A Curious Warmth

“You’re coming, right? I mean, this might be our last chance to have some fun for awhile. What with you having that luscious Ted all to yourself.”

Pam bit her lip lightly. “I don’t know. I guess I should. I mean, you guys went to a lot of trouble so—”

Samantha laughed. “Not to play devil’s advocate here, but it wasn’t that much trouble. Seven tickets to the hottest show in town.” She laughed again. “Literally the hottest. But it wasn’t like they were sold out or anything. Have you ever been to a strip show?”

Color crept into Pam’s cheeks. “You know I haven’t.”

Samantha Adams and Pam Credence had been friends since they met in first grade.

Pam’s brow wrinkled lightly. So seventeen years. Wow that’s a long time.

Samantha said, “So see? It’s about time. And like I said, now that you’re hooked up with Mr. Delicious you probably won’t even want to go later. C’mon, girl. One last blast.”

Pam nodded. What would it hurt? “Well, it won’t be the last last blast. I mean it isn’t like we’re gonna stop being friends just because I’m getting married.”

“No, I know that.”

“But sure, I’ll go.” She giggled. “And I’m looking forward to it.”

Again, color began creeping up her throat and into her cheeks. “So this place is supposed to be a real meat market, eh?”

Samantha laughed. “That’s what I heard. But I guess you’re probably not allowed to fondle the help. And any men who are there in the audience— Let’s just say they’re probably really nice to look at but batting for the wrong team.

“So see? No real temptation.” She put on a regal tone. “My dear, you shall eat your cake and have it too.”

Pam laughed. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“You’ll have a night of relative debauchery tonight, but you will come away unscathed.” She giggled. “And tomorrow your dad will walk you up the aisle and pass your unsullied self off to Mr. Delicioso himself. You are livin’ the dream, girl.”

Again Pam laughed. “Right, right. Okay, so what time do I meet you?”

“I’ll pick you up if you want. Say around 7? I thought we could maybe grab a bite on our own. Kind of our own private little goodbye. And then we’ll head over to meet the others. I think the show starts at 9, but we already have tickets so it’s all good.”  

“That sounds perfect, Sam.” She hesitated. She had always been the more emotional of the two. Most often Samantha just laughed it off, but sometimes it annoyed her. “Sam?”

“Yeah, babe.”

“I really do appreciate you. You know that, right? I love you like a sister.”

Samantha laughed. “Of course. And me too. So I’ll see you at 7, right?”

“Right. See you then.”

Ted poked his head around the corner from the living room. “Sorry honey. Did you say something?”

Pam looked over her shoulder at him. “Oh, no. I was on the phone with Sam. You want some coffee?”

He stepped around the corner and spread his arms. He had on his shoes, trousers and a ribbed white undershirt. “Tada.” He grinned as he crossed the room. “Gotta finish getting dressed. I’m running late.” He put his arms around her and snuggled her comfortably against him.

She put her arms around his lower chest and laid her head just below his left shoulder. He was incredibly warm. He was always warm. She caught the light scent of his bare arms. Sam was right. He is delicious.

“So did she want anything important or just girl talk?”

Her eyes were closed. “Hmm?”

“Samantha. Just chatting?”

“Oh. We’re going to dinner this evening. She’ll pick me up around 7.” She leaned her head back. “That okay? You can get supper on your own? There’s a pizza in the freezer.”

“Sure, no prob. I’ll probably have a late day anyway. Running to close out a couple of accounts before we leave. I’ll eat pizza here or maybe grab something out.” He looked at her. “So you’re all packed, right? ‘Cause I’m hoping to go directly from the reception to the airport.”

“I’ll be packed in time. And tonight—” She shrugged. No reason to complicate matters. “You know, we might stop off for a drink or something before she brings me back.” Then she took a half-step back and changed the subject. “So what about you? What’s the plan for the day?”

He laughed. “Plan? What’s that?” He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “Have a good time with your friend tonight. Or friends. Knowing Sam, she probably has a whole thing set up. But if you want me to believe it’s just dinner and maybe a drink afterward, that’s fine.”

He laughed again, then turned and headed for the bedroom.

How did he always seem to know? And why the suspicion? In her mind, she watched him finish dressing.

