“NO!!” Elsie exclaims.
“Well something happened, you look like you’re about to snap, you’re strung so tight.”
Elsie opens her mouth to start talking and Elizabeth stops her holding up a hand.
“Wait, let’s order first, then we can talk without interruptions. Come on, drive Woman, I’m starved.”
Elsie backs up and finds a spot at the drive-thru order board. The friends place their order before the interrogation begins.
“Ok, shoot,” Elizabeth states in a no nonsense tone, crossing her arms in front of her chest and waiting.
“We made out,” Elsie says a little shyly.
Elizabeth blinks at her not saying anything.
After a moment she asks, “And?”
“That’s about it,” Elsie answers her nervously, chewing on her fingernail.
“Don’t give me that, Elsie! If all you did was make out, you wouldn’t be all freaked out about it. What happened? Was he disrespectful or did he hurt you?”
“No, not at all, he was too fucking great actually. Which makes it worse…it makes it hard to say no,” Elsie answers her with a pained expression on her face.
“Do you want to say no, Elsie?” Elizabeth asks gently as she places a comforting hand on her shoulder. She doesn’t know what’s going on, but Elizabeth can see that it’s causing a major struggle inside Elsie.
Turning her big blue eyes to her friend, “No I don’t. What I want is to dive right in ripping my clothes off, and screaming ‘Yee haw’, then ride that bull until I can’t walk anymore,” she tries to laugh but it comes out sounding more like she’s choking.
“So what’s the problem, Elsie?”
“Elizabeth, someone like me doesn’t have sex with someone like him, even if it’s just sex. He’s too perfect, too together, too…..everything,” Elsie puts her head down on the steering wheel again, shaking it.
“Honey,” Elizabeth starts, squeezing her shoulder, “Whatever it is that is holding you back, can’t be as bad as you think it is. Talk to me, tell me what’s going on in here. It looks like it’s tearing you up.”
Elizabeth was right, it is tearing her up. All of those old demons, which Elsie thought she’d exorcised years ago, were rearing their ugly heads and were front and center in in her mind. Their acid covered claws are digging at and opening up, all of her old wounds, making them all scream out at once.
“It’s nothing, nothing I can change, and I can’t do anything about it. But,” Elsie brightens up, “That man can kiss and he’s got to have the biggest dick I’ve ever felt in my life!”
“You’re kidding me?!” Elizabeth takes the cue that Elsie wants to change subject.
“I kid you not, girl! That thing had to be as big as my forearm,” Elsie exclaims holding it up with a clenched fist to show her just how big she was talking about.
“No way! He would break you girl. It’s a good thing you didn’t go any further. That right there would give new meaning to deep throating. Damn!”
Tap, tap, tap on the window. The waitress stood outside, holding their order, and not looking very happy about it.
“Chow time,” Elsie says as she opens her window.
Taking their food out of the bags, Elizabeth asks Elsie, “So are you still ok going to the classes, El?”
A pang shot through Elsie. To deny herself of John, completely, is too much to bear. She’s not giving up the classes, she can’t. Just being close to him like that will have to be enough.
“Yeah, I’m good, no worries. Hell, I’ve already taken one guy down, I could use a few more tricks. And the eye candy is not something to complain about either. You still driving with Marco?” Elsie asks before taking a huge bite of her messy swiss and mushroom burger.
“Yeah, he figures he can kill two birds with one stone, get in a workout and not lose any time with me. And to be honest,” she whispers, “I kinda like watching him get all Neanderthal, fighting with another guy. I don’t know what it is.”
“I hear ya girl, me freakin’ too! Exactly why I’m not giving up the classes, that shit is hot! Me and Janie are driving together, she’s gonna pick me up, we might stop at Fuzzy Peach and get some frozen yogurt first, then head to Testosterone Land. It’s like Chippendale Warriors in that place, and we have seats, front and center.”
“Are you two going to tape them so you can enjoy them in privacy?”
“Now that is so not a bad idea!”
“Elsie!”
“What? You thought of it!” Elsie laughs at her.
“Yeah, but I was just kidding, you can’t tape them,” Elizabeth reprimands her laughing.
