“So, obviously, it was time to introduce me to her with the idea that time spent together would somehow garner me better grades because why exactly? I guess I don't understand fully,” Stephanie said. “There has to be more than you're telling me.”
The sunny sky was now overcast, and both women were walking with their eyes on the pavement. The wind picked up and the sky started to spit rain at them in little droplets that hit the ground and seemed to smudge out into nothing but a light spot. They both knew that real rain was coming, one that would quench the thirst of the surrounding cornfields. In Ames, Iowa, there was hundreds of miles of fields in any direction, maybe with a town or two, but mostly corn. And there were also pigs, but hog lots tended to be something that people kept hidden away from the public due to how terrible the conditions were for the animals, and how poorly the waste was managed.
“All right,” Lexie said. “There is a little more, but it's just me being a little bit of a shit about it.”
“Oh my God,” Stephanie said. “I knew that it was going to be lesbian drama when you got all weird in there! I knew it!”
The girls made it to the house where they rented the first floor, and flopped down on the couch, switching on the weather channel.
“It's not drama,” Lexie said. “I just wanted to be sure that Cronkite was cool with you about it. Because you're a nice person, and fundamentally, you're right. You did come to class ready, for the most part. There were a few times you fucked up, though, and she called you out for them.”
“That's what I'm saying,” Stephanie said. “It seems like too much to hold those events against me because how how hard she called me out at the time and it's good to hear you agree with me.”
The weatherman on television told them that there was a good chance for scattered thunderstorm, and also issued one of those weather warnings that makes the TV and radio peep two or three times way louder than the actual volume setting.
“So,” Stephanie said. “What do you think is going to happen tonight? I don't even have her number or anything, so how am I supposed to call her, or text, her, or whatever. Surely she doesn't want me emailing her considering what the email would say.”
“Oh course not,” Lexie said. “Listen, would you calm down and stop being difficult. I get that you're a little miffed, but it's all good. Cronkite is super awesome, and me and her never actually did anything together. We wanted to, but we didn't. So I figure it wold be fitting that I introduce you two. But you have to know that this is on you, not me. I'm not the one going to hang out with Cronkite, and I'm not trying to say this is the best course of action.”
Stephanie stayed quiet, more than happy to listen to Lexie take the wheel for a change.
“While you to are out,” Lexie said. “You'll most likely discuss what's going to go one with the grade, and what you have to do or whatever. The best way would be to be the one who suggest the thing that is do be done. Don't make her be the one that tells you—she can lose her job for that. But if it's your idea, then you can have a Gender Studies' grade that isn't so bad.”
Stephanie laughed and snuggled back into their super comfortable couch.
“Hopefully I don't have to do some bitch work like rake her lawn, or mow the yard, or dig a hole and fill it like we're doing some kind of Army boot camp type of thing.”
“I'm sure you'll be fine,” Lexie said. “And I doubt that Cronkite is going to have you do anything like dig a hole. She'll probably just want to hang out with you in a setting that is nonthreatening. If you want, I could come! That would be fun. But you two should probably talk about it first.”
It had never occurred to Stephanie that Lexie might be able to come along, especially because she already knew Cronkite. There was a lot of things that could happen and Stephanie was just now realizing that she was a little behind the curve of the game Lexie was playing.
“But what if we hit it off and want to be more than a fling? I guess that's a little presumptuous of me,” Stephanie said. “But you know what I mean. If, by some crazy stroke of luck, this is the person who I'm supposed to be with for the rest of my life, won't it be weird if you're part of the story? What if the part of the story is when you and me and her all play together?”
Lexie laughed at this, pressing her head back into the sofa and arching her back.
“Holy fucking shit,” Lexie said. “You really do have a dirty mind. All right, check it out. If you two decide that I could come, or if me coming it just part of it, I'll hang back, or become animated, depending on what's going on.”
Stephanie didn't really like the answer; it didn't address her question.
“But what if—“
Lexie cut her off.
“It's sweet that you want to marry Cronkite already,” Lexie said. “But maybe we should at least make sure that you two get together tonight and see what's up with y'all. Because as cute as it is to sit here and fret about what could happen, or what should happen.”
With that Lexie whipped out her cellphone and typed in a few numbers. Before Stephanie knew what was going on Lexie had worked out all the details.
“You'll be meeting up with her around six at the bowling alley,” Lexie said. “Now, don't get all nervous and do anything dumb like get super wasted. Cronkite isn't going to dig you if you do that. You need to just go with the flow, be around her, feel her vibe, and flirt with her. That's the biggest thing. If you get all weird like some kind of straight white who isn't hip, it's going to be hard to convince Cronkite that you're cool enough for her to have a thing with. So, try not to be a dumbass, all right?”
Stephanie laughed.
“I think I sense a little bit of jealousy,” Stephanie said. “And that's fine. But do keep in mind that I know nothing of your past relationship with Cronkite, and I'm not trying to step on your toes.”
“Holy shit,” Lexie said. “Shut up. Just do your best. Am I little jealous? Yes. But does that mean I care about what you two are doing? No. So please don't think that it keeps me up at night that you and Cronkite are going to spend some time together.”