As he pulled on a long-sleeved shirt— probably the light blue one— he said, “Oh, as for my ‘plan,’ I hope to finish closing the sale to Robson Flooring today. That should be pretty much a done deal. It’s only a medium sized account, but if I can land it, that’ll go a long way toward keeping the boss at bay while we’re soaking up the rays in Hawaii.

“And if I can land that law firm too—” He snapped his fingers a few times. “Jacobs, Myers and Floater, that’s it. Hey, I wonder if they handle drowning cases?” He laughed. “If I can land that one, I can almost guarantee no calls from the boss. At least for the first few days.”

He walked into the kitchen again, and again he held his arms out to the sides. “How’s this?”

She was right. He picked the light blue shirt. It looked really great on him. It seemed to add depth to the blue in his eyes, and the sharp cut of the collar enhanced the cut of his jaw and the strength of his neck.

But the white tie made him look like something out of Goodfellas or one of the Godfather movies.

She grinned. “Great. You look great.” She closed the distance between them and folded her arms around his chest again. “You always look great, Mr. Delicious.”

He put his arms around her too. He patted her on the butt with his right hand. “Mr. Delicious?”

“That’s what Sam calls you.”

“Huh. What’s her number again?”

She backed away, grinning, and wagged one hand at him. “You never mind all that. And put on a different tie. You look like you’re gonna go whack somebody.”

He laughed. “All right, all right.”

As he turned to leave, she said, “Ted?”

He stopped and looked at her.

“Why are you so suspicious?”

He frowned. “Suspicious?”

“You know— of where I go and who I’m with and what I’m doing.”

“I’m not. Where’d this come from?”

“Awhile ago you asked if Sam and I were just chatting. Implying that maybe we were plotting behind your back or something.”

“What? No.” He laughed. “Is that all? It’s the day before our wedding, Pam. And you haven’t had any sort of bachelorette thing, at least as far as I know. If she was gonna plan something, I guess tonight would be the night. That’s all.”

“So what? You didn’t have a bachelor party.”

Again he frowned, then canted his head. “I didn’t want a bachelor party. Are you upset that I didn’t have a bachelor party? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that would be a first in human history.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ha ha. You also said knowing Sam, she probably had a whole thing set up. And you kind of hinted that maybe I knew more than I told you.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

“Huh. Well, I’m not suspicious of you. But we both know you like to keep little secrets. And that’s fine. I mean, sometimes I wonder why, but it’s no big deal.” He frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Sometimes I feel like you don’t trust me.”

He laughed. “Pam, if I didn’t trust you I wouldn’t be here.” He paused. “Look, it’s all a matter of semantics. You told me you and Sam are going to supper. Then you waited. Then you told me you might stop off for ‘a drink or something’ afterward. It was like it almost pained you to tell me that much.

“To me, that says you’re definitely going somewhere after supper, whether it’s to the bar next door to the restaurant for a drink or to a strip club down in the barrio.” He laughed again.

She flushed. “Why in the world would I go to a strip club?”

He grinned. “Checking out my competition one last time? I don’t know.” Then he noticed she wasn’t laughing. He put up his hands. “Hey,  joking. I didn’t say you would.”

She frowned. “You’re always thinking I’m gonna jump into bed with some guy.”

“What? I do not. When did I ever say anything like that?”

“You’ve said you don’t trust men, including some that are my friends.”

“I don’t trust them, Pam. I have as much right to not trust them as you do to trust them. Don’t I? And I am a man. I know what goes on in the male mind. But that doesn’t mean I don’t trust you. I don’t think you want anyone else. I never have.

“On the other side of that, you won’t even admit they might try something. But from what I can tell, all women think that way. And that’s exactly what makes women so vulnerable. Maybe that’s the only reason the species even still exists. You’re so certain they would never try, when they do you don’t even recognize it.” 

He put both hand out in front of him. “Getting off track. Sorry. Look, the fact is, I don’t think you would go to a strip joint. But if you did decide you wanted to, I guess it would be fine with me. I mean, it’s not like you have to ask my permission.

“All I’m saying is sometimes you hold back some of what you know.” He shrugged. “I don’t know why. Maybe you need to feel a little sense of separation, of being your own person outside of us. Whatever the reason, it’s all right. But you can’t possibly be upset with me for sometimes just wondering why, can you?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I guess not. If that’s what happened. But I don’t do that. Keep secrets, I mean. I don’t keep secrets.”

