Man Enough

“What do you mean, he wants to kick my ass?”

Joey wasn’t sure how much more of a roller coaster this day could become. First Madison decides that it’s not crazy enough that he is with one incredibly popular girl, so she brings her friend Aynsley into the relationship. Then his mom shows up at school with Bianca, the waitress from the other night. Add to that using his power and accidentally changing Indira from his history class, making her (and the rest of the women in the room) totally fine with all the changes he’d made to them, no matter how out of the ordinary their relationships were.

And now, to top it all off, Eliza has an angry ex-boyfriend.

And he wants to kick Joey’s ass.

“It probably is nothing,” Eliza said in soothing tones, though her eyes betrayed her concern. “It was in the middle of the night. It really looks like he was drunk.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing,” Joey said, his stomach twisting. “If it was nothing, you wouldn’t have brought it up.”

Eliza hesitated for only a moment before nodding. “No, you’re right. It’s not nothing.”

Silence settled over the room, thick and expectant. Then, Madison broke it.

“Well, then we just stick close to him,” she said firmly, arms crossed. “If Derek shows up, we’ll outnumber him.”

Aynsley nodded. “Exactly. No way he tries anything if Joey’s got, like, half a dozen women backing him up.”

Eliza let out a small sigh, shaking her head. “That’s protective, but protection alone isn’t enough. Joey shouldn’t need to be shielded. He should be the one handling the situation.”

Joey swallowed hard. That sounded a lot like she wanted him to do something.

Donna pursed her lips, clearly displeased. “As Joey’s mother, and as a lawyer, I can make it clear to this man that there will be severe consequences if he even thinks about touching my son.”

“Right,” Bianca chimed in. “Just have his mom put the fear of God in him. Boom. Problem solved.”

Eliza shook her head again, more firmly this time. “No. That would make Joey look like a boy who needs his mother to fight his battles.” She turned her eyes to Joey, something almost adoring in the way she looked at him. “And Joey is becoming a man. This is a chance to prove that.”

A chance? To prove it?

Joey could feel his heartbeat in his throat. That was the last thing he wanted.

“Okay, okay,” Aynsley said, bouncing slightly on her heels. “So, what does he do? What’s, like, the best way to show he’s a man?”

Madison suddenly gasped. “We throw a party.”

A beat. Then, Aynsley’s eyes lit up. “Ooooh.”

Indira tilted her head. “A party?”

“Yes! We throw a huge party, one Joey hosts,” Madison explained, warming to the idea. “We make sure Derek knows about it, and then he’ll have to show up. And when he does—” She grinned. “Joey won’t be stepping into Derek's territory. He’ll be stepping into Joey’s.”

Joey’s stomach dropped.

That was their plan?

Throw a giant party and invite the angry, full-grown man who wanted to beat him up?

The girls were already getting excited. Aynsley clapped her hands together. “That’s so good. Because then Joey doesn’t have to chase him down or anything. Derek comes to him.”

“And at a party,” Bianca added, nodding, “it'll be in public, which means he can’t just throw a punch without looking like a total psycho.”

Eliza looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. “Yes. That’s perfect. Because Joey isn’t a brute. He’s not just some guy who settles things with ****. And we can play a role too.”

"What do you need?" Indira piped in, seeming eager to be part of the team.

"All of us need to show Derek how much of a man Joey is. When we're at the party, Joey is THE man. We look up to him. We hang on his every word. He says jump, we say: How high? If Derek sees Joey's effect on us, the way we are with him, he should take the hint to not mess with Joey, and when Joey's ready to confront him, Derek will be a lot more nervous."

The women beamed at her approval, clearly thrilled that their idea fit into Eliza’s vision for Joey.

Joey felt like he was going to be sick.

He didn’t want to confront Derek. He didn’t even know Derek.

A grown-ass man. Bigger than him. Stronger. Who was apparently mad enough to send a threatening email at midnight just because he saw Joey leaving Eliza’s house.

Joey wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t some badass who stood his ground. He was just a high school senior who somehow got too many girls to like him at once.

But they were all looking at him now.

Smiling. Encouraging. Expectant.

He felt dizzy.

Madison stepped in first, her hands settling gently on his arms. “Hey. You can do this.”

Aynsley nodded. “You’re strong, Joey. Stronger than you even know.”

Eliza’s voice was soft, warm. “You’re a man, Joey.”

Donna smoothed his hair, like she used to when he was little. “You’re big enough to handle anything.”

Their voices melted together, murmured reassurances. How proud they were. How worthy he was. How Derek wouldn’t dare challenge him once he saw what kind of man Joey had become.

And then—

Bianca.

She pressed close, her arms wrapping around him, soft and warm. She smelled incredible, like vanilla and something just a little spicy.

She tilted her head up, her lips close to his ear. “You just need to believe it,” she murmured. “Believe in yourself, in how much of a man you are.”

One of her hands trailed lightly down his chest.

“Maybe,” she whispered, “a night with me would help.”

Joey froze.

She leaned in even closer. “Besides,” she purred, “it’s my turn.”