Girl Gets Her Man

"Girl, you need a man."

Joanne Croix looked up from her cubicle and sighed, "huh?"

She knew exactly what her best friend, Jesse Tolliver, was going to say next. She still went along with the game, even though they both knew it was useless.

"I said you need a man. A big fine young brother to relieve you of all of that stress you have pent up in these shoulders," the 20 year old reached out and pinch one of Joanne's shoulder blades for emphasis. Jo had the habit of crouching over her books as if she were an old lady who'd forgotten her glasses.

"I'm fine, Jess."

"The hell you are. You're hangin out in research on a Friday night," the girl teased.

"This is where I want to be."

"I tell you. You're gonna be an old lady, then nobody'll look at you twice."

Jesse sat down and leaned over the dividing wall of the cube next to Jo's. Even if the girl tried to hide them, she'd still have bigger breasts than half the school. Jo wished she had a tenth of what Jess had all over. She was the only person that would even bother to try to get Jo out these days. She had made the choice back in high school to be introverted so that she wouldn't have to make the effort to have relationships. Jesse never understood that and took every opportunity to force friends onto her. As a senior in biochemistry, she didn't have much time left for the games. She had two different lab positions on top of her coursework to worry about. Friends would mean too much energy. Lately, Jesse was talking about men. Joanne had seen guys that she was interested in, but the same rule applied. A man wasn't in the cards until, maybe, after graduation.

"Nobody looks at me once as it is. I'm tired of being the one that drives your car home. Just leave me be. I'll talk to you on Monday."

"You are too smart for your own good. That's what your problem is. A sister takes the time out to come all the way up into this mausoleum, and what does she get? A bunch a shit. I have half a mind to tell Gary you ain't worth it."

"Gary? Now, I know I'm not goin anywhere with you tonight. I don't know a Gary. You're settin me up again."

"Damn, Jo. You don't have to marry them, just get a little something. Please! Please, sweety. You have to help me! The boy is lookin fine tonight." The boy meant her Terrence. "I just want you to come and have some fun for once. It'll be nice just to look at this one," Jess smiled as she slid off of the desk. "Besides, it's open mike out at The Bans. We can laugh at the bad voices."

"That's your thing." Jo smiled back as she gathered her books and shut down the terminal she was working at. "I won't promise I'll have fun."

"Sure, sure. Here." Jesse tossed a shirt at her. "Let's not leave those fine men waiting."

The girl had raided Jo's closet again. She went into the nearest bathroom and slipped out of her t-shirt and bra. Jess was relentless with picking out all of the spaghetti strap shirts. Joanne didn't even remember buying a bright yellow shirt. It had to have been way back in the back of her closet. It fit, so it definitely wasn't Jessica's. She knew she'd be cold, so she covered up with the light jacket she kept in her bag. She quickly fixed her ponytail and put some cold water on her face. When Jo came out of the bathroom, Jesse complained about how long it took, like Jo knew she would. They took the stairs down, instead of the elevator. Jo felt she needed the exercise. Someone had been leaving her these yummy hot chocolates at her cubicle when she worked late at research. The first time it happened, she left the cup at her cube. She'd been sure that it was meant for someone else. It couldn't have been for her. Not one person had said three words strung together to her since she started at the office. The next time, there was a little note stuck to the side that said, "Drink Me! I'm not the ordinary hot chocolate. I took months to perfect. I'm too good to go to waste! Yes, I mean you!" Her first sip had been a tentative one. It could have been drugged or something. The flavor went straight to her brain. She'd let out a long sigh just from that little bit of chocolate. It had been a spiritual experience. It was as though the person knew exactly what her perfect cup of hot chocolate would taste like. There was no way that she could pass up a cup when it appeared on her desk. It would call out to her as she tried to pack up to go home. Even cold, it was like a miracle to her senses. If she ever found out who it was, she would...

"Girl, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing."

"The hell you were. What is it?"

"You know, when I stay late?"

"Yeah," Jesse prodded. "Go on."

"Somebody's been giving me some hot chocolate."

"I know."

"It's you?" Jo had hoped that it was her friend being nice, but she saw by the look on her face that the idea was ludicrous. She'd pursed her full lips and looked sideways at Jo as if she were crazy.