“They don’t have to know,” Elsie jokes wiggling her eyebrows.
“You are so bad,” Elizabeth shakes her head as she stuffs three French fries into her mouth.
If that is all that I can get of John, I just might have to take it, girlfriend, Elsie thinks to herself, taking another huge bite as the juice drips down her chin.
CHAPTER 3 “In a minute you can realize you lost it all. In a second you were always there to break my fall. ‘Til you came an saved my life, in the lonely hour…” Lyrics “Hold Me Up”, by Conrad Sewell
At 5:00 P.M. Elsie’s phone rings. She’s racing around her apartment, trying to get ready. She was working and the time ran away from her. She happened to notice the room was getting darker, so she checked her watch for the time. Now she’s running around like a mad woman, pulling off her shoes and clothes, and yanking things out of her drawers while trying to find her yoga pants and a decent t-shirt, without any stains or holes. There is no way she would go to the gym looking less than her best. She planned to fix her makeup in the car.
“Hello?” she answers her phone slightly out of breath.
“Hey, girl, I’m downstairs. Are you about ready or do you want me to come up?”
It’s Janie. Janie is, well was, Elizabeth’s friend. She’s Elsie’s friend now, too. Elizabeth was out with Janie the night she met Marco. That night not only brought Marco and Elizabeth together, it is how we all found out about Evolutions, which is the gym that Marco goes to. Marco had met John and Brian through the gym, they do their MMA training there, and now they all spar together. John and Brian had really helped Marco and Elizabeth out when Elizabeth’s ex-husband showed up at her apartment one day. There was an altercation and her ex choked her and she passed out. When she came to, she found Brian and John were holding her ex down. That’s how Elizabeth unofficially met Brian and John.
After the altercation, Marco suggested the gym when Elizabeth asked him about the place he goes to. When Elizabeth went to the gym to check it out, she found the place was filled with, quite possibly, all of the hottest men in Wilmington, she called Janie and Elsie and asked if they wanted to take the classes with her. Janie and Elsie met on the first night of classes, and they had become fast friends.
“No, it’s fine, I’ll be right down, just hang out there.”
Elsie finally finds her best t-shirt and slams the drawer shut. Turning around she gasps at the mountain of clothes strewn all over her room.
“Fuck!”
“What is it?” Janie asks.
“Nothing,” Elsie forgot for a moment that she was on the phone. “I’m coming, be right there.”
“K, no rush, we’ve got time,” Janie chuckles, she can tell Elsie’s frazzled and she can’t hide the amusement in her voice.
“I know, bye,” she laughs at Janie and herself.
I just can’t wait to see him again.
Pulling the t-shirt over her head Elsie runs into the bathroom and grabs her makeup bag, how ridiculous is she, putting on makeup to go to the gym, then she snatches up her sneakers and finds her pocketbook. Her keys are hanging on their rack by the entry table, so she grabs them on her way out the door, locking up behind herself. When she gets to the elevator she sees it’s on the top floor. Ugh! she sighs. Elsie considers taking the stairs but quickly pushes that thought from her mind. She’d be a blotchy
-faced sweaty mess by the time she got to the gym if she ran down the six flights to the lobby. Forget that!
Finally, the ancient elevator creaks to a stop at her floor. As the doors slowly slide open, Elsie stands with sneakers in hand, hair a mess and a jacket hanging from her clenched fist. Frustration builds as she spots the blonde Beach Barbie inside the elevator, perfectly dressed, not a single long hair out of place.
Barbie quirks an eyebrow at Elsie as her eyes begin their perusal, from Elsie’s neon-striped socks, up her body, finally stopping at her face. A raging blush moves up Elsie’s chest, neck, face and finally to her scalp, spreading in unison with the bitches scrutinizing gaze.