“So you won't be there? I just want to know. Not trying to pressure you to come,” Stephanie said. “I guess I'm suddenly like, eek, I need backup!”
Lexie's phone buzzed in her hands, receiving a text.
“It looks as if I'll be there as well,” Lexie said. “I thought this might happen. But like I said, I'm going to be taking a back seat to all of this because it's just not my time to do anything but that. I could be a little bit more talkative than I plan to be, or I could just not. I plan on not. I guess I'll chime in. When I feel like it.”
Stephanie just chuckled. She loved how cagey Lexie was being about the entire thing. It wasn't like her, and it excited Stephanie to know that Cronkite had this affect on her.
“Well, I want you to know I'm glad,” Stephanie said. “Whether or not me being glad has a whole lot to do with the outcome might not matter, but I want you to know that I'm glad you're coming and that you'll get to experience it with me. I suppose you've already hung out with her and stuff. Maybe not like this, but close to like this.”
Lexie didn't answer, and instead checked the time on her phone. Stephanie liked the way that Lexie was always punctual. She never let time get away from her the way some people did, and when someone showed up late to class Lexie always made this face like she was smelling something rotten, like she just couldn't believe what was going on—how anyone could be late for anything, especially class, and even more so a date, was beyond her.
“We need to go,” Lexie said. “I knew I just made plans, but if we're both going to put on any makeup at all, we need to start now. And I know I want to take a shower.”
“You don't need to take a shower,” Stephanie said. “You took one before class!”
“I guess you're right,” Lexie said. “So let's hurry up and get our faces painted!”
When they arrived at the bowling alley they were both relieved to find that the students
that they went to class with hadn't decided to show up and throw some balls around. Everyone who was there seemed to be from the general public, but it was hard to tell. The bowling alley itself wasn't technically part of the school. A small business rented out the bottom floor of the student union building and had super cheap glow in the dark bowling. Not only this, but if the bowler was of age, they could even buy drinks.
Stephanie looked around for Cronkite while Lexie grabbed them their shows and a locker. Stephanie knew that Cronkite was going to dress one of two ways: either she'd wear something that glowed intensely in the dark, or she'd wear all black. It turned out to be the latter, and Cronkite waved at Stephanie from across the alley. It was amazing how the entire place lit up with a weird, luminescent glow. Cronkite looked stunning in what seemed to be some kind of outfit from the eighties. It was hard to place the exact area because of all the black lights.
“Good to see you out and about,” Cronkite said. “I usually only ever get to see you in class, and that's too bad really, because there is only so much we can talk about in class. It's kind of constricting.”
“I agree,” Stephanie said. “In class is fine, but I like real life better. You look super stunning right now. I'm sure you already knew that, but I wanted to let you know because, holy smokes, you are gorgeous!”
The dress that Cronkite was wearing showed off of her figure. There wasn't an inch of her left to the imagination Of course one could imagine if they wanted to, because it's not like the dress was see through, but it wouldn't take much imagination to see Cronkite naked in the mind's eye.
“Thank you,” Cronkite said. “You look amazing as always. I'm sure that Lexie told you that me and her had a thing before we found out about how I taught at the school she went to. We never did anything, if that matters to you, but we should have! I mean, now it seems to turn Lexie off a little bit, because she's a serious person and thinks about the impact it would have on my job.”
“That's good point, I'd never thought about how it could get you in trouble,” Stephanie said. “I mean, I guess I knew that it could, but I just never thought about it. It's crazy to think that the school could come in here and all of sudden decide that you don't have a job anymore because you decided to meet some of your students at a bowling place.”
Lexie was walking across the bowling alley with two pairs of shoes.
“Looks like you ladies will need to check out what stones you'll be throwing down the lanes,” Cronkite said. “That's really the best part about all of this, being able to whip a big, heavy ball down toward a bunch of pins that are going to go flying. It makes me feel powerful, like I could break anything. Although maybe it's a little silly to equate the ability to destroy with actual power. Real power isn't like that inherently.”
Stephanie loved the way that Cronkite slipped into talking about political theory so easily. It was nice to be around someone who thought about things in a bigger light than what was going on in the next five minutes, or what was going to happen at the next party. Stephanie was so sick of people thinking shallow thoughts and acting shallowly.
“Tell me about yourself,” Stephanie said. “I know that sounds kind of corny, especially because we see each other so often. But really, I don't know that much about you. And I'd like to know more.”
“Well,” Cronkite said. “I graduated from high school a number of years early. That allowed me to springboard ahead of peers and start doing my own thing. So I took college classes and a bunch of other stuff that helped me prepare for not only undergraduate but also graduate level classes. It was a rocky road for a long time, but now things are really paying off.”
“I bet it was so much work,” Stephanie said. “I'm glad that you made it through all of that, though. It sounds like it was quite the experience.”
“It was,” Cronkite said. “But I wouldn't be who I am today without it. Now let's bowl!”
