Push

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Stephanie

Stephanie Simmons was known to her close friends as ‘the prude’. She stared at herself in the mirror as she added a touch more red lipstick before leaving. Tonight she had held nothing back as far as she was concerned; her tight black pants were paired with a body suit that showed off more cleavage than she ever showed before. Stephanie examined herself all fixed up and realized she felt even more self-conscious with her body on display than in her boring clothes, as her friends kindly put it. Her friends were constantly telling her she should show off her ‘perfect’ body. That it would make her feel sexy, and men would be all over her. All this outfit was doing for Stephanie was making her regret ever listening to them in the first place.

Hoping she had enough time to change into something she was at least semi-comfortable in, she checked her phone. As soon as she picked it up, a text popped up from her friend Lucy telling Stephanie they were downstairs waiting on her. Stephanie sighed and grabbed her clutch to meet them. Hopefully after a few beers at the new bar they were going to nobody would notice if she slipped out and took a cab home.

“Damn girl!” Lucy called from the passenger seat as Stephanie made her way to their SUV. Stephanie felt herself blush at the compliment. If she blushed when her friends said it, she’d never survive a man complimenting her.

“Wow. You look drop dead gorgeous. Now I just want to go home. No way anybody notices me tonight next to you,” Emily pouted.

“Thanks guys. I feel ridiculous though.” She brushed them off as she slid in the back seat.

“What? Are you serious? I would kill to be as stacked as you are up top, and then with those legs! Girl, please!” Lucy drawled out. They all hailed from some small town West Virginia, except Lucy. She was all Louisiana.

“Can you guys stop… you’re making it worse.”

“Whatever, Steph. You’ve got a great figure you should feel beautiful about. Just wait till we get there. Every guy is going to have his eyes on you.”

“Great, then none of them will miss it when I face plant.” She snorted with laughter at her nervous attempt at a joke.

Their talk turned casual as the girls caught up with each other about their work weeks. Emily was a registered nurse at the local hospital, Lucy was a field reporter for the local news, and Stephanie was a paralegal for one of Wheeling’s top law firms. Stephanie was proud of her friends. They all worked hard at their professions and they deserved a night out to cut lose.

Emily weaved through late night traffic as they got closer to the bar. The general area of the bar was usually an area the girls would steer clear of. One of the more notorious bars was having a karaoke ladies’ night to try and pull in a wider clientele. First hundred ladies in the door got a free drink so Lucy decided they all needed to check it out if only to get the free drink. They usually went to the local winery to drink so Stephanie had no idea what to expect from an actual bar.

“Oh my gosh, I feel like I should give us all tetanus shots before we even go in here,” Emily said.

Lucy scoffed at her comment and waved her hand. Lucy was always onto Stephanie and Emily to step out of their country club comfort zone. Neither Emily or Stephanie ever belonged to a country club, but neither of them had ever been to a place like this either. Lucy grew up a little rougher down in Birmingham, Alabama, so she was the wild one of the group. From some of the stories she had told them, this bar was nothing to some of her favorite drinking spots from her hometown.

“Let’s give it a try, Em,” Stephanie said as she stepped out the car.

“We must not be the only ones trying it out tonight. This parking is ridiculous,” Emily complained as the girls prepared for their three block walk back to the bar.

“It’s a good warm up to get your blood flowing before we start drinking,” Lucy laughed.

“Do we really need to limber up before we kill our livers?”

“Don’t go nursing us already, Em. Now when my heads hovering over a toilet from too much liver contamination, make sure you get my hair. For now, we relax and unwind.”

Once inside the bar, the music was blaring so loud the girls could hardly hear each other. They managed their way to the bar for their free drinks, and then found a place to huddle. Stephanie looked around and realized most of the people in the bar were young professionals or college kids. That made her feel safer. Wheeling wasn’t Detroit by any means when it came to crime, but they had their fair share. She’d seen and heard it all working for the one of the only criminal defense attorneys in the area. She respected Dave for what he did but sometimes, some cases, it made her stomach turn.

It took Stephanie several drinks before she started to feel comfortable in her outfit. She did notice several interested men looking her way, but none that she felt inclined to talk to. Maybe she was the problem, she thought. Everyone told her she was too picky and stuck up. Stephanie liked to think she just had a dream of finding the perfect man for her, and at only twenty-five she refused to give up on that dream. Especially for a man in a bar.

“I want to dance!” Lucy yelled over the music. She grabbed Emily and Stephanie and drug them out on the dance floor.

The night started to blur to Stephanie then. They drank and danced, and she even sang karaoke. She couldn’t remember ever drinking so much or laughing so hard. Like most good things in life, though it had to come to an end. She needed fresh air to clear her senses. After two failed attempts to yell loud enough for the girls to hear her, she gave up and sauntered off to find some herself. When the cool air greeted her outside, she sucked it in like a newborn baby.

Her steps were wobbly, but she didn’t want to take her heels off. She leaned against the brick wall to the bar and tried to focus her mind on something and clear the drunken haze. A few more deep breaths of the cool air and she turned to go back into the bar. A hiss caught her attention just as the world went dark.