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Cindy nods as I snatch my T-shirt from the bench and yank it down over my head.
“And we really want is for her to be successful in life. We’d be doing her a disservice if we let her keep thinking she did this all on her own.”
“Will you two dipshits stop talking about me like I’m not standing right here?” I complain, crossing my arms in front of me and tapping my foot against the hardwood floor.
“Listen, I’m all for the feminist agenda and lifting each other up and supporting each other and not needing a man to validate us,” Belle starts. “And it’s true, you needed to take charge and get out of your own head, just like Cindy needed to learn how to stop being a prude and loosen up, and I needed to find my sexuality and live my own life instead of what my father wanted me to do. You needed to realize that the things Sebastian said to you were all bullshit and to find yourself again, because you’re the only one who has to live inside your own head, and not one of us can ever know what that truly feels like or what it did to you. But, I kind of think you’re missing the fact that Eric had a little hand in helping you get there and deserves a tiny bit of credit. Just like PJ did for Cindy and Vincent did for me. It’s okay to admit they helped us, and it doesn’t make our transformations any less powerful that they did.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter. “Orgasms aren’t the key to building self-confidence. Sure, they’re amazing, but that’s not why I’m ready to strip. And yes, I like the guy and he makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and he’s given me some nice compliments, but I got here all on my own without the help of a fucking man, no matter how sweet and hot he is.”
I quickly think back to all the time Eric and I have spent together, wondering what in the actual hell these two are thinking. Yes, having a guy interested in me and not scared off by my crazy is a definite perk, but there’s no fucking way he’s the one responsible for the way I feel. I read through the stupid articles Belle and Cindy sent me. I made some changes in my life accordingly, and now I’m back to my old self. That’s it. End of story.
“He literally went down the list of things you should do to help someone with low self-esteem and checked each and every one of them off. How are you not seeing this?” Cindy asks with a shake of her head.
I scoff at her and she continues.
“He went with you to goat yoga.”
“Uh, he strong-armed his way into going with me just to piss me off,” I remind her.
“No, he was being supportive. He knew yoga was out of your comfort zone, and he offered to go with you so you didn’t have to do it alone.”
I shake my head at her, grabbing my purse from the hook on the wall and pushing my way past the two of them.
“He organized a karaoke night for you,” Belle says, following behind me as I quickly make my way out of the store.
“He told you guys to take me to a bar to let off some steam. It just so happened to have karaoke, and he was fucking lucky I could sing and didn’t make an ass of myself,” I grumble while the two of them scurry to catch up to me.
“He knew you were a damn good singer, because he’d heard you doing it. He specifically found a bar that was doing karaoke that night and told us that’s the one we had to take you to, so you could get up on that stage and kick ass. He knew that crowd would go wild for you as soon as they heard your voice, and they did. They cheered and clapped and made you feel like a fucking rock star,” Cindy explains.
My heart starts beating rapidly in my chest as I continue walking through the mall, having no idea where the fuck I’m going, just knowing I need to keep my legs moving or I might sit down on the floor, hug my legs to my chest and start rocking back and forth.
“He asked you to teach him how to strip,” Belle states as each store I walk past becomes a blur because I’m moving so quickly.
“Because he had the asinine idea of trying out to be a male stripper for PJ’s stupid all-male revue!” I argue.
“There is no all-male revue.” Cindy laughs. “When you told me about that, I kept my mouth shut because I already knew what he was doing. Item number two in the article I read about how to help someone build back their self-confidence—Genuinely ask for their advice and have them teach you how to do something they’re knowledgeable about.”
