just keep swimming

“With an offer like that, how could I refuse?” He’d be an idiot to. A beautiful woman offering to buy his favorite drink, perhaps his day wouldn’t be as shitty as he had originally anticipated. “It must have been quite the gesture if you’re getting drinks for you and your friends for free,” he wanted to pry but also figured that if she wanted to talk about she would. Brandon tilted his head, “I don’t think the word date was used,” he couldn’t help but tease as he chuckled. His eyes lingered on hers for a second, “An innocent thing like you? I think I can handle myself and you for that matter,” he knew that he was asking for it by insinuating otherwise but he wanted to see if there was something else behind that beautiful face that she so claimed, perhaps get under her skin. Brandon chuckled as he turned to look at her, “Brandon. And what do I get to call my seducer for the evening?” he couldn’t help but tease. 

It was a gesture. Izzy shrugged one shoulder, two steps keeping up with each of his long legged strides. “I’m a nurse. I helped save his nephew’s life when he got too fucked up and ended up falling out a third story window. Not that I save lives for the favors but I also don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Her grin turns wicked when he throws the word innocent at her like he can sense how inaccurate a term it is. “Oh honey, that’s a bold statement. I look forward to proving you wrong.” No one could handle her, at least not for long. He teases and it lets Izzy know he’s pretty much dedicated his entire evening to her. Her tongue traces her lower lip as she lets out a thoughtful hum. “Izzy. And if you play your cards right I might still be seducing you in the morning too.”

Billie liked adventure, she wasn’t shy and was a big fan of what was happening. The thrill of the cashier or a random customer walking by and catching them was enough to have her heart racing. Hands slipping under her shirt and Billie was ready for what to come next. Although, it was nice to have the girl ask how much she was willing to lose before just jumping the gun. “All of it, none of it, I don’t care,” she breathed out. Her hands found the other’s hips, pulling their bodies together because she needed this to happen, right here, right now. 

Alfie glanced over to his right when he heard a voice telling him it was a right of passage, which of course only made him scrunch his nose. “This is why I didn’t do a fraternity, or whatever - see, I can’t handle this shit. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Lord, Jesus.” He pretended to clasp his hands together in prayer, and then looked over at her once again while she began to give him advice. “Do I look like the kinda person who grinds?” He joked, and then sucked both lips into his mouth. “I’m Alfie by the way. As you can see, I don’t do well with unwelcomed bodily fluids…”

“So you jumped from the pot into the fire,” Izzy observed, a burst of amused laughter echoing in the back alley amid the sounds of retching that were finally petering off. “Skipped the fraternity but came to the party town of the USA where everyone is getting trashed to the point of leaking multiple body fluids everywhere.” Her gaze flickers up his form, feet to head and she gives a tut. “I’m not a judge a book by its cover person, but that’s disappointing, Alfie. Not the aversion to bodily fluids, I respect that. But you’re gonna hang out at a club and not grind? You’re missing out.”

Elias was more than desperate to get a roommate and if he was being honest, so if Alex couldn’t control his dick for a girl he claimed to love then he didn’t really love her. It was a simple equation. If it was going to be a philosophical question of whether it was the girl’s fault for the temptation or the man for falling for it? Well, he’d leave that to Socrates and society to decided as long as he had his $325 at the end of the month. As she stepped closer to him, he felt his throat go dry. From what corner of hell was this girl dragged from? And how could he there ASAP? Because Elias wanted to get there immediately without hesitation. Her voice was nice and sweet but her words were everything but that. “Lucky for you my bed is currently just a mattress on the floor, but if you’re up for a challenge of breaking that,” he couldn’t help but tease but he was just glad that he could get that out of his mouth because now all he was thinking about was just that. Elias quickly snapped out of it before scratching the back of his neck, “I don’t know if you’re free now? Or we can set a date for Sunday, anytime. Whatever works best for you,” he said. 