For far too long, Elsie had been the brunt of cruel jokes and mocking looks from girls just like this one. In elementary school, it was the Brownie troop leader’s daughter who was always in pretty, little, dresses with matching ribbons in her hair. The boys would bring her wildflowers that they’d picked on the playground. She refused to play with Elsie and so the other girls wouldn’t either. In middle school, there were the girls who’d started growing breasts and wearing makeup. They laughed at Elsie and mocked her in the locker room, because of her training bras and glasses. In high school, she’d hated the cheerleaders and their jock boyfriends. Elsie was in the debate club, art club and on the yearbook committee. Almost every single picture she’d taken was excluded from the yearbook, because they didn’t have the popular kids in them. Elsie had tried to make sure everyone had memories in their yearbook that they could look back on fondly. They’d even destroyed that goal. Finally, there was the boy she’d lost her virginity to in high school, that’s when she almost gave up all hope in people. Almost.
Bringing herself back to the present, Elsie squares her shoulders, grits her teeth, and walks into the elevator. She stops directly in front of Barbie, looking her directly in the eyes, offering her a silent dare to say something. The girl backs up as shock slowly spreads across her face. Elsie turns her back on her, slips on her sneakers, and shrugs into her jacket.
This is exactly the kind of girl that John and Brian should be with, little Miss Fucking Perfect! she fumes inwardly. Friday night was just a fluke, John is not interested in me. He was there, I was there, he probably thought he could get a random quick piece of ass.
As soon as the thought crosses her mind, it felt wrong.
But he didn’t even try to push me. He was the one that left before anything went too far, Elsie thinks, worrying her lip between her teeth, analyzing that night again for the hundredth time.
Just forget it, stop thinking about it. That was then, it’s over, move on, it was nothing!
The elevator groans slowly on its descent to the first floor, creaking and clanging as it goes.
Is it always this slow or does it seem like it today because I’m stuck in here with her? Elsie can hear the girl fidgeting behind her, her sweet floral perfume filling the cramped space, and every nerve ending is on full alert.
If she says anything to me, I’m going to rip every piece of blonde hair out of that perfect head of hers.
The doors begin to open, Elsie stands in front of them getting ready to escape as soon as there’s enough room for her to squeeze through. She practically runs out the front doors of the building, rushing to where Janie is waiting in her navy blue Honda CRV.
“Jesus, girl, you look like you’re running away from something, are you ok?” Janie asks her, surprised at the look on Elsie’s face.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just someone in the elevator who I can’t stand. She always gives me dirty looks. You know those types, the perfect ones?” Elsie asks Janie, turning to face her and plastering a fake smile on her face.
“You sure that’s it, kid?” Janie asks, examining her through slightly squinted eyes.
Why does everybody treat me like a kid? Grrrr.
Sensing Elsie’s frustration Janie continues, “I only ask ‘cause I care about you, Babe, what’s wrong?”
Elsie lets out a big sigh and asks, “You know the Halloween party Elizabeth and I went to the other night, for UE Studios?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, Marco was there networking, Elizabeth didn’t know he was going to be there. John and Brian were there too working security.”
Janie’s brows come together as she waits for Elsie to continue, “Ok…”
Elsie draws in a deep breath and goes on, “John drove me home.”
Janie’s eyes fly open, “Tell me you fucked that gorgeous hunk of a man and please tell me it was the best you’ve ever had!”
“No! I didn’t have sex with him but we did make out and I guess you could say...,” Elsie hesitates, feeling shocked that she was actually going to tell her.
“Say what, Elsie, you’re killing me?!” Janie blurts out, exasperated.
“I guess you could say we dry-humped….in my apartment….against the wall,” Elsie says timidly, trying to fight a giggle from bubbling up.
Janie blinks at her once. Twice.
“Are you serious?!”
“Totally,” Elsie answers her, staring, waiting for the reaction she knows is definitely coming.
“…and…,” Elsie continues.
“Will you just spit it all out already? Jesus, I miss everything!”
“At the party, he told me, he’s made me his mission.” There, it’s out, whatever ‘it’ is.
Janie’s bug eyed again, “Are you serious?!”
“Yep.”
“Wow, girl, sounds like the guy’s totally into you,” Janie says letting out a whistle as she shakes her head from side to side, a smile spreading across her face.
“I doubt it,” Elsie grimaces, “but it doesn’t matter, there won’t be an opportunity for anything to happen again. Guys like that are with ‘perfect’ girls.”
Janie turns to look at Elsie, not believing what she’s hearing.