He frowned. “Oh. Okay.” Then he shrugged. “Well, then I guess I was mistaken. Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time, right?” He turned and headed for the bedroom again. “Anyway, I have to change this Mafia tie and get to work.” He laughed. “Otherwise you’ll be in Hawaii by yourself while I’m back here looking for another job.”

She raised her voice so he could hear her. “And what would be wrong with me being in Hawaii by myself?”

A long moment later, he came back in and looked through the kitchen door. He had changed the tie. He frowned. He assumed a tone of resignation. “Nothing, Pam. There would be nothing at all wrong with you being in Hawaii by yourself. Except, you know, it’s supposed to be our honeymoon trip.”

She crossed her arms again. “Oh, I know that.”

“Okay. Well, I have to go or I’m gonna be late. You have a good time with your friends tonight, okay? I’ll see you in the morning. If you need anything, call or text.”

“I won’t need anything.”

At least not from you.

* * *

Over plates of steaming lobster and crab legs, she discussed the spat with her friend.

“Why do men think we’re stupid?”

Samantha grinned. “Maybe because we fell for them. I mean, if I fell for Mark, couldn’t I fall for pretty much anyone?”

Pam wagged one hand at her. “Oh you know what I mean. And I’m serious, Sam. I mean, I’m not stupid. I can tell when a man’s hitting on me.”

“Of course you can.”

“But the men I know— the ones I call my friends— they just don’t do that. Ted says all men are alike.”

“Well in some ways, maybe they—”

“I mean, I know they’re men. I know they think about sex every ten seconds or whatever it is. It’s all tied to biology or survival of the species or whatever, right?

“And I see them looking at other women that way. You know, looking at their bottom as they walk by or when they sit down and cross their legs or whatever. But they never look at me like that.”

“How do you know?”

Pam looked at her. “What?”

A mischievous look crept into Samantha’s eyes. “How do you know they don’t look at your butt when you walk by? If you squat down to pick up something, how do you know they don’t imagine you naked, lowering yourself onto their throbbing—”

“Sam!” Pam flushed.

Samantha laughed and held up both hands.  “Just kidding. But seriously, you can’t really know those things. Can you? That they never look at you like that?”

“They’ve never made a pass.”

“That one old guy, doesn’t he wink at you almost every time he talks to you?”

“He’s completely harmless. Besides, I see him as a father figure.”

“That’s fine. I’m just sayin’, you thinkin’ he’s harmless doesn’t make him harmless. An’ you seein’ him as a father figure doesn’t mean he sees you as a daughter figure. Does it? I mean, has he ever said to you that he thinks of you as a daughter? Or that you remind him of his daughter?”

Pam picked up her napkin and dabbed at her lips. “What time is it?”

Samantha glanced at her watch. “Ooh, almost 9. Guess we’d better go. So you gonna answer the question?”

“You’re starting to sound like Ted.”

Samantha laughed. “So I guess that’s a no times three.” She turned sideways in her chair to get up. “Don’t worry about it, Pam. I tell Mark the same thing. ‘No possible way is any man other than you interested in me.’ And he doesn’t believe me either. He finally just gave up trying to convince me.”

As they headed for the front door, Pam said, “Does he ever say you sound like you’re defending them against him?”

“Of course. And I am. After all, they aren’t there to defend themselves. But I’d never say that to him.”

Pam shook her head. “You sound pretty sure of yourself. So if it’s true— and I’m not saying it is— but if it’s true that we know things we don’t admit and maybe keep some things to ourselves, why do we do it? Ted thinks I do it because I want to maintain a separate identity.”

“So you’re asking me?”

“Yes. If you really do that stuff, why? Don’t you love Mark?”

Samantha laughed. “Of course I love Mark. Same as you, girl. Just keepin’ my options open.” She pushed open the door and they were on their way across the parking lot.

* * *

When they pulled into the parking lot at HisTeria, all five of the other women were already there. They were gathered in a knot off to one side of the entrance.

As they approached the other women, Samantha grinned and waved the tickets. “We’re here!”

“About time.” Jen Simpson laughed. “What took you?”

Samantha said, “Oh, the service was a little slower than—”

Pam said, “It took me a little longer to get dressed than I expected.” She paused, then tugged at her gold lamé dress. “Choosing between this one and a blue one.”

