Stronger With Her (25 page)

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.

T
ime 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.

I check my phone to see if there’s another text from Stephanie. She sent one last night, but I didn’t know what to say back. There’s nothing yet today, which I hope means that she hasn’t gotten her delivery yet. I’m about to send her a message when Jason walks in.

“Are you ready for tonight, Runt?” he asks, settling on my couch.

“You bet. It’s going to be hard to keep myself in check, though. I’m so pissed I just want to rip his head off and shit down his neck.”

“I know and you will, but you need to time it just right. This is supposed to be a learning opportunity for him, not just a beating.”

“Hopefully it’ll be both because he’s done fucking with my life,” I say.

“All right, well, I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you at John’s tonight.”

Instead of trying to get anything else done, I go ahead and shut down my computer. Sitting here is just going to make me even more crazy. I wave goodbye to Simone as I walk by her desk. I see Joe coming my way and I stop him before Simone sees him.

“Dude, back the fuck off,” I say grabbing his arm.

“What’s your problem, Runt? I was coming to see you,” he answers shaking me off.

“Whatever, just leave Simone alone, okay? You’ve got her spooked, so if you want more with her you need to slow down.”

“Since when do you give relationship advice?”

“Apparently today’s my day. Now, I’m taking off to get ready for tonight. Can I trust you to go back to your desk and do some actual work?”

“I guess. I just, man, I,” he stammers. Seeing Joe at a loss for words is oddly entertaining.

“Yeah, I know. Just give her some space.” I slap him on the shoulder and press the button for the elevator.

“Okay, fine. I’ll see you tonight,” he says as he sulks back to his office. I laugh out loud. How did we all become such love-sick puppies all of a sudden?

It doesn’t take long to get ready to go to John’s, but I make sure I show up a little late. I want to take Jacob by surprise a little.

My text alert goes off as I pull into John’s driveway.

The flowers are beautiful. Thank you.

I smile as I read her words. Hopefully, tomorrow’s gift will warrant a phone call from her. I don’t want her to think I’m ignoring her so I send a quick reply.

You’re welcome. I miss you.

I look around and see everyone else’s vehicles parked in the drive or on the street. Time to get this little revenge party underway.

I don’t bother knocking on the front door, throwing it open and yelling, “I’m here,” into the house.

“We’re out back, Runt. Grab a beer and get out here,” John replies. I do as I’m told and take two bottles with me to the back porch.

“Wow, what a bunch of losers,” I say laughing. Jason throws a bottle cap at me and Jacob gives me the finger.

“It’s about time you got here, where’ve ya been?” Joe asks.

“I had to help Ma get some things off the top shelves. She would’ve called one of you assholes, but she didn’t have a ladder tall enough for you to use.”

“You’re fucking hilarious, you know that?” Joe laughs.

“Whatever,” I retort before taking a long pull on my beer.

We give each other a hard time for about half an hour before things turn a little more serious.

“I’m telling you guys, she’s the one,” Joe confesses. He’s had more alcohol than I think his brain can handle right now.

“You’re talking out of your ass,” Jacob scolds. “There’s no such fucking thing.”

“What are you talking about? Of course there is. Don’t you remember watching Ma and Pop? You think he would say that Ma wasn’t the one?” John says angrily. We all nod in agreement staring at Jacob. This is the opening I need. I look at Jason and he nods, pulling out his phone and looking like he’s texting.

“So, you just like to fuck ‘em and leave ‘em, Jacob? That’s the kind of man you are?” I ask nonchalantly.

“I didn’t say that,” he replies. “Sometimes I go back for seconds or thirds.”