"Do ya' think I'm weird?" she asked me.
We were laying in her bed, covered in sweat, randomly tangled in the sheets. My head was propped up on a pillow. Beth was curled around me, using my right arm as a pillow. She had her right arm on my chest, alternating between playing with my chest hair to tracing her finger along the bruises left there from her bite marks like a connect-the-dots puzzle.
I started to speak, then coughed. I grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand. I sipped slowly. I couldn't gulp. The cool was water was refreshing on my throat though it still hurt getting it down.
I set the glass back down. Gingerly I touched my throat. It felt very sore. I was sure if I looked in the mirror there would be bruises shaped like Beth's small hands. During sex, while she bounced on top of me, she wrapped her hands around my throat and squeezed. I couldn't exactly tell her to top. She kept the pressure on while she rode me. I nearly passed out. My vision went black and my head was fuzzy. I didn't even remember finishing.
I must have because the next thing I knew she was bringing me a glass of water from the bathroom. Only then did she seem embarrassed. She took off her hat, hanging it on the bed post. The gun belt dropped to the floor and she removed the one boot which had managed to stay on. She apologized as she unlocked the handcuffs.
"I don't think you're weird," it felt like my throat was filled with gravel, "you're just...enthusiastic."
"You're scared now, aren't ya'?"
"I'm not scared. It's fine, really," I rasped, "It's just a lot to take in. These...experiences are new to me. I'm not inexperienced, you know, sexually. I've had partners. Just none of the girls I've been with have been into the stuff you're into. Or, if they were, they never let onto it. So it's cool that you're so open about what you want."
"So you're fine with it?"
"The choking thing...I'm...not really fine with. The pain now isn't worth the pleasure. Sorry. Also, now I've got to call in to work tomorrow. I can't go in if I've got bruises around my neck. Too many questions I'm not going to have the answers for,"
"You could always wear a turtleneck."
"Not suspicious. At all. In the middle of summer. On a straight dude."
"Fine. I won't choke ya' anymore...do you mind choking me every once in a while?" she asked.
"Is that...is that what you want?"
"I think it could be kinda' sexy."
"Then, yes, I'll choke you sometimes."
"Yay!"
"Is there anything else you want me to do that I'm not currently doing?"
"I've got some ideas. I'll let ya' know about 'em later. Now it's your turn. Tell me your fantasies, cowboy. It feels like you're doing everything for me and I ain't returning the favor."
"I don't really have any fantasies."
"Oh, bullshit. You're just scared."
"Scared of what? That you'll choke me again? Pull a gun on me? Bring it on, woman." I grinned, she smiled then twisted my nipple.
"Tell me, scaredy cat, or I'll pull it right off!"
"Ow! Ow! Quit it!"
"Ya' like it!" she let go of my nipple, then gave it a soft kiss which quickly turned into a small bite.
"Only a little," I said.
"I'll train ya' yet. Come on, tell me. What do ya' like? What dirty little fantasies are rattling 'round that brain a' yours?"
"I'm serious. I don't really have any." I put a hand on her forehead to prevent her from biting my chest again, "I've just always liked sex. I never felt the need to church it up. I've seen those sites online with the whips and chains and they didn't really do anything for me. I understand that it does something for you. I'm more than happy to let you go wild with your dominant streak. It gets you going and that's what turns me on."
"Really?"
"Really."
"I still don't believe ya'," she said.
"God's honest truth."
"I'll find something you're hiding. It's probably feet. Yeah, something weird like that. Or a schoolgirl obsession."
"Nope, feet are disgusting and the whole schoolgirl thing is creepy. I went to public school so that plaid skirt and white blouse look didn't imprint on me. You'd probably be worried if I expressed interest in pigtails and knee-high socks."
"Nah, you're a good guy. Definitely not a creep. Besides, I know men a lot worse'n ya'."
I didn't push any further into that topic. I was still afraid to broach it. I knew what kind of crowd she ran with. She seemed content to keep it to herself. She didn't let it seep into our world.
Crime wasn't even her main job. I found that out at least. She robbed banks only occasionally. Sometimes she knocked over armored trucks. Once, when she needed pocket change, she told me she robbed a convenience store. Every once in a while someone would hire her as a bodyguard.
For the most part, though, she spent her time and made her legitimate money by operating a ranch outside of town. She boarded horses for people who didn't have the space or were traveling. She told me that if we weren't dating she'd spend more time out there than in the city.
"Well, when ya' do decide to let me in on something you want ta' do then just let me know. As for me I only got one veto."
"What?" I asked.
"Don't ever! Think about! Sticking it in my ass!"
"That's your limit? Why?"
"Because it'll hurt, dummy!"