Barb Connors canted her head and glanced at Samantha, then Pam. “Oh. We thought you and Pam were going to supper first.”

Jen said, “It’s okay, Pam. We know you two are best friends.” She shrugged uneasily, then glanced at Samantha. “Sam, should we go in? Oh, and just head straight up front. I reserved a couple of tables.”

Suzie Raul laughed. “Yeah, but we told ‘em not to shove ‘em together. If those guys come off the stage, we wanna be sure they can get around both sides and through the middle. If you know what I mean.” She laughed again.

Samantha laughed and hooked one arm through Pam’s elbow. “C’mon, kid. Let’s go get blitzed.”

* * *

As they had expected, the place was packed. And probably a fifth of the customers were men.

Most of them were wearing jeans or shorts, and most were only scantily clad above the waist. Those wore either t-shirts with the bottom half cut off, vests of one sort or another or regular shirts that they left hanging open.

Jen glanced around. Quietly, she said, “God I love gay guys. They’re so easy on the eyes. I mean, there are enough six packs in this place to open a whole other bar.”

Across the table, Rosie Carbahal grinned as she drew the straw from her mixed drink over her lips. “That’s why they call it a meat market, ya’ll.”

Suzie elbowed Jen. “Hey, you get’chu one’a them guys, you’re gonna have to sleep on your belly.” She laughed.

Pam said, “You guys are terrible.”

Sheila Benton, an Aussie and the only foreigner in the group, laughed. “I wonder— if you did get one like that— an’ if he did what you’re talking about— an’ then if you liked it, would you grow a thing like a bloke?”

They all burst out laughing.

Samantha lifted her glass to sip her wine. She looked past her glass at Sheila. “Nailed it.”

Jen said, “You wish.”

Again laughter descended over the table.

Three male dancers came on the stage to music and began various gyrations.

The women glanced up at them off and on, but continued their conversation.

Pam said, “I wouldn’t want one. Of those. Things like a guy has.”

Sheila grinned. “I’m with you. I mean, where would you put it?”

Rosie laughed. “Wherever you could, has been my observation.”

Everyone laughed.

Sheila gestured toward her lap and said, ‘Sides, like the woman said, when you got one’a these, you can get all’a them you want. Candles burn down, don’t they? But the candle holder lasts forever. An’ plus, it don’t care where the candle comes from.”

They laughed again.

Pam said, “No, but I’m serious, guys. Can you imagine putting up with all the insecurity that comes with having one of those things?”

Suzie laughed. “Men, they ain’t got nothin’ to be insecure about.”

Her brow lightly furrowed, Jen looked at Pam. “What insecurity are you talking about?”

Samantha said, “Miss Pam here is all worried that Ted might think she’s considering having a trophy mounted.” She gestured with her glass toward a good looking man a few tables over. “Like that one.” She laughed lightly and took another sip of wine.

The man raised his glass and nodded slightly.

Pam’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my god, Sam. That man nodded at you.”

Samantha frowned. “What? You really can’t see it, can you?”

Rosie said, “Look again, Pam. He nodded at you. Looked right at you. Maybe ‘cause you’re the only one ain’t wearin’ a weddin’ ring.”

Jen said, “I guess I’m confused. So Ted does think Pam might have an affair or he doesn’t think she might have an affair?”

Samantha said, “Nope. He doesn’t. I mean, like all men, he knows it’s a possibility, but he doesn’t let it bother him.”

Jen looked at Pam. “So why do you think he thinks that?”

“He’s just suspicious. Always asking me where I’m going and with whom and how long I’ll be gone.” She paused. “Like tonight I told him I was going out to dinner with Pam and we might have a drink or two afterward. And right away, he said to enjoy my time with my friends. Plural. He even asked me if I was going to a strip joint.”

Samantha said, “He did?”

Pam nodded.

A waiter showed up with a round of drinks for everyone on the table. He bent near Samantha’s right ear. “Compliments of the gentleman two tables to the right.”

She glanced in the direction the waiter pointed and nodded demurely.

Rosie grinned. “So— you’re upset ‘cause he guessed right or ‘cause he asked in the first place? An’ why didn’t you just tell him up front?”

“Because I didn’t want to. I have a right to do some things without telling him first, don’t I?”