Bowling was a fun distraction, and one that the three women could hold an ongoing conversation while still being engage in it. It wasn't like sports where you had to be completely locked in or things would be missed. It was something paced well, and relaxing. It wasn't something that made her grit her teeth, or wish that she could have a drink to calm her down. Lexie and Cronkite were having an equally good time, and there was no awkwardness between the two. Stephanie was a little bit relieved that they hadn't done anything, but she also knew that was a silly thing to be relieved about. So what if they had done something. It didn't matter. Emotional connections were so much stronger than physical ones. But whatever kind of relationship they used to have, it seemed to Stephanie like it have become a warm and welcoming friendship. That was something that Stephanie found attractive about Cronkite, the way she'd been able to foster a relationship and not just have bad blood between her and someone that she'd liked a lot. Because, as Stephanie was painfully aware, there wasn't any assurance that things were going to work out between her and Cronkite, so she liked to know that it wasn't going to turn into some super shitty situation that no one wanted to be a part of.
Bowling slowly played out, and everyone scored fairly well. No one was super concerned with who won, because they'd really been playing to get to know each other and that seemed to have worked out pretty well.
“Well, it was nice hanging out,” Cronkite said. “Sorry that I made Lexie come with, but I think both of you are so cute together! I'll tell you what, why don't you both come to my piano recital tomorrow and we'll make a date of it! The three of us! I know it sounds a little extravagant, but really it isn't at all. I happen to be really good friends with the guy who runs the place, so there isn't any chance that things will go wrong. And we'll be able to sit in at a table all our own, elevated above everyone and off to the left of the stage a little bit. It really is totally worth it, and I think we should totally do it. But you and Lexie would have to want to as well, so I hope you both say yes!”
“Yes!” Stephanie and Lexie said at the same time.
They left the bowling alley feeling like the world was their oyster, like there was nothing in the world that could go wrong and they would conquer all. And maybe they would! Stephanie wasn't counting anything out.
“What do you think of this dinner thing? You know Cronkite better than me,” Stephanie said. “I'm not sure what to make of it. I mean, it sounds pretty cool, and I'm not hating on it at all, but at the same time it's a lot of pressure. And won't people be able to see us? I guess she probably would have thought of that if it was a thing. Maybe it's not a thing, I don't know.”
“I think it'll be blast,” Lexie said. “And I also think there is a really good chance that she'll want to take both of us home, so to speak. I know that might sound a little bit forward, or fast, or whatever, but this is exactly what she likes to do. And I'm into it, don't get me wrong, but you need to figure out if you're into it as well so you can either tell me that it's all good if I come, or maybe I should stay home? I don't know!”
Stephanie wrinkled her noes while she drove back to their apartment.
“It would seem really weird to not have you there,” Stephanie said. “And if Cronkite and I slept together, that would be so cool if you were part of it! I mean, holy shit! That would be a super awesome bonding experience and something that we could look back on for the rest of our lives!”
Lexie giggled.
“I'm glad that you see it that way,” Lexie said. “Because a lot of people are so narrow minded that they don't see it that way at all. The way that see it is this—if someone else sleeps with the person I want to sleep with, then I need become upset. But it doesn't have to be that way! And isn't for me, I can assure.”
Stephanie smiled. She knew that she could count on Lexie to say the right things. And she was eternally grateful for the way that Lexie had hooked her up with Cronkite. It really was something special—Lexie was a great friend.
“Lexie, I just want you to know that I think you're a great friend,” Stephanie said. “And I'm not jus
t saying that because of, well, you know. I'm saying it because I mean it and I want to.”
Lexie smiled big and nuzzled the top of her head against Stephanie's shoulder.
“Well, Stephanie,” Lexie said. “I just want you to know that you're my best friend, so I want the best for you. And that sometimes includes something that I think, or thought, was the best for me. It's like Christmas gifts, you don't get people stuff that you don't want. You get people stuff that is so awesome you want it, even though you know it's for someone else.”
When they got to the apartment they snuggled on the couch. Each talked about what they were going to wear to the recital tomorrow, and how good they were going to look in it. Each one knew that Cronkite would look like a million bucks, and that everyone there would know that two young, beautiful women were there with her. Maybe people would assume that they were friends, but then again it probably wouldn't take too much critical thinking to figure out that Stephanie and Lexie were with Cronkite in a capacity besides just friendship. Maybe people would keep their minds out of the gutter, but that would certainly be a first.
The next evening arrived before either of them new it, and both of them were dressed to kill. Stephanie wore an all black satin outfit that clung to her like a drowning man claws at a buoy in the ocean, and Lexie wore a demure white dress that should off her cleavage a little bit.
Both of them were ready to see how many people were going to be at this musical event, and how well dressed everyone else was. They both looked ready for a very nice evening out on the town, but they got the feeling that some of the people in the audience were going to be wearing diamonds that cost as much as all of Stephanie and Lexie's accumulative college debt.
Stephanie and Lexie both rode together to Cronkite's house, and from there they hopped into a limousine and started the trek to the super nice side of town. Not that Cronkite lived on the bad side of town at all, it was just that Ames had just went through another massive wave of gentrification, so places that used to be pretty nice were now completely awesome. It was kind of strange to think about, but around this giant auditorium that served as venue for all sorts of things were a bunch of super rich, mostly retired white folk. They were all nice enough, but it meant that, most of the time, only a certain kind of play or act came to town.
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