Birdie rolled her eyes, knowing the drill. She reached down, retrieving the same brown glass bottle, popping the lid as she handed it to me. “Enjoy.”
I grabbed the beer and stood, rolling to the center of the room and dancing to the music. I swirled, skating back and forth as I shook my body and drank my beer, feeling the beat in my bones. The alcohol and rhythm mixed together, swooping me into a haze as I drifted away. I kept dancing until the song ended and the mood dropped.
I spun around, my eyes meeting the same man as he offered me a smile. I grinned back at him, raising my beer before skating back to my seat.
The man wasted no time, approaching me as I caught my breath. “Nice moves,” he said, his eyes falling to my chest for a brief moment. “Alright, I’m going to cut to the chase and just shoot my shot, ‘cause you’re way too good looking of a woman. But hey, a guy can dream, right?”
“Go for it.” I grinned, impressed by his strange but sweet accent and dainty mustache. “My name’s Rudy, and I’m a ranch hand from Colorado. I’m in town visiting a relative, and I hate to admit it, but I’ve been single for three years now.”
“Oof, that’s a hard one to follow, Rudy.” I laughed, the two of us giggling as we drank our beers. “Okay, let’s see. My turn.” I straightened my posture, prepping for my dramatic speech. “My name’s Delilah, I’m an unemployed local who tried to swim away, but life pulled me right back. I’m currently flopping around like a fish out of water, and the only thing even closely related to a relationship I’ve had in years has been random hook ups on the beach.”
Rudy’s brow lifted, his eyes staring at me. “You serious?”
I nodded, my hair waving around my bare arms. “Dead ass.”
“Shit. You win, Delilah.” We clinked our beer bottles together, giggling at the sadness of our lives. As he took a sip ofbeer, he noticed the bite mark on my stomach, nearly spitting his drink out. “Holy shi—I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be vulgar, but…is that a shark bite?” he asked, pointing to my torso.
I glanced down, completely forgetting that it even existed. “Oh, yeah.”
“Forgive me for asking, but how the hell do you get that?” I stopped, remembering the night it happened, the night Reef and I met out in the ocean. I could feel a sense of sadness and longing overtake me as my smile faded. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, you’re good.” I grabbed my beer, chugging it straight as Rudy watched, impressed. I slammed the empty glass bottle down, turning to face him. “You want to get out of here?” He glanced behind him, his face shocked when he turned back to face me, silently mouthing the word ‘me’ while pointing to himself. “Yes, you,” I giggled, buzzed and depressed all at once.
“Oh sh–yes. Yes, please.” He hopped from the barstool, helping me to my feet when I swerved, my rollerblades slipping along the wooden floor. “Should you take those off, or are you good?” he asked, helping me to the door.
“I’ll take them off when we get outside.”
Rudyand I snuck into an alley behind the bar, making out against the brick wall of a nearby building. I kicked my rollerblades aside, wrapping my legs around him as he held me against the wall. I was buzzed, my skin on fire, begging to be touched as I arched my back and hoped his hands would feel half as good as Reef’s. Unfortunately, Rudy’s hands were rough and dry, fumbling along my breasts, failing to give me the samesatisfaction. His kindness made up for what he lacked in sexual pleasure, though I could feel myself slipping back into my old routine, wishing for the moment to be over already.
“Here.” I brushed my hair aside. “Bite me.” He stopped, staring at my exposed neck.
“W-what?” I could tell he was more vanilla than I anticipated.
“Bite me. You know, with your teeth.” I chomped my mouth together, mimicking what I wanted him to do.
Rudy chuckled, his smile immediately fading as he watched my face. “Oh, wait. Y-you’re serious? I’m sorry, but I’m not really into all that stuff.”
I sighed, dropping my legs. “Alright then.” I looked him over, smiling as I snatched his cowboy hat and placed it on my head. “Why don’t you sit back and let me ride you like a proper cowgirl?”
Rudy’s face began to blush. “Yeah. I’m not sure this is going to work out.” He sighed, extending his hand. “Why don’t you just give me the hat back and we’ll call it a day, okay?”
“Seriously?” I dropped the innocent ‘fuck me’ act.
“Give me my hat back, Delilah,” Rudy snapped.
I raised a brow, retrieving my butterfly knife from my back pocket, whirling it around in my hand. “Why don’t you come get it then, tough guy?”
Rudy blinked. “I’m sorry, are you resorting to violence ‘cause I turned down your sexual advances?”
I laughed at his question. “God, you know, you men really are all the same! You stomp around, harassing women, sexualizing us, demanding that we fuck you when and where you want, and the second we do exactly that, you freak out! What’s wrong with being sexually driven, huh? What’s wrong with me, Rudy?”
He began to pace, nervous and sweating. “Look, it sounds like you have some deeply rooted things to sort out, and I don’twant any trouble. You’re just coming offverystrong, and it's making me feel a bit uncomfortable—”
“You’re uncomfortable?” I scoffed. “The minute I skated into that bar, I could feel your eyes on me as they felt up my body,” I growled, pointing my knife at him.
“Just put down the fucking knife!” he yelled, the vein in his forehead bulging as his face reddened.
“There he is,” I hissed.