"No, but I've been keeping a look out for a couple weeks. I noticed all of those cups, you know? I'm not stupid. When you tell me you're broke, you usually are. Those are some of the big cups. We're talkin big money, Jo. You probably have one of these nerds you work with all sweaty. Not to say that I wouldn't take advantage of all of that, you know for grades, but you need to figure out who it is before you start breakin out or something."

"Really," she put a hand up to her face. "I don't usually break out..."

"Ha, if I had your skin, I'd be showing more of it."

"Yeah, knowing you, you'd be in nothing but some pasties and a thong."

They both laughed as they pushed the access door open on the first floor. It was a very warm night for September, but Jo felt the cold down to her bones. The campus wasn't deserted anymore. There were all of these bright and happy young face all around. She pulled her jacket shut and greeted Terrence who was standing by his car next to an almost carbon copy of himself. Terry was definitely all man. From his well-groomed head straight down to his clean sneakers, he was the epitome of Mars, the god of war. Though she'd never seen him angry, she just knew he could be strong and unyielding. 'And hot,' she thought to herself. As he always did, he gave her a nod and focused all of his attention on his girl, Jesse. There was no reason to waste time on Jo.

"Oh, by the way, this is Gary. Gary, get the door for Jo."

Gary was a little shorter than Terrence, with a bit more bulk around his shoulders. She figured he was on the wrestling team or something like that. He was very lean for football. Basketball could have been another option. Gary walked over to the car and smiled at her. She smiled back and hoped he would be a nice guy. He slid in next to her and said, "That's a nice shirt. It kind of makes you glow."

"Thank you," she blushed. "Jesse picked it out."

"Oh, yeah? What's your style like?"

"A pair of jeans and a t-shirt."

"Miss casual. Too bad," he smiled again, which made her feel a bit uneasy. He had perfect teeth. "I thought I might get to see more of you. Perhaps some other time."

'Strike one handsome. But only half a strike for charm.'

"There's not much more to see."

"Oh, don't listen to her. From what I heard from her ex, she has potential to be something else all together in bed."

'What the hell? What did she think she was doing? What ex? I've never said anything to her about an ex.'

"Well," Gary laughed, "We'll just have to see about that."

The moment the car stopped at The Bans, Jo hopped out. She hated the whole idea of being talked about like a slab of meat. She followed the three as they made their way to the entrance. There was a crowd. She allowed Gary to catch her hand so she didn't get lost. It wasn't a surprise that Jesse knew the bouncers and got them in before a bunch of people. The men paid for the first round of drinks, which consisted of three beers and a soda. Joanne just never got into alcohol. It just made things frightening for her, so she designated herself the driver. The night wasn't so bad. Gary seemed more pleasant as the night wore on. His attention on her seemed a bit much, but she assumed it was because she wasn't used to the whole social aspect of dating. She laughed a little too readily at his jokes. She hated that in herself, but she wanted him to like her. She wanted to be accepted. Most of the men she met were scared off by her education. Jesse leaned over and said, "This boy has white bread all over him. How much do you want to bet this guy is gonna sing Hot Blooded, or some shit like that? Oh wait, you don't have any money. Never mind."

Jo turned around and saw a tall white guy. He seemed older than the average college fare, so she didn't think much. He was more than likely one of those transfer students that slipped in mid-semester. She couldn't complain. She was one of those herself. They were all the same around here. The disheveled dark brown hair and baggy clothes didn't really distinguish him from anyone. She turned back to Gary and was about to excuse herself to go to the restroom when she heard it. The piano. He did a quick run of the keys then looked around. The mc gave him permission, and he started his song. She'd never heard the song before, but the voice seemed familiar for some reason. His voice gave her chills when he put emphasis on certain words. She tried to listen to the words but was close enough to just barely see the flourish of his fingertips across the keys. She'd always wanted to play the piano, but there was never enough money. She'd given up on the idea a long time ago, but the joy of the sound remained. When his song was done, she looked up into a pair of dark eyes. The crowd erupted in approval. He stared right back at her for an instant before she glanced away. The mc rasped, "Ok, no ringers in here. You're with the college, right?" The man nodded. The mc laughed and said, "A music major, right?" He shook his head and leaned into the mic on the piano to say, "Biochemistry." "Well, that's some bullshit if I ever heard it," was the response of the mc. "You're wasting your time with the test tubes. Come back and use the piano anytime."

