“This really isn’t what I expected when you asked me what time I got off of work.” Honey hung her head over a large glass of beer. She hadn’t ever had beer before and found she didn’t like it. It was very bitter and she had trouble keeping it down.

Damien had taken her to a bar, of course. He sat beside her at a table with a stronger drink in hand, watching her with amusement. “What did you think I was going to do, then? That I was going to rent a room and have my way with you?”

The sentence caused her ears to warm up and she immediately took several gulps of beer in humiliation. She then gagged on the disgusting liquid and let forth a series of coughs. It took a moment for her to regain herself.

“What? No. Of course not.” She averted her eyes.

“Liar,” He lightly snorted. “You literally told me, ‘you can seduce me too, if you want.’”

Honey gave him a sour look. “....Well, I at least expected a romantic dinner first.” She muttered.

Damien laughed. “You’re sixteen. I told you, I kissed you because Will pissed me off. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with other things, though. And the one I gave you a while ago? My inability to keep from playing around.”

His casual disregard thoroughly enraged her. “It was a bit more than a kiss, though” She spoke with a touch of anger to her voice.

He nodded. “I got a bit carried away in my pettiness.” The youth’s eyes suddenly turned sincere. “But that wasn’t fair to you.”

She stared at him as though in a daze. “Not fair...?” She trailed off. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to speak, but couldn’t. Finally, the words came.

And they came with raw pain.

“Of course it’s not fair,” Her hands tightened at her lap. “You can’t just kiss a person like that and expect them to just...”

She shook her head as her emotions turned wild. “Do you even have any idea how many times I’ve dreamt about that day? About that kiss? I’m not...I’ve never....” The words became harder to speak. But she pressed on. “Did you know that before that, I’d never even masturbated before?” Her voice was as quiet as a mouse and she couldn’t bring herself to raise her head. “But after that, I started...t-touching myself.” The admittance caused her no end of mortification.

“And the first time I did, it was when thinking of you and that kiss.”

She could feel his eyes on her like they carried a physical weight. “And so, what? You want me to take responsibility for it?”

Her breath stopped. “Would you? If I asked?”

“No.” That single word felt crushing. A blow to the chest. “All that tells me is you want me to fuck you. And anyone can do that.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t need to be me.” He saw her face, so delicate and fragile beneath her thick glasses, and continued. “Don’t get me wrong. Exploring your sexuality is nothing bad. But I’m not looking for a fuck buddy. My goal is a wife and kids to spoil rotten. Oh sure, I’ve had dreams where I forgot about that and just fucked every woman within a ten mile radius. And in another life, maybe that’s exactly what I’d do. But here, now? I’m not so callous as to just have sex with a woman who doesn’t even have feelings for me.”

A white-hot rage overcame her just then. “Then why’d you have to flirt with me? Why’d you have to keep showing up every day, making me think you were interested?” There was a deep-rooted bitterness in there that ate at her. But she couldn’t stop it. “I thought you wanted me, too.”

He smiled. “When did I ever say I didn’t want you?” He leaned back in his chair and took a swig of his drink. “I said you’re young and that I’m not going to fuck a woman who doesn’t care about me. I never said I didn’t find you attractive.”

....All at once, her anger was replaced by apprehension. “What do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying I’d like to put you over my knee and finger you till pass out from orgasm.”

Honey instantly turned red as a tomato. “Then--”

He held up a hand. “Hold your horses there, my dear. As sweet as I’m sure you are, you’re still a bit outside my strike zone.” His eyes shone. “Of course, get me drunk enough and maybe I’ll forget about that.” He joked. Then he stopped. Rather, he felt a very, very bad feeling. Why? Because the girl to the front of him suddenly became full of silent vigor.

She looked down at his pint and her own with a look of determination. Moments later, she had gulped down both of them before slamming the empty flagons onto the table. Wiping her mouth, she called to a waitress.

“Bring me the strongest alcohol you have!” She shouted.

Damien cocked a brow. “You’re really going to try and get me drunk?”

“Why? You scared?”

" Oh, you sweet summer child.” He regarded her with pity. “I don’t think you understand what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I’m quite confident I do.”

“And what do you think that’s going to be? My pants?”

By this point, she didn’t even blush. The alcohol was starting to take effect and numbing her sense of shame.

“I’m going to make you call me mommy.” Damien couldn’t stop laughing.

.

...

....

From many miles away, Muriel woke from her nap with a start. She sensed a disturbance in the force.

“Is someone challenging me?”