Twenty minutes later Andrea was sitting alone on the edge of her bed wondering what had just happened. She was confused. She was confused whether she had cheated on Mike. Stix wasn't a guy, so... but yeah, she had cheated. She was confused as to why she enjoyed Stix so much. Why did she find her association with Stix so erotic, so arousing? Two encounters with Stix had led to some sort of sexual activity. She was confused as to what Stix saw in her, why Stix would be attracted to her. She got into a pair of shorts and climbed into bed, he mind buzzing with questions.
It occurred to her that she had to face Stix tomorrow night at work. What was she going to say? How was she going to explain herself to Stix when she could not even explain it to herself? It was a restless night and in the morning, she thought it through. Maybe explaining that she didn't know the answers would be enough for Stix. Maybe Stix knew the answers. Maybe Stix didn't care about the answers one way or the other. It bothered Andrea not knowing but it bothered her more that she might have offended Stix by her actions. Maybe a nice apology would work. She practiced it all day.
"Stix, I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to offend you. I just got confused. We're good, right?"
It sounded like it would work. Well, Andrea hoped it would work.
The Friday night shift rolled around and Andrea held her breath as she walked into the club. Everyone was getting ready but Stix wasn't in the locker room.
"Good evening, Andrea," Gloria said with a smile. "Your partner in crime is already on the floor. She couldn't wait for me to sing tonight."
Andrea smiled back at Gloria. It was unusual, as in never, that Stix would leave the locker room before the song. She got dressed, listened while Gloria sing a quiet gospel ballad and they all headed to the floor. When she got there, Andrea looked around and saw Stix already at work. She wanted to approach her but between guests and her fellow workers there were just too many people nearby. She watched Stix all night, waiting for an opportunity to speak to her but that time never came. And at the end of the night by the time Andrea had gotten to the locker room, Stix had dressed and left. Andrea didn't really blame her but she wanted to make it right so she decided to try again Saturday night.
But Saturday night was no different. Stix arrived early, busied herself all night and managed to avoid Andrea. Andrea felt she might have an opportunity at the end of the night as everyone walked down to the locker room together but Stix grabber her stuff from her locker, asked Gloria to hold any envelope that came downstairs and hurried off. Sunday would be another opportunity to talk to her.
Just like Saturday, Sunday started out the same. Stix was on the floor early and didn't speak to Andrea. Stix did run over when a loose child got under Andrea's feet while she was carrying a try of food. Maria was also there in a flash and when Stix saw Maria could help Andrea, she went back to her own job. Andrea had hoped for a minute that Stix would at least ask if she was OK, but she didn't.
By the time Andrea got to the locker room Stix had left for the night. Andrea didn't want to give up so she texted Stix
"I didn't get a chance to talk to you tonight but I hope we can soon."
She got changed and drove home, waiting patiently during the ride for her phone to ping to let her know Stix had responded. But the ping never sounded. She tried again when she got home and then actually called Stix but her call went to voice mail.
It was the same Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday. No calls, no texts. Andrea was frustrated. She just wanted to talk to Stix, try to smooth things out but it didn't look like it was going to happen over the phone. Andrea decided to try a different tactic on Thursday. She decided she would drive over to Canalside and visit Stix at the store. She didn't want to cause a scene but at least she could say what she wanted to get off her chest.
Thursday morning Andrea didn't feel right about her plan. What if she got there and Stix outright ignored her, didn't respond or actually lashed out at her? But she figured she had to put this to rest so she got ready and drove off to see Stix. She parked in the same parking garage as before and walked to the store. There were butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to see Stix badly but was afraid of her reaction. She hesitated, continued walking, almost turned around but found herself at the front door of Canalside. She took a deep breath and walked in.
Looking around she saw someone in the corner by the register so she gathered her courage and walked over to say hi to Stix but when she got to the counter she realized it wasn't Stix standing there.
"Hi. Can I help you?" the woman behind the counter asked.
"I was looking for Stix. Is she working today?" Andrea responded.
The woman replied "No. She usually works Thursdays but we switched off this week. Can I help you find something?"
Andrea was disappointed. She really wanted to talk to Stix and now it looked like it would probably be another weekend of the two of them not speaking to one another.
"No, but thanks," Andrea replied and turned to leave. But then she stopped and walked back to the counter.
"Yes, there is something you can help me with."
A few minutes later Andrea was walking back to her car. She wasn't sure this would work but she was desperate and would try anything at this point. The rest of the day dragged by as Andrea anticipated her next move. Mike came home as usual, ate dinner and headed out to one of the guys' house to watch the game. As soon as he left Andrea jumped in the shower, put her make-up on, got dressed and headed out. The timing was just right.
At 8:00 she pulled into the parking lot at Anna's Place, took one more check in the mirror, stepped out and headed for the front door. As usual Jo was on duty and, when she saw Andrea walk up, the cigarette in her mouth almost fell out.
"H-hi Andrea," she stuttered.
"Hi Jo," Andrea replied. "Is Stix inside tonight?"
Jo seemed flustered.
"Err... yeah she is, but..."