She was absolutely going to fuck both him and his roommate. In fact it was now almost a goal. Elias seems like he can handle her, takes in the atrocities she likes to commit and seems genuinely unconcerned with them. Everything she needed in a roommate, and down to fuck if they’re both horny and alone? The perfect opportunity. “Oh I love a challenge,” she answered, flirtatiously dragging her gaze down his form and then back up to his face, her teeth tugging at her lower lip for extra emphasis. “I’m free now,” she insisted, very much impulsive by nature, very suddenly all in when it came to adventures. Her gaze dips back down to the flyer and she lets out a whistle. “325 for rent, that’s a steal. I’m fucking lucky I locked onto this first or someone else would have beat me to the punch.” 

Calum wasn’t bright. That much was never up for debate. Sure he was going to school and doing as well as he could, and grant it his father had been a surgeon… But the kid had grown up in a physically abusive home. He wasn’t being taken to the doctors for check ups, or physicals. He was having them done at home because they were the safest place to get away with the abuse he was suffering from until the day it stopped. And while he still figured this was likely not a part of an actual medical exam, who was he to argue with the woman that was taking a look at his damaged form to make sure nothing serious had occurred in his incident with Scotty’s men. “Uh huh… most definitely..” He said, nodding his head in agreement as he watched her stroking him and instinctively, push his jeans a little more out of the way for her. “That makes sense to me… my.. fuck… girlfriend and I… are pretty active.” He said, trying to keep a clear mind as his hips continued to roll, and his fingers had to grip the bottom of the bed. He licked his lips as he watched the way she was watching him, not used to not using his hands for anything while this was happening. A part of it challenging considering his discomfort with having so much attention focused on him. “F-feels really good..” He confessed, the blush growing on his cheeks as he closed his mind for a moment and tried to let himself picture Callie. Those pretty green eyes, the small smirk she got when she wanted to make him feel good. God it worked for him as a soft moan slipped from his lips again. “C-Callie..shit..” He stuttered as his eyes opened again to the nurse who was still stroking him. “Sshit I’m sorry.. I don’t.. fuck I don’t know your name..” He confessed as pleasure shivered it’s way up his spine. 

He’s very much a boyish creature, and not the type she pursues in any kind of long term format. Really he’s a victim of opportunity, of the thrill of the hunt. She welcomes his mention of his girlfriend, rewarding them with a slight increase in pressure and speed. She wants him to keep talking about her till he can’t, till she’s roped him in and blinded him with pleasure. “I’m going to suggest you mold your activity to sitting positions for the next week,” she answered, the words professional but her tone completely opposing. “Slow and gentle, have her brace herself on your legs and lean back a little instead of gripping your shoulders. That’ll help alleviate any painful tension on your torso.” Her smile grows as she feels him roll into her hand, watching him grip the bed. He moans out a name, Izzy thinks that she hears Khalid...Caleed? It doesn’t exactly sound fitting but then people are naming their kids Apple these days so what the fuck does she know. “I’m nurse Isabel,” she answered warmly. He was delightfully responsive, some men fought their urges the first time, it took longer to get them over the edge. But once they did they would look at her with new eyes, with a hunger for a next time, for an again please. And then you had yourself a full fledged affair, their names popping up in her phone begging to see her, hashing out when their spouses would be gone, what secret places they might meet at. Izzy lets her hand move faster, wants him gasping for air, both for the thrill of it and to genuinely make sure he can take his lungs through the rampant breathing of an orgasm without pain. “There we go, how does that feel? No sharp pain? You can breathe okay?”

Billie was a big fan of adventure and doing things that were probably frowned upon. It was one of the reasons why she loved this town so much. You could do almost anything and no one would stop you. So being pulled by her shorts to the back corner of this convenient store was enough to light a spark in her. “That’s what I like to hear,” she replied, setting the can down on a close by shelf. Hopefully no one took it while they were preoccupied. Billie liked when someone else took the lead on things so the hand on her chin pulling her into a kiss was enough to make a small whimper escape her throat. Her mouth moved against the other’s, deepening the kiss. 

