up for dinner tonight?

  I sigh loudly. I don’t want to go out.

  Not really. It’s been a long day.

  It takes less than ten seconds to get her reply.

  Come on, you need some girl time. We’ll just bring food to you if you want to stay in.

  I do want to stay in. It means less of a chance of running into someone I’m trying to avoid.

  Fine. I want Termillio’s. The usual.

  The reply comes quickly.

  Becca and I will see you soon.

  I change into my comfy clothes, sighing with relief once I get my bra off. I’ve got the radio playing and I hear my favorite Def Leppard song come on. I can’t stop my hips from moving to the music, going through my routine. Of course, that makes me think about James and all that mess. Maybe I need to go back to The Sprocket and work some of this shit out there. I also need a new routine. Since Becca knows about it now, perhaps she would be willing to help me come up with something. Christin would actually be the better choice, but I’m not sure I want to tell her yet.

  Thirty minutes later my house smells like the heavenly combination of cheese, garlic, and tomato sauce. The three of us are stuffing our faces and laughing about Colin’s latest suspect’s naked arrest.

  “I swear I’m marrying a comedian,” Becca snickers.

  “A hot one,” Christin adds while fanning her face.

  “What about his brother? Aren’t you still seeing him, Christin?” I ask innocently. I thought they hooked up after he and Becca were released from the hospital.

  “Nah, that’s over. He’s too intense for me, you know?” she answers but avoids eye contact with either of us. I look at Becca and she raises an eyebrow in suspicion.

  “Well, men generally suck anyway,” I say trying to lighten the mood.

  “Your man is hot and seems like a good guy,” Christin says quietly.

  “How would you know that?” I ask sharply. “What did you do?” My panic is climbing because I know how little filter she has.

  “I just went by his office and told him to get his gorgeous head out of his tight ass,” She replies shrugging like it’s nothing.

  “You what?” Becca and I ask at the same time.

  “Exactly what I said. I went to his office and told him that he needed to get his shit together. I explained that he was treating my girl like shit, and I wouldn’t stand for it. He was actually really great about it. He cares for you a lot, Steph. Did you get the candy?”

  I point to the coffee table and my friends nod.

  “How did you know about that?”

  “See, he knows how to listen. Did you call him?”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m still pissed that he lied to me. What else did you tell him to do?”

  “That was the only specific thing I told him. What did he lie about?”

  “We’re coming back to your involvement here. But, he knows my secrets but I don’t know his. How is that fair?” I realize that I’m pouting, but it doesn’t matter.

  “You have secrets? What are they? Why don’t I know them? Or do I?” Christin rapid fires the questions at me. I look at Becca and she nods reassuringly. I take a deep breath and look at Christin.

  “I’ve been moonlighting for a while. It’s something that I didn’t want anyone to know because I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. But, now that it seems to be getting out, I guess you should know,” I say but pause at the end to torture her a little bit.

  “Well, are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?” she asks, bouncing in her seat. I look at Becca again and she is covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter.

  “Okay, but if yo
u freak out in any way whatsoever, I will kick your ass so hard you won’t know what hit you. Got it?” I say sternly, pointing my finger in her face.

  “I swear, I won’t freak out,” she says holding her hands in the air like I have a gun.

  “I’ve been working at The Shady Sprocket,” I say slowly, drawing out each syllable. Christin stares at me like I’ve got three tits.

  “Like as a waitress?”

  “No, as a dancer.”

  She looks over at Becca who smiles back at her. Her eyes grow wide and she jumps up from the chair.

  “Holy shit, are you fucking kidding me? You’ve been stripping and you didn’t tell me? I could have helped you with your routine. I was a cheerleader in high school and most of our dances were strip teases without taking our uniforms off. Of course, I did that later with the Capitan of the football team,” she laughs.

  “You promised not to freak out, remember?” I remind her as she’s tugging on my hands still bouncing.

  “I’m just really excited. What song do you use?”

  “Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me”,” I answer. Christin’s face scrunches up in disgust.

  “That’s so cliché, Steph. You’ve got to get a new song. Do you use the pole?”

  I can’t believe the conversation is going like this. I should really learn to trust my friends more. Becca walks around the table and puts her hand on Christin’s shoulder.

  “How about we calm down a little, have another glass of wine, and then we can talk strategy about Steph’s other life without questioning her like a murder suspect. Sound good?”

  Christin nods but doesn’t take her eyes off me. “I knew you had a vixen in there somewhere, I just didn’t expect it to come out like this.”

  I break out in a fit of giggles that causes tears to run down my face. I can’t stop laughing and I fall out of my seat onto the floor, clutching my stomach and trying to breathe.

  “What did I say?” Christin asks, looking at me like I’ve most certainly lost my mind.

  “My stage name,” I manage to get out slowly, “Is Vixen,” I squeak and the girls join me in the laughing fit.

  When we finally get ourselves calmed down Christin starts in with the questions.

  “I’ve been to The Shady Sprocket a couple of times. Does Trevor still work there?”

  “Yes, he’s a real sweetheart. I text him when I want to dance and he makes it happen.”

  “He’s sex on a stick. I’ve tried to hook up with him, but he always shoots me down. He must be gay,” she says shaking her head.

  Becca scoffs, “Maybe he’s just not into you, bitch. You’re not all that, you know?”

  “Please, you know that men can’t not want this,” she says grabbing her boobs. “Maybe I should take a turn on the pole.”

  “I don’t think the world could handle that, babe. Let’s just help Steph get her man back, okay?” Becca says.

  “First of all, he’s not my man. I don’t know if I even want him back,” I cross my arms over my chest.