Rosie canted her head. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t be here without tellin’ my man. He don’t mind.” She laughed. “He said at least it ain’t down in the barrio so maybe he won’t have to come identify my body later.”

“Well, I just need to keep some things to myself.”

Rosie just nodded. “Okay. That’s understandable. So I don’t get the problem. You thinkin’ maybe he don’t love you or somethin’?”

Samantha said, “Of course he loves her, Rosie. But he also trusts her.”

Jen took a long drink then shook her head. “No man trusts a woman to never be tempted, an’ no woman can live an’ breathe an’ not wonder what it would be like to be with someone else. Unless maybe she’s already had her fair share.”

Samantha said, “No, not like that. He doesn’t trust her to never be tempted. He trusts that she loves him enough to think about the effect her decisions will have on him. He trusts her not to do things that she knows will worry him or hurt him. Or maybe not to put herself in a position where something could happen that would hurt him.”

She shrugged. “It ain’t that hard. I mean, you know what will or won’t bother your man. So if you want to drive him nuts or punish him for something, you do what you know will hurt him. An’ if you don’t want him to hurt, you don’t do things that you know will hurt him.”

Barb said, “Guys do some pretty bad stuff too though.”

Samantha said, “That’s true, but they aren’t nearly as good at it as we are.”

Sheila whistled quietly. “Heavy stuff. I don’t think like that. I mean, I don’t think how my decisions will affect my Jack an’ all that. An’ I can be tempted, but I know what tricksters they are too. Every damn one of ‘em. Even if I don’t see it up front, I know it’s there. I just stay away from ‘em.” She grinned and looked over her glass. “Unless I see one I want.” She laughed.

Pam downed her wine. “All I’m saying is that I could spend time with another man without him wanting to bed me and—”

Rosie laughed. “Oh, sorry darlin’, but that ain’t ever gonna happen. If they’re between the age of 12 and 100, they want to bed you, even if they ain’t sure what to do with you when they get you there. But most of ‘em figure it out pretty fast.”

Jen took a sip of her drink. “Hey, true dat. Every word.”

Barb said, “I heard that. There ain’t a man walkin’ who doesn’t want to spread it around. Even if he’s too young to know what to do or too old to remember.”

Sheila said, “Yep, an’ it’s the same on the bottom of the world too.”

Pam said, “Well, if I may finish—”

The others fell silent.

Samantha glanced at them over her glass and grinned.

Pam said, “Thank you. As I was saying, I think I could spend time with a man without him wanting to bed me. And I still think I could spend time with a man without being tempted to give myself to him.”

Suzie said, “An’ you ain’t talking about somethin’ tricky here, right? Like the guy ain’t gay an’ he ain’t too old or too young, right? An’ he ain’t, you know, medically messed up. I mean, you’re talkin’ about a straight, good lookin’ regular guy, right?”

Pam nodded. “Absolutely.”

Sheila glanced to the left, then said, “Yeah? You sure that’s how you really feel?”

“That’s how I really feel.”

Sheila gestured to one side with her head. “Well, here comes your chance to prove it.”

* * *

The man who sent the drinks over was getting up.

He straightened to about six feet two or three inches and was lean.

He appeared to be in his early thirties. His face was handsome, in a rawboned, weathered way. His hair was cut respectfully short and combed to one side with a pompadour in front. His long-sleeved western shirt was almost stretched over broad shoulders. The sleeves were rolled up a couple of turns to reveal rippling forearms. The shirt was tucked in behind a brown leather belt at his waist. His Wrangler jeans fit well and flared slightly over western boots with bulldogger heels.

On his way past the table between his and theirs, he grabbed a chair with his left hand.

With two more steps, he was standing next to Pam. He looked at her, but addressed the table. His voice was a smooth, calm baritone, reminiscent of Clint Eastwood.

He gestured lightly with the chair. “Ladies, may I?”

Pam flushed so quickly and thoroughly she almost lit up the table. “I— I mean, I— Uh, I—”

Samantha leaned slightly forward and looked past her. She smiled up at the man and gestured toward the spot next to Pam. “Please do.”

“Thank you, Miss.” He set the chair down, then settled himself. “May I buy you ladies a round?”