Brandon compulsively laughed at her words, “Well, that’s because they are. At least here in Dayton anyway,” he admitted without shame. A gentlemen didn’t get plastered at strip clubs and have sugar babies, but he wasn’t about to lay that all on the table. “You’ve seem to already have a pretty shitty night though, not trying to make it worse,” he admitted. He was an asshole, but he knew how to behave every once and a while. He chuckled to himself as she reached for his arm and happily he extended it slightly so she could snake right through. He stopped in his tracks as she pointed to their next location. “As you wish,” he said, crossing the street with her in hand before tilting his head. “Well, other than that beautiful whiskey on the rocks I’d be daydreaming about, not necessarily. Although, I’d highly consider leaving whoever at the bar for someone as stunning as you,” he teased. 

“I promise to get you an equally beautiful whiskey on the rocks. As many as you want,” she answered with a grin. “The place we’re going is owned by a friend of mine. I saved his life once so me and my friends drink for free.” The more he talks the more she gets a better read on him. He is a gentleman, just the dirty kinky gentleman type. That’s one of her favorites if she doesn’t have a married playmate available. “Goodness, telling me you’d love another date at the bar to hang out with me is putting a lot of power in my hands. How do you know I won’t use that information to seduce you into all sorts of naughty scenarios?”  She leads him on a dash across the street as they head up the next block, and she can see the slight glimmer of their destination ahead of them. “What do I call my hero for the evening, hmm?”

“Pleasure,” he said with a smile. “Lucky for you, both of those are my speciality,” he mused before letting a chuckle out. Elias wouldn’t mind a woman’s touch in the apartment and she seemed cool enough to with. While her next question kind of caught him off guard because it seemed kind of random, “Yeah, Alex’s seeing someone,” he answered before she went on to explain. His eyebrows furrowed slightly before tilting his head,” Can I be honest? That’s none of my business. If Alex’s seduced to cheating, that’s on him.” he said, honestly. “So, I guess the answer is no, not a deal breaker. Although, if all it takes to get you in my bed is another girl, I’ll get on tinder right now.” he joked, knowing he probably shouldn’t have but he couldn’t help himself. 

A lot of people respond to her that way, especially in Dayton. Everyone likes to pop their collar of sexual freedom and be edgy. Everyone says oh not a big deal, and then eventually it always becomes a big deal. When she fucks with their boyfriend or girlfriend or in one very semi regrettable case, their dad. Homewreckers could be a fun commodity to hang out with until they wrecked your home. But Izzy is still a sucker for opportunity, a girl who can’t change her stripes. “I’m not saying you’d never get me in your bed without it,” she answered, stepping a little closer, her eyes flashing with playful promise. “I’m just saying if you had a girlfriend I’d fuck you so good we break your bed.” Then as casually as if they were talking about the weather or favorite foods, she shrugs one shoulder and asks “When can I see the space?”

Elias did feel a tad bit rude because he hadn’t seen her headphones, but at least she was nice enough to stop. A wide smile appeared on his face as she gave him a glimmer of hope. “Well, I cannot promise that my friends won’t hit on you, but at least I control them a tad bit more than a landlord. That shit is just unprofessional,” he said, shaking his head. Elias pointed at her with a bright smile on his face, “honestly, I’ll take a nurse over an instrument players. I have a tendency to get into fights sometimes when people piss me off and waiting in the ER for six hours isn’t my type of night.” he admitted before smiling. “I’m Elias, no pressure or anything, but ah my numbers down there,” he said pointing at the bottom of the flyer. “The other thing I could convince you on is I will play you Frank Sinatra and I make a mean grilled cheese,” he chuckled. 

He’s now become charming and intriguing enough that she takes her second headphone out too. She lets that friend comment lay, because it’s the smart thing to do. Don’t sabotage yourself right out of the gate, Izzy. Don’t do it. “Elias,” she answers with a smile, offering her hand. “I’m Izzy. I do love me some Sinatra and I can be very easily wooed by anything involve cheese.” He seems nice, and genuine. Maybe too nice to cohabitat with a wreck of a girl like her. She feels like she has to warn him. “Do any of your friends have girlfriends?” she queried with a wicked curve of her lips. “Probably my only flaw as a roommate, but I feel I should be up front about it. I....have a tiny bit of a penchant for messing around with people already in relationships. Is that a deal breaker?” 