  “Yes, you do and you know it. Since that huge hunk came into your life, you’ve been so happy you practically light up. Stop denying it and work with us here,” Christin says.

  “She’s right, hon,” Becca adds. “You know he’s made you happier than anyone else has.”

  I sigh and nod in agreement. “So, what am I going to do?”

  “First, I think he needs to work for it. He’s smitten and focused on getting you back, but we all know that men love a challenge. Don’t make it easy for him, but you need to leave hints that you haven’t given up completely.”

  “I agree. Maybe you text him and tell him thank you for the candy. Don’t engage him any further than that,” Becca says.

  I pick up my phone and send the message. “Now what?” I really wish I was better at all this.

  “Now, you wait to see what his next move is,” Christin answers. “My guess is that he’ll text or call and try to get you to talk to him. Ignore it all. He’ll figure out that he has to step it up to get more of your attention.” I look to Becca and she’s nodding.

  “All right, one thing I know that I can do to get his attention is to dance. He hates it,” I say rolling my eyes. “The first night I saw him at The Sprocket he looked like he was ready to kill everyone that was looking at me. The second night, when we realized who the other was, I was surprised that he didn’t pick me up and carry me off the stage. He was really upset,” I say remembering the look on his face.

  “How did you see him the first time?” Christin asks.

  “Well, you know he’s huge. He was standing behind the first row of guys. From the stage, it didn’t look like he wanted to be there. Once I got closer, I got a protective vibe from him. He was completely different from every other man in the room.”

  “Damn, girl. That’s some fucking romantic shit right there. Like something out of a smut book or something,” Christin says. “What about the second night?”

  “He got pissed when he figured out I was the woman he had hired to work on his computer system. He followed me back to the dressing room, and I had to trick him to get him to leave. He caught up to me in the parking lot and basically forced me to explain myself. I didn’t give him the answers he wanted, but he kissed me.” I touch my lips as if that kiss just happened.

  “Damn, girl,” I hear Christin mutter.

  “Yeah, it pretty much changed everything for me. No man has ever been that aggressive and gentle with me in my life. Things progressed from there and now here we are.”

  “All right, we’re going to get this shit fixed. Did the candy have a note?” Christin asks looking around the table.

  I get it for her and she reads it out loud. Becca has been sitting quietly listening to everything, but I know that she’s thinking about it all in a way only she can.

  “He’s ready to open up, Steph. I think you need to hear him out,” she says quietly.

  “I say you make him work a little harder. I don’t think this guy is going to give up that easily. It’s easy to say that in a note, but if they’re face to face he could freeze up. He has to want to tell you more than anything,” Christin counters.

  I look at both of them, trying to figure out who’s right. Becca has the clinical background, but Christin has the real world experience. I put my head in my hands and sigh.

  “I don’t like this one bit. I’ve never been good at the unpredictable.”

  “Then you just have to follow your instincts,” Becca says.

  “Let’s work on your new dance in the meantime. I’ve got some ideas that just might work to give you the predictability that you’re looking for from him,” Christin says pulling me up and slapping my ass.

  We spend another hour or so working on some new choreography. I have to agree that Christin could probably be pretty successful on the stage, but I don’t dare tell her that. When we’re finished, the girls both hug me on the way out the door.

  “I want to see this live, you know. When are you going to debut it?” Christin asks.

  “How about Saturday night? I’m going to need the stress relief when I get back from my parents’ house. I’ll text Trevor in a bit and have him set it up.”

  “We’ll be there for you, babe,” Christin says as she kisses my cheek. She’s not normally so emotionally expressive. Something must really be up with her. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Becca says squeezing my hand then linking arms with Christin as they walk out into the hall.

  “Love you, girls,” I call to their retreating forms.

  “Love you too,” they answer in unison.

  Time has crept by today, which is only fueling my anger toward my brother. I’m looking forward to beating his ass tonight, or whatever else sounds good at the time.

  My thoughts are interrupted by Simone, who’s walking into my office in a hurry.

  “Is the building on fire?” I ask jokingly.

  “No, smart ass, but you need to do something about Joe. He’s
out of control,” she says as she sits across from my desk.

  “What did he do now?” I ask exasperatedly. I really don’t need to deal with his shit today, too.

  “He asked me out. What am I supposed to do with that?”

  I stop flipping through the papers on my desk and look Simone in the eye.

  “What the fuck are you talking about? How is that out of control? He does that at least once a week.” The universe must be conspiring against me.

  “Well, this time he was serious. I thought we were just joking around, but now he’s changed the game. I can’t date him, can I?” She starts chewing on her thumbnail.

  “You’re a grown woman, Simone. What do you want me to say? I’ve tried to distract him with company policy, but he continues to ignore it. Maybe this is a conversation you should have with your girlfriends.”

  “I don’t really have anyone to talk to. I thought you could help me,” she mumbles.

  “I’m the last person who should be giving relationship advice. I can’t get Stephanie to talk to me.”

  “What did you send her today?”

  “How do you know that I sent her something?” Her powers amaze me.

  “I know everything that goes on around here. So, what was it?”

  “I went with traditional and sent flowers…a lot of them. We’ll see how they go over.” I’m a little nervous about it, but it’s too late to change it now.

  “I bet she’ll love them. That girl has got it bad for you. Prove to her that she’s worth the fight and things should work out just fine.”

  “I hope so. Now, maybe you should take your own advice? Has Joe done enough fighting or does he need to do more?” I try to mirror her smug expression.

  “Ugh, why do I even bother. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says as she gets up to leave.

  “I’m just telling you what you’ve told me. But, I think he’ll make you happy,” I say with a smile. Simone rolls her eyes and turns her back to me, making her way to her desk.

  “You’re probably right,” she says quietly, closing my door behind her.