He got up and walked off of the stage. Biochemistry. That was her major. She tried to think of all of the faces she'd come across in the halls or in classes. She didn't remember him. She couldn't. She didn't spend much time looking in people's faces, though. Now, she wished she'd been more attentive. She watched him get a drink from the bar. He looked her way again, and she had a feeling he knew her. She turned to Gary and excused herself. She really did have to go to the bathroom, but it occurred that leaving this man's line of sight might help her out. She hoped there wouldn't be much of a line. There was. When she finally got back to the table, the guy was gone. Jesse was ready to hit the dance clubs. Jo immediately responded with, "I'd better get back to my work."

"Hell, no. You're coming dancing," Jesse snipped. "Get your jacket on. We're leaving."

At the club was hot and too loud. She wasn't the type to dance, so she ended up at the bar alone. Jo assumed, once he realized she wouldn't be putting out, Gary had moved on to a few beautiful girls. Her mind wasn't even there. It was going over the song that still swam through her head. She watched as Gary stretched and swayed in the crowd. Jesse was right, he was a bit of eye candy for a girl that didn't get out much. He was good for looking, but not touching. Somehow along the way she'd become the girl that guys only talked to to get close to her friends. Jo was tired of it. She could recall numerous occasions when a guy would introduce himself, or even buy her a drink, just to get Jessica's name and number. Jo slipped past the bouncer who asked, "Jesse's leaving early?"

"No, I am."

"Oh, well alright. Have a good night." He'd seemed a bit too relieved to see her go.

She caught the bus back to campus and walked the rest of the way back to the building. 'I really should have told her I was leaving, but I left a message on her cell phone while I was on the bus.'

Research had become so routine that she was looking forward to adding her new numbers to the database. She opened the door to the back entrance without looking around. 'No one would dare bother a coal black bitch such as misself. I might cast voodoo.' She smiled to herself as she glanced back into the darkness. The mental trick had worked again. No one would know she was so afraid of that lot to look at her strong strides. When the door shut with a click, she sighed. This would be the only time that she hoped fro a relationship. If she'd had a strong arm around her as she walked through, she probably wouldn't have been so afraid. She knew she would have had to make the time for it. "I wish I had someone with me anyway." She climbed the stairs to the third floor and pushed open the heavy doors. It was nearly dark except for the far hallway. Someone else was on the floor. There was always someone in that back office. She never did get up the nerve to go and introduce herself. 'If they don't bother me, I won't bother them," she shrugged as she opened the door to her little office. It wasn't really hers. She shared it with some people she didn't know. As a matter of fact, she wouldn't know them if she passed them on the elevator or sat next to them in the cafeteria. The system worked very well for her. She would get most of her work done at night and they would do what they needed during the day. She remembered the morning that Dr. Samuels had conned her into taking the late shift.

She'd walked right into his ploy by responding to the parameters of the experiment and the posted schedule for observation. Every hour during the day was labeled. The evening hours were nowhere to be found. He said he'd watch the numbers himself overnight. The caring person that she was, she took the bait. "I don't agree, sir. I think we could easily set up shifts. That way we don't have one person doing all of the nights. If we're supposed to check them on hourly intervals, then there should be a few of us in the lab to do the check," her voice had been firm.

"That's exactly what I thought you would say, Crux. That's why your name is right here on the list for overnight. Do I have any other volunteers?"

She'd whispered under her breath, "My name is Croix, like toy."

The man never did get her name right. Even now, he was probably saying "crux" to his wife about her. Her job was to go through the cages and do an hourly check of fluid intake and then every few days, she changed the bedding for the rodents. Everyone was scheduled to do changes. If the cubes were filthy, she'd do it everyday. There was no need for the little guys to suffer because the others were careless. Control first then the progressively more involved subjects. She was very good at making the appropriate check marks and she could remember the rats by id number easily enough.

