Page 73 of Devil’s Disciples

“What about you?”

“I’ve never sent anyone to the hospital” she said flatly. “I try to use my lips and tongue, not my teeth.”

“Not that.” I let out a laugh. “Dating. How can you be single?”

She set her spoon on her plate, brushed her hands over the tops of her tits, and stood. “Look at me. A good long look. Then, ask yourself if you really need to ask that question.”

She was wearing a dress that complimented her figure completely. Her hair was down, but not completely straight. It was wavy, like she’d worn it several times in the past. Her high cheeks and narrow nose were easily overlooked, making her full lips a point of concentration for anyone who met her. When combined with her eyes, it was enough to make any man stop and stare.

“You’re beautiful.”

“I’m not,” she said. “But thank you.”

I admired her as she sat down and began to pick the shrimp from her soup. After dunking what was left of her bread into the coconut milk broth, she lifted it to her mouth and then paused. “Here’s the rest of the story.”

“What story?”

She poked the piece of bread into her mouth. After swallowing, she continued. “Nobody’s perfect. You know that, right?”

“All too well.”

“Well. I’m not even close.” She grabbed another bread ball, poked the entire thing into her mouth, and continued as she chewed. “I think I had self-esteem issues when I was young. So, I let anybody who wanted to bone have at it. I was the girl in school that was commonly referred to as a slut. It started after my parents were gone. I never blamed what happened between them for my deficiencies, but it played a part in me being who I was.”

“How old were you when they split up,” I asked.

“Thirteen.”

“There’s a reason hotels don’t have a thirteenth floor.”

“They don’t?”

“Nope. It’s bad luck.”

“I’ll agree with you on that one.” She bit into one of the fried cheese balls and rolled her eyes in pleasure. “So, anyway. I was a little tramp. Then, we moved to Syracuse when I was in eleventh grade. When we did, I decided to change. No more sex unless I was in a relationship. I met a guy. We got serious. Everything was perfect. At least it seemed like it.”

“What happened?”

“Everything.” She tossed the remaining piece of food onto her plate. “He lied to me. About everything. I thought he had a job, but he didn’t. He was a drug dealer. I thought he was faithful. But he wasn’t. He stuck his dick in half the city’s women. I thought he wasn’t abusive, but when I confronted him about lying, he beat me. Not a little bit, either. He tied me up and left me in our apartment.”

I felt sick, for more reasons than one. I wasn’t a mirror image of her former ass hat boyfriend, but I was close. I was a criminal and I wasn’t completely truthful.

I’d never beat a woman, and I’d beat any man who did, but that didn’t excuse me from my other faults.

“I’d say I’m sorry, but it’s not near enough,” I said.

“He said he’d kill me if I left him, but I came out here to go to school anyway. Holly came too.” She laughed and pushed her plate to the side. “Her and her husband. He fucked some skank at Hooters and they split up right when I was graduating college. I guess when you get right down to it, I’ve got a hard time trusting men.”

The last thing on earth I wanted to do was cause her harm. I couldn’t see any way to keep from it, though.

“I’m sorry you went through all that,” I said. “I really am.”

It was all I could think of, but it wasn’t enough, and I realized it. Knowing that she’d been through everything that she described – and somehow managed to graduate college and carry on with life – spoke volumes of her character, strength, and worth as a human being. I admired her from a whole different perspective because of it.

“It’s just life. I’m a big girl.” She picked up her butter knife and wagged it at me. “I can say this: there’ll never be another man that treats me like that. Not unless he wants his dick cut off.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You’ll need a bigger knife than that.”

She laughed out loud. “That’s no shit. I’d need a chainsaw for that tree trunk of yours.”