Jen said, “I think you already did that, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yes, yes. But I don’t mind. It’s well worth the company.” He flashed a boyish grin and leaned forward. Barely above a stage whisper, he said, “Frankly, I was starting to feel like something was crawling on me, sitting over there by myself.” He took a quick sip of his beer straight from the bottle, a Budweiser long neck. “Makes me appreciate a little more what it must be like for you.”

Barb said, “For us?”

He nodded. “Oh, yes. I mean if you were in a different kind of bar. Men maybe ogling you, maybe paying more attention than was comfortable for you.”

Suzie said, “You mean in a straight bar, right? I mean, like a regular place?”

“Exactly.”

Sheila grinned. “So for the record, you’re not—” She wagged her hand side to side over the table.

He frowned for a moment as he watched her hand. Then his eyes grew wide. “Oh, no, Miss. No, I’m not—” He stopped and leaned forward. “I’m not homosexual.”

Rosie grinned. “So you ain’t here for the show?”

He turned up his Budweiser again, shaking his head as he did so. “No.” He grinned again. “I’m only in town for a few days. I travel a lot. I don’t have time to meet people.” Color climbed up his neck. “Okay, I don’t have time to meet women. So the first night in a new town, I look for a place like this. I hang out, have a few beers, and sometimes I get very lucky and am able to spend a little time with a table full of lovely ladies.”

Samantha said, “And do you ever get lucky enough to take one home?”

He grinned. “Caught me. Place like this,” and he gestured with his beer toward the dancers, “these guys turn ‘em on. Sometimes they don’t have anybody to turn ‘em off.

“‘Course tonight, this is different. I mean, I can see you’re all together, and married.”

Pam quickly said, “I’m not married.” She looked around the table. “I mean, not yet.”

Samantha said, “That is true.”

Suzie, Sheila and Rosie raised their glasses and clinked them together. Rosie said, “Here’s to not yet.” And they all laughed.

The man raised his beer again and looked at Pam. “I’m Carl. Jensen.”

“I’m— Uh, I—”

Again, Samantha came to her rescue. “My name’s Sam, Carl. These other ladies are Sheila, Rosie, Barb, Jen and Suzie. And Miss Talkative here is Pam.”

He smiled. “Right. Well it’s good to meet you all. You know, there’s a maybe more appropriate place just a half-mile from here. They have a great band, not too loud so you can talk. Great place for dancing.” He glanced around the table. “You guys wanna maybe move the party down there?”

Rosie said, “Oh, well, you know, we’re all kind’a here for—”

Samantha said, “Our anniversary as— friends.” She looked around the table. “We get together on this date once a year to celebrate our friendship.”

If Pam decided to go through with her experiment, she would need to be alone with Carl. And that wouldn’t happen if the crew blurted out about this being her bachelorette party.

Suzie said, “Yeah, ‘cause we all met on this date—”

Sheila said, “Within a week of this date. Over the years.” She smiled brightly. “I’m the newcomer. It was a long swim, mates.”

Everyone laughed.

Barb picked up on what was happening. She stretched. “You know, if you guys want to, go ahead. I think I’m gonna have to head home to my Jim pretty soon. We old married ladies can’t take the parties like you younger gals can.”

Suzie, Rosie, and Sheila offered the same general excuse.

Jen was a holdout, but finally she sensed Samantha’s gaze on her. “I suppose I might as well call it a night too. My Bobby doesn’t know what to do with himself when I’m not tied to his hip.” She eyed Carl for a moment. “But thanks for the drinks. That was nice of you.”

Pam looked from one to the others. She frowned slightly. What was going on?

Samantha said, “Well, I guess it’s just the three of us. Pam, are you in?”

“I— I think I need to go to the ladies’ room. Join me?”

“Sure.” Samantha glanced at Carl. “Back in a flash.” She smiled.

He nodded as the two of them left.

Samantha overheard Jen ask, “So what do you do that keeps you on the road so much?”

Carl’s answer was lost in heavy beat of the music.

In the ladies’ room, Pam glanced along the aisle. The place appeared to be empty except for the noise of a toilet paper roll in the far stall. She turned back to Samantha. Barely above a whisper, she said, “Okay, what’s going on out there?”

Samantha frowned over a half-smile. “Sorry?”

“Sorry nothing. You practically ran off our other five friends. That leaves only you, me and Carl to—”

“His name kind of rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it?” Samantha giggled.

