Stripping Conventions
by Jade Buchanan

James nervously smoothed a palm down his chest, peering out through the split in the curtain. He hadn’t exactly wanted to come here, but he didn’t have much of a choice. It was his and his sister’s twenty-fifth birthday, and she was bound and determined that they spend it together.

Sure, like going to the male strippers with his twin sister was going to be a ton of fun. He’d rather claw his eyes out. Well, technically, he’d rather be here by himself without his sister, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Unfortunately, no one had thought to tell her that men weren’t allowed in the main room. So instead of being down with his sister and all her girlfriends, James was stuck up here. In a room full of cranky men. Great. He bet none of these guys were gay. Wasn’t it just his luck?

At least the rest of the night had been fun. He’d never really hung out with Cynthia and her friends before, at least not since elementary school. They just had different tastes. James preferred sports so he’d hung out with the jocks in school. Cynthia was really more into arts. She’d played clarinet in the marching band all through high school and the majority of her friends were band geeks. Not that he’d ever say that to her, though. She’d try to beat the hell out of him if he even hinted the word geek.

Hell, at least she’d gone to all his football games in high school. If she hadn’t been forced to be there in order to play at halftime, she’d never have gone.

By the time they reached university, they didn’t exactly fit in with each other’s groups. James was getting his Kinesiology degree, and Cynthia had gone into Economics. Once again, they just gravitated to different areas. James had his own group of friends and Cyn had hers.
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