“You are kidding me, right? First off, look at yourself! You’re gorgeous, stunning, and absolutely perfect. John would be lucky to have you. And unless you’ve got some mysterious guy, like Jared Leto, hiding in the back ground, there is no reason for you not to see what happens.” Janie watches Elsie’s face to gauge her reaction. She sees confusion, doubt, and finally hope.
“Elsie, look at me, Girl.”
Elsie shifts her gaze to look into her friend’s eyes, vulnerability very clear in her own.
“Just see what happens, ok? No commitment, no jumping into anything. You be in control. Ok? You deserve it…just see.” Janie softly smiles at her
After a moment, Janie watches Elsie’s guard slip a little before she responds, “Ok, we’ll see.”
“Well, I’ll take that.” Janie turns to face the road and starts her car. “Now plug in your kick-ass iPhone and cue up that playlist. Let’s get this started.”
Taylor Swift’s voice fills the car with her upbeat vocals singing Shake It Off. The two women sing along, dancing in their seats.
“We should totally make a video to this and put it on YouTube,” Elsie laughs and Janie joins in.
With moods high they head off to an hour of beef, brawn and male babes.
When Janie and Elsie arrive at Evolutions Gym they’re a little early. They’d decided to forgo the frozen yogurt as Elsie’s nerves were approaching DEFCON orange level. She finds herself hanging back, unconsciously trying to hide behind Janie’s taller body. Scott Edwards is at the front desk, and when they walk in, he looks up to greet them.
“Hi there lovely ladies, it’s good to see you. How was your weekend?” Scott stands up behind the front desk providing them with an unintentional, yet perfect, view of his sculpted upper body. He looks genuinely happy to see them, his gaze stopping on Janie’s face, and his smile broadens a little more. Scott is a tall man in his mid-thirties. He’s wearing a black t-shirt, the gym logo over his left pec with running pants that hang low on his hips. He keeps his head shaved, and with his rugged good looks, he cuts quite an imposing figure.
Metallica’s See
k and Destroy begins to thump through the air, fueling the already snarling, would-be warriors who are pounding on the bags or sizing up their opponents in the cage, as they circle each other while lining up their throws and kicks.
“Well, hello Handsome, miss me while I was gone?” Janie coos at Scott, placing one arm on the edge of the front desk and leaning in closer, giving him a peek of her ‘girls’, jiggling slightly at her low neckline.
His eyes are drawn to them, like a magnet to metal, and his mouth opens slightly with the glance. When his eyes dart back up to meet Janie’s they widen in embarrassment and a blush creeps over his face. The expression and pink tint are adorable on him.
“Um, I always miss you Janie,” he smiles shyly, flirting back.
“Yeah, I can tell Big Fella. So, you got anything for us today?” Janie goads him further shifting her shoulders slightly, the move making the ‘girls’ shift and pulling his gaze back to them.
His tongue swipes across his lips, before his eyes return to Janie’s.
“Um, something for you?” he stammers revealing a little of his growing discomfort.
“Yes, Dollface, like paperwork or anything else,” and she leans in closer, “Or are we good?” The words sound, and feel, like a caress across his flesh, rather than a question.
Scott clears his throat before he can answer, “Oh, you are quite good, Janie,” his voice huskier than before.
Janie straightens and winks at Scott, “Yes, I am, Lover Boy.” She looks over her shoulder at Elsie standing behind her. “You ready to go inside and learn how to kick these boys’ ass?”
“Yeah, Babe, let’s do it,” Elsie smiles naughtily at her.
Janie loops her arm through Elsie’s, and together they walk through the gym’s main room, which features punching bags, free weights and a fighting cage off to one side. Heads held high, as their asses sway with attitude. Elsie turns to look at Scott as they walk away. He’s watching Janie, and there’s a look of hunger on his face. It makes her smirk.
In the back of the main room, John is holding a bag for Brian as he pounds into it, the bag becoming an extension of him as everything within him flows into the bag. It’s a dance, Brian leads and the bag follows in perfect choreography, two dancers, two lovers, flowing in sync. The sweat is pouring off him and his face reflects the force he’s exerting.
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