“What are you up to, Sam?”

Samantha put her hands out to her sides. “Nothing. Earlier you were saying you were certain you could spend time with a man without it leading to sex, or even to either of you wanting sex.” She shrugged. “I thought I’d give you the chance to prove your theory.”

She smiled again, broadly. “And you have to admit, Carl’s a pretty good test subject.”

Pam bit her lip. “I don’t know....”

“You’re not gonna back out, are you, just because the guy’s all that? Probably the others will be gone when we get back out there.”

Pam looked at the floor. She hesitated. Finally, she said, “Okay. I guess. But I wouldn’t want any of this to get back to Ted.”

“Of course not. Besides, if you really think about it, this is more like what you told Ted anyway. You and I were maybe gonna go for a few drinks after dinner. Right?”

Tentatively, Pam said, “Right, but—”

Again, Samantha put her hands out to her sides. “But nothing. It isn’t our fault if a tall, mysterious gentleman joins us.”

“All right. But let’s call it after a half-hour, okay?”

Samantha shook her head. “A half-hour isn’t long enough to prove anything. If you’re right and there’s nothing there on either side, we’ll call it. Otherwise we give it an hour. At least.”

“Okay. I guess.”

Samantha turned and opened the door before Pam could change her mind.

When they got back to the table, the other women had all gone.

Carl looked up and smiled. He rose slightly from his chair. “There you are. I thought maybe you left by the back way or something.”

Samantha grinned. “Nothing so dramatic. Just a minor conference.”

Pam glared at her.

Samantha said, “Shall we go?”

But in the parking lot, just as Pam was about to open the passenger side door, Samantha put her hand to her forehead and swayed lightly.

Carl caught her shoulders. “You all right?”

“I’m fine.” She shook her head slightly. “Yes, I’m all right. But would you mind letting Pam ride with you? It might be better if I went home.”

Pam blanched as she came around the back of the car. She stopped in front of Samantha. “I— maybe I’d better come with you, Sam. Especially since you aren’t feeling well.”

Carl said, “That might be better.”

Carl’s response was exactly what Samantha was hoping to hear. The guy was legit. “No. No, I’m fine. You two go, dance, have a nice time.”

Carl’s brow furrowed and he looked more closely at Samantha. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Go.” She opened her car door and got in, then started the car.

Carl and Pam stepped away as Samantha drove out of the parking lot.

Carl looked at Pam. “Well, how about that? But listen, you don’t have to go. I mean, I was just looking for someone to talk with. I’d be happy to drop you at your place whenever you like.” He laughed lightly. “It isn’t like Sam would know any difference.”

Pam smiled. “Thanks. I don’t think a dance or two would hurt anything. And I definitely could use a drink.”

“Oh?” He opened the passenger door of his pickup and held it for her.

She nodded as she got in. She twisted around to locate the seatbelt. “I’m getting married tomorrow.” She snapped the seatbelt into place, then looked at him and grinned as she gestured back toward the strip club. “This whole thing was supposed to be my bachelorette party.”

He nodded. “Ah, okay.” He closed her door, walked around the pickup and opened his. He slipped in behind the wheel. “Okay, so you sure about this? Or should I just take you home?”

She grinned. “Sure, let’s go have a dance. It’s no big deal, really. Right?

“I mean, a man and a woman can spend a little time together without it having to be about sex, right?” She put her hand over her mouth and flushed. “What I mean, a man can like a woman and be friendly toward her—”

He laughed. “I think I know what you mean. A man can be around an attractive woman without wanting her sexually. Is that about it? And vice versa for the woman, right?”

“Right. I’m glad you understand.”

He put the truck in gear. “Interesting theory. Only one way to find out.”

Pam smiled slightly and nodded. Tomorrow she would call Sam and brag that her theory had proven correct.

She glanced at him.

Absolutely correct.

And with a very handsome man.

She glanced at him again. What is this guy, chiseled out of granite?

He smells good too. She frowned slightly. Not like an aftershave but— maybe just naturally?

And he is awfully nice.

Again she glanced at him. Wonder what his abs look like?

Would it really hurt to indulge one little fantasy?

He said, “Are you all right?”

She grinned as a curious warmth crept into her cheeks.

She rested her left hand on his thigh. “Never been better.”

* * * * * * *