Three of her office mates didn't bother to empty the trash. At least, she assumed there were three of them with all of the garbage they left around the office. Jesse couldn't understand the arrangement. She would pick through other people's things and sit on important papers. Jo wasn't the sort to do that. After that night, she didn't feel like doing much of anything. That guy had found time to play in a bar. He must be nearly done or a slacker. She shook the thought out of her head and sat down at her cube. There was a napkin on top of everything. She hadn't left it there. She turned it over and read, "All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl. No Chocolate today. Date? Have Fun."

She turned it back over, but it was just a plain white napkin. This guy was good. He saw her leave. She didn't remember any odd faces looking at her. Stalker? It had to be one of the other three people in the office. She would be more careful when she came and went. This had to stop.

She wrote under the message, "No more Chocolate, please. My weight can't take it. Joanne."

'Hmm, it's too hard to erase Joanne from it.' She spent twenty minutes debating on whether to toss the napkin into the trash. Then, she thought it would be rude to not leave any note. The napkin would have to do. 'I'll just leave it here when I go. I hope he isn't a stalker. Maybe it isn't even a he.'

When she got in, the sun was rising and Jesse was nowhere to be found. Jo didn't worry. The answering machine light was blinking. She was with Terrence.

<< Hey, girl. You should have given Gary a chance. He's a workout. I know from experience. I'm gonna be at Terrence's, so don't wait up.>>

She settled into bed quickly but didn't get any rest. She spent the whole morning wondering about her mystery man. She slogged her way through the late morning classes and got herself a cappuccino to perk herself up. She knew that it was cutting in on her food budget, but she wasn't a stranger to peanut butter and jelly. She downed it and did her homework when it kicked in. She couldn't focus on the page, much less write down the answers. Jo let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She put her fingers over her lips and laughed at herself. This always happened. That's why she never touched coffee. She held up a shaking hand and decided that she should do something different. She ran her hand across her face and looked around. All of the nearby faces were in books. She looked around in her bag for her mp3 player. She put the little ear buds in her ears and listened.

She studied the patterns in the tiles as she let her mind drift with the music. She closed her eyes and let two or three songs go by before finishing off the last bits of the cappuccino at the bottom of the cup. 'If I'm staying up, I might as well enjoy the last bit of it.'

She picked up her stuff and went to class. She would definitely need to go over the lecture again, because her heart wasn't into class at all. Her heart had been racing in her ears. She stopped by a few club offices to double check the meeting schedule. She made sure she wrote all of the changes down. She ran into Jesse on her way to some psychology class or another and said a quick hello.

"Gary wants to do you," she gave as her parting shot.

She froze. 'What was that supposed to mean?' She certainly didn't want to do him, did she? She hadn't even thought of it. It wasn't safe to think that way before she was comfortable. She hadn't done anybody in a few years. It had been the wrong thing to give up her virginity, but she didn't have much of a choice at the time. She reaffirmed her promise to make it worthwhile the next time. She'd felt nothing when Gary took her hand. Not even a little warmth from his hand. No, she didn't want to do Gary. 'Well, maybe just a little bit, to see what he might be like?' Her mystery man definitely had a good chance at it, though.

Jo busied herself with work for as long as she could. She even went down to the basement of the lab sciences building and checked on the rats a few extra times. She watched the main entrance of lab sciences until she was sure no strange stalker type left for the day. She went up to her office and unlocked the door. The other cubicles were as dirty as ever. 'Whoever this guy is, he's a slob.' She cleared up her cube and went to her desk. There was the napkin and a fat free blueberry muffin with a sheet of paper underneath. She read the napkin.

"What the lady wishes, so shall I do. Pleasing Joanne remains my soul desire. However, her visage can be neither improved upon nor diminished by a few wayward ounces. I pray thee, allow me to ply with yon snack fare. Lighter than the chocolate, but no less enjoyable? Daniel."

'Okay, it's definitely a guy....with a strange way of writing. Archaic, how...sweet? Yeah, sweet, but weird.' She knew that this could be some kind of a joke, or worse a way of getting an ugly girl to the ugly chick party that fraternities throw at the end of the year. She let her hair down and gathered it back into her customary ponytail. She couldn't stand it when her shoulder length hair tickled her ear lobes. She had to have every strand carefully contained.