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“Wasn’t planning on it.” Actually, one day Idowant kids. But given how fun it sounds to be a parent, that day sounds like it’s getting further into the future.
“Alright class! Find your places and get ready for the warm-up!” the dance instructor shouts from the front of the room.
My fingers wrap around the pole in front of me.
“You’ve never taken a pole dancing class before, right?” I ask Brenda. When I look over at her, I find the tall woman with curves for days, already swinging around her pole. She throws back her head and laughs.
“Absolutely not! I’ve read about them, but I didn’t realize they were in the area. Even if I did know about them, I wouldn’t have ventured here by myself. I’m surprisedyousuggested this.”
I know, I’m surprised too. But Megan’s words had bothered me. Ever since I moved to Texas, I’ve been playing it safe. I had a routine and hadn’t been willing to break from it. Well, three days later, I decided to do something about that. I want to say it’s because she was right. But I mostly did it so I wasn’t sitting at home dreading every time my phone vibrated. I haven’t heard, or seen, Jason, Trip, or Grant since Wednesday in the library. As much as I want to be relieved at their absence, I know I haven’t seen the last of them. At any moment they can demand that I come over to play.
My sanity demanded I do something other than fret, or it would break.
On Thursday, during my lunch, a quick internet search brought up this place. Ten minutes after that, Brenda had confirmed she was coming with me. Now, Friday night, we’re out, ready to have fun, and the three guys are one of the furthest things from my mind.
It could help that we stopped at a bar beforehand and had a beer or two to loosen up.
“Yeah, well, it’s good to shake things up, right?”
“Yes, Bri, shake away!” Brenda pulls herself up the pole and tries to wrap her legs around it. She fails, and she ends up on her butt with a laugh. I laugh with her. Our amusement is overpowered by the blaring of music and the shout of the dance instructor in front of the room.
For an hour and half we laugh, fall, shake our butts, and eventually, successfully twirl around our individual poles. We even manage a full dance routine. It’s not elaborate, but it’s impressive given how new we are to the moves.
I’m out of breath, sweaty, and feeling oddly buoyant by the time we walk out of the dance studio.
“One more drink before we part ways?” Brenda asks, full of hope.
Yeah, definitely hold off on kids for as long as possible.
“We both need to drive home. Let’s go get some fro-yo instead,” I point to the neon sign just across the street.
Brenda hooks her arm through mine. “Ok, you talked me into it.”
“That was easy,” I tease as we cross the street.
Inside, we order small cups, top them with a ridiculous amount of toppings, and find a seat by the window.
“I seriously need to get out more,” Brenda sighs as she scoops up some frozen yogurt onto her spoon. “I love my kids, and you know I love Jonathan, but I’m not a person anymore. I’m just mom and my needs come last all the time. It’s exhausting.”
Considering what little I know about children, I take a moment before answering. After shoveling a large bite of frozen yogurt into my mouth and swallowing it, I reply,
“I hear it gets easier the older they get.”
Brenda snorts. Her kinky curls in her afro bounce as she shakes her head.
“They do and they don’t. One minute you think you’ve got a handle on things, and in the next, they grow into a new phase.” She flicks her wrist dismissively and says, “I’m not complaining, not really. It’s just nice to go out. Thanks for inviting me. It’s been a while since you and I have done anything alone. It’s my fault, with kids it’s hard to plan anything, but I need to be better about this.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I totally get it.”
“I do, because that’s not fair to the people around me.” She insists. “Enough about me. What’s going on with you? How’s Pianna?”
I ignore her first question and smile at her second. “Pianna is in love.”
“Again?”
I’ve talked about my best friend to my other friend so many times, Brenda knows all about Pianna’s many flings and about her flighty attitude on life.
“Yup. This one is named Miguel.”
