In Love With a Stripper

(Jynx’s POV)

I lay there in Gerard’s arms wide-awake. I couldn’t sleep no matter how tired I was. Jared was probably waiting for me in the lobby and going to tell my mother that her precious little angel is a stripper. That’s when I made my decision. I crawled out of bed and pulled back on my clothes as quietly as I could. I didn’t want to wake Gerard up, but I knew Jared was serious about telling my mother. She would be so disappointed in me. I grabbed a light jacket and was opening the door when I heard Gerard’s groggy voice from behind me.

“What are you doing?” he asked sitting up in bed.

“I…was…” I stuttered.

“About to do something stupid,” he said.

“You don’t have to call me stupid,” I said defensively.

“Jynx baby, I didn’t say you were stupid. I said you were about to do something stupid.” He got out of the bed and walked over to me. “I mean what would you call walking into the arms of a dangerous stalker?”

“Gerard I can’t let my mother know about my job. She would be crushed…” he walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me.

“First of all she’s not going to find out. I have arranged for all the phone calls to her room to be directed straight to our room and the same for Robbi’s mother. All messages will also be given to us. Short of him saying it on the five-o-clock news there’s no way she’s going to find out. Not to mention that she probably wouldn’t believe him after the way he acted earlier today. So come back to bed.” he was right.

“What if he…what if he does something else?” I said remembering my apartment.

“He’s being investigated by the cops. There’s no way he’s stupid enough to do something else.” I closed my eyes knowing that the cops weren’t doing anything to investigate Jared. “What’s wrong?” he asked noticing yet another forlorne look on my face.

“Nothing, I just feel cornered.” I lied.

“When are you going to learn that you can’t lie to me? I can always tell, when you are lying.” He pulled me closer against his body and started to kiss my neck. “Tell me what’s really wrong,”

“The cops treated me like dirt, they didn’t believe that Jared would be stalking a stripper. So they aren’t doing anything. In fact they are doing less than nothing, if that’s possible.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because Gerard you can’t fix everything…”

“If they had seen me they would have listened.”

“They shouldn’t have had to see you, they should have believed me instead of thinking that because I’m a stripper I’m some sort of nymphomaniac who wants to be felt up…” I stopped realizing that I’d told him the worst part of what the cops did.

“What!” he said turning me to face him. “He did what?”

“He just brushed up against me, it’s no…”

“If I wasn’t that big a deal than why didn’t you just tell me? Why did you just change it from being felt up to him just brushing up against you? It had to bother you…”

“Gerard please!” I said tears coming to my eyes. Things were starting to spin out of my control.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just…I don’t like the way you get treated. Weather it’s at the club or by the cops who are supposed to be helping you.” We stood there like that for a moment in our own thoughts. All I could think of was how none of this would be happening if I hadn’t agreed to take that stupid job in the first place. Then again I wouldn’t have Gerard either. “Come on back to bed. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.” I went back over beside the bed took off my clothes and got back into bed hoping that he could keep his promise.

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After that first day we hadn’t heard of seen Jared around. Not that I wasn’t looking for him, it was like being afraid of the Boogieman all over again. Thinking he was going to jump out from around every corner. I was thankful that this was the end of the week our mother’s would be with us. They had both given their approval of Gerard and Brian. It was funny cause our mother’s had taken to calling him Syn too. Later when we had our spa day they said it was cause he was sinfully delicious looking. I couldn’t believe they had said that. Not that it wasn’t true, but there were our mothers.

Gerard loaded my mother’s last bag into his truck and Syn put Aunt Lisa’s bags in the back. My mother walked over to Gerard and folded him into a hug.

“You have my only baby here, don’t you let anything happen to her,” she warned.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Gerard said kissing her cheek. Then my mother got into the car. I could see that Syn and Aunt Lisa were going through the same exchange. I kissed Gerard and then got into the driver’s seat. After another two minutes of Aunt Lisa threatening Syn to treat her little Bun bun good while she was away we pulled off toward the airport.

“So mom did we meet your approval?” she gave me a sad smile.

“Yes baby girl, you seem to be doing really well.”

“Mommy why are you sad about that?”

“Cause I was hoping to come up here and bring my baby home. This is way too far away for me to look out for you.” She paused. “But I’m happy cause you have Gerard here and he seems to really want to take good care of you.”

“Yeah he’s a good guy.”

“I know that, but do you know it? I noticed the way you keep yourself guarded with him. Why won’t you let him in?” I didn’t want to say that I didn’t want to end up like her. With a child having to work three different jobs and alone.

“I…It’s just…I don’t know how long he’s going to stick around and I don’t want to get too attached. I mean he could just up and decide he doesn’t want me anymore than what. I stay in love with his memory. Mama I don’t have time for that.”

“Jynx Marie, you aren’t me. You have a good man who wants to love you and if you don’t stop pushing him away the way you do you’re going to lose him. Gerard wouldn’t do what your father did to me. I can tell that from the way he looks at you.” I wanted to believe what she was saying. I really did, but just cause she says it doesn’t mean its true.

“Okay Mama,” I said pulling into the airport parking lot. Robbi and I both helped them out of the car with their bags and then headed to the bag check.

“Jynx baby go get me and your Aunt Lisa something to read,” I nodded and pulled Robbi away with me over to the newsstand.

“Robbi we did it, two more minutes and they will be on their way back home completely oblivious.” I picked up a cheesy romance novel by Danielle Steel knowing that my mother loved her books.

“Jynx!” Robbi said in an alarmed whisper.

“What?” She held up us weekly and my stomach dropped. On the front was a picture of Gerard, My mother and me walking through Central Park. I was hanging off of Gerard’s arm with a huge smile. We where having a good time walking through the park on a sunny day. Then next to it there was a picture of me dancing at Ruby’s, I was in a schoolgirls costume and I was smiling. It looked like I was having the most fun of my life on that stage.

“Girls come on,” Aunt Lisa yelled for us. I jumped snatching the magazine from Robbi’s hand. I turned and paid for both of the pieces of literature and folded it so the front wasn’t showing then put it in my purse. I was going to read it once our mother’s were on the plane. We walked them just past the baggage check and I prayed that they wouldn’t go looking for anything else to read if they did they would be bound to see me smiling up at them. Robbi grabbed my hand trying to subtly tell me to keep it together. Please god don't let them see this cover.