A Shitty Love

5

Simone burst through her door and began to undress as she walked toward her room. She bustled into her closet, hastily shedding the dress and her underwear in favor of her lounge shorts and a camisole as Levi calmly closed the front door. She reentered the kitchen and Levi's eyes trailed her as she retrieved a large bottle of spiced rum from the cabinet then carried it to the couch.

Levi shrugged out of his vest and sat beside her as she browsed through the media on the now lit TV screen. She settled on a subtitled gag anime and took a hearty swig of the brown drink, which scorched down her throat, then silently tilted the bottle in his direction. Matching her draught, he broke the silence with "So, you fucked him up nicely."

"He deserved it," Simone said, her face still irate from them molestation that had been attempted on her.

"I agree, but I thought you were trying to 'get laid'."

She took another gulp. "Not like that! I don't wanna give my goodies to some entitled ass who'd just as soon take 'em. That don't make for a good time. Why would I let him inside my sugar walls if he couldn't respect me outside 'em? My body, my terms." she said, realizing she'd reverted to a country drawl.

"Very reasonable policy," he said a sipped from the bottle as the TV chattered in front of them. "This is strong shit."

"Levi, you ever done that ta' someone? Tried ta' force yourself on 'em?" Simone asked, looking at him.

"No," he stared back at her. "I heard it done to my mother enough to recognize how vile it was."

Simone's angry face softened a little and she let out a breath. "That sucks."

"No shit. I'd recommend it as resiliency training in children if not for the little 'traumatic experience' side effect." He took another drink. "She never fought back like you did. I was mistaken to think you needed my help, brat."

Simone chuckled. "I appreciate the sentiment, Levi. But a girl's gotta fend fa' herself."

"I didn't think you had that kind of brutality in you. You're so . . . light-hearted."

Simone smiled sardonically and sipped. "No one eva' does."

"How did you get it?"

"Whaddaya mean?"

"You looked like you would've killed him if you had to. You don't get that type of resolution without pressure. So, what was yours?"

Simone snorted and stared at her folded legs. "My momma always said 'Don' go looking for trouble, baby, 'cause its already looking for you.' I thought that was just something she said to get me to be good. An' I was. A good girl. But then I lived a lil' and saw what she meant: the world doesn't care if you're a good girl. Even doing all the right things and being in all the safe places, bad things can happen to ya'. If you wanna be happy, you can't be afraid to be bad, too." She sighed and sipped. "I guess you could say the anger I felt knowing someone might try to take one of my most intimate, precious parts and use it like a disposable jizz sock was what did it. That they felt like they could an' should make me-a feeling, thinking person-their play thing. That something like that had happened and would happen to so many people." Levi watched her hands clutch into shaking balls. "I should've hit his ass harder."

Levi reached out and placed his hand on hers. "Any harder and he would probably be shitting his nose out and breathing through his balls."

Simone couldn't help the raucous laughter that rose out of her at his words. She laughed until tears trickled down her cheeks and she relaxed. "You feel very strongly about this, considering your line of work."

"I know. I've had to counsel a lot people who think rape is okay or are mistaken about what it is. I try to help 'em grow past that and understand what their actions may do to the person they violate. I've also seen victims of it, an' I see how horribly it affects most of 'em. But then there're the people who know what it is an' use it like a weapon. Which brings me ta' my next point: sometimes the world is a betta' place without some people," she finished in her lilting accent.

Levi nodded.

"But I wanna forget about that shit right now. I was able to keep my sexual livelihood for another day, I'm not traumatized, an' I'm grateful." She rested her head on his lap and took another swallow. "May I?" she asked too late.

Levi responded with a non-committal grunt but gave no sign of wanting her to move. As the TV tried to beat back the thick tension in the room, she felt the alcohol working, warming her body and uninhibiting her mind. "Levi, I'm sorry for pootin' on you in my sleep last night." Apparently it was loosening her tongue, too.

"What drunken nonsense are you spewing, shitty fat ass?"

"This morning you were actin' strange, so I assumed-"

"You didn't do that, idiot."

"Then what was wrong?

He deliberated for a moment. "You were talking about shit in your sleep, nosy brat. You're a bit of a deviant, huh?"

Simone's eyes rounded with embarrassed surprise. He's on to me! "What did I say?"

"That you like to have your ass smacked," he said staring intently at the television.

She felt a hot tingle between her legs from hearing him say it. Would you, please? "You think that's deviant? That's entry-level kink."

"Oh? So once you trust your lover, you like them to do . . . abrasive things? Like hair pulling?" he said, taking a single tress of her hair wrapping it around his finger until she felt the slightest tension. Is he teasing-. "Having your hands tied?" Yaaaassss talk dirty to me. "A little biting?" Only if you're nasty, Mr. Ackerman. "And being fucked roughly?" Jesus, kill the visual before I ruin these shorts. He held her coil of hair taut for a moment longer then let it pop back into place. "Hm?"

Simone tucked the vivid images in her head back into the After-Hours section of her mind and answered "Sometimes," lightly. Can't let the thirst show. "I didn't think you could say thangs like that."

"I'm a soldier, not a monk. I've had my share of erotic encounters."

Simone's heart burst with joy and she heard angels singing in the distance. Can confirm, he does sex!!! But with whom? She managed to keep a straight face and say, "'The Conquests of Captain Ackerman'. I'd read that novel." And be your wanton hussy. "I'm not a beginner, myself. In some areas, at least."

Levi was silent for a moment. "Why are you so honest with me? You've only known me two damn days."

Simone looked at the bottle of rum. "I guess it's becaaaause-Your sarcasm is fun an' you're not offended by mine. You haven't tried to poke me an' didn't get frisky when I fell asleep on ya last night. You're a good listener. And you can't tell me that you're not a softie under that thick casing of Bad-Ass. Other things, too. I don't know if I'm being presumptuous or naïve, but I like you, Levi. I'm just. . . comfortable around you," she finished with a shrug.

"I," Levi hesitated, "like you, too, Simone."

"Good gat damn! You remember my name?!" Simone joked, raising up and looking at him with wide eyes. "Senpai noticed me!!"

"Tch," Levi said disdainfully and pressed her back onto his lap. "Quiet you noisy ass brat. Ruining what might've been some deep shit."

She smirked silently and grabbed the folded blanket off the back of the couch.

"Are you going to pass out from the drink?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm not drunk."

"Well you're talking like you are. And you sound different."

"That's jus' my charmin' accent, hun. I'm a big girl, I can handle my liquor. Have you been drunk confessing to me?"

"Of course not."

"Good. Cuz I'm gonna remember that you pulled my hair an' asked if I like it rough."