From even five feet away, this dude reeked out of alcohol, he couldn’t even imagine how the girl was that close to the drunk. He was honestly surprised that nobody had come to save her sooner, it was so obvious that she was clearly not interested by her body language. Brandon flashed a smile as he tried his best to keep his cool, he was having a shitty day and if the guy wanted a fight, he would give him one. Luckily, he seemed to take a hit as he started to stumble away from them. Brandon was about two feet away from the bar and he had been craving that whiskey, but he also wasn’t about to turn down a beautiful woman, he was stressed, not stupid. “I can fucking see why,” he said, turning to shoot the drunk another dirty look before turning his attention back to the raven-haired girl. “Lead the way,” he said, happy to make suggestions but not wanting to be pushy. She seemed to already have enough of that tonight. He made sure to get ahead to open the door for her before huffing, “I seemed to have only caught the end of that there, but that was rough to watch.” 

“Perfect,” she answered eagerly, already with a new bar in mind as she let her arm loop through his. When he opened the door for her she let out a sound of intrigued shock. “Please don’t tell me you’re an actual red blooded gentleman. In a town like Dayton I expected that specific subspecies of man to be extinct.” Gentleman weren’t usually her favorite, not what she craved on a regular basis but well...tastes were funny. Everyone once in a while you got a hankering for something outside of your usual preferences. And it didn’t hurt that he had shoulders made for grabbing, that he looked like he could lift her up and fuck her against a wall for an hour without breaking a sweat. Her gaze darted to his hand, fuck, no glint of a wedding ring, such a goddamn shame. “We are goinnnnngggg...”she paused for a moment in the night air of the sidewalk to collect her bearings, then pointed sharply to the left. “This way. We make a left here and its just a few blocks. I’m not stealing you from anything am I? No one special you were meeting at that other bar?”

There was definitely a vibe going on here, Billie could feel the sexual tension before the other woman even stepped forward. This trip to 7-11 was going to be way more interesting than she had initially expected. She let her hips be pulled to the other girl before the rest of her body followed. “Not at all,” she replied with a smirk. “I always enjoy a little bit of danger.” Hands are moving to her hips, and Billie’s body was already turning into putty under them. “I think that sounds like a fair trade.” As the words came out, Billie’s arms went to drape loosely over the other’s shoulder. “Maybe we should just get to the main event and save the Bang for after.”

Izzy is problematic, and she knows this. But at least she’s adaptably problematic. If she couldn’t see the glint of a wedding ring or the clear signs of a partnership, she found other ways to chase sexual tension into inappropriate corners. Like in this instant, when she tugs harder on the girl’s belt loops and literally starts to pull her towards the corner. “I am merely a servant to your desires,” she answered with a teasing tone. “Main event it is.” Oh she’s excited. It’s not just the camera in the corner. The cashier will get glimpses of them, the windows at the store’s front won’t exactly hide them either. It makes it all the more intoxicating when she catches the her new friend’s chin and claims that tempting mouth in a kiss.

“Ahhh no no. No no no - nah!” Alfie whined the second someone threw up right beside him outside the club, making him do a little ‘spin of disgust’ before shaking out his hands, and then rubbing his hands over his face. He didn’t do messes now, especially not when they involved bodily fluids. Everything in him now felt like - shit, it felt like his skin was crawling. “This is not the night I envisioned, imma tell you that right now.” He scratched his head, and then tried to step away for some air before pulling out his cell phone, having no idea what he was about to do on it, but he needed a distraction before he threw up himself.

“Listen buddy, it’s like a right of passage.” Izzy was off to the side, leaning against one of the cleaner areas of the wall, close enough to be disgustingly amused by the display but not so close she got a whiff. Sounds she could handle, but the smell of vomit was something she wouldn’t tolerate if she wasn’t getting paid. A drag of her cigarette and her free hand pushing her out of her face. “He’s probably regretting it more than you are, ya know. Just go in, have another drink, grind on the dance floor, and the trauma will completely fade from your memory.”

@bellyjcksn​

Even as a child Izzy had been the kind of person who didn’t do well in big social groups. She didn’t need a posse of friends, just one good one, one person to be her person. As she’d aged it started to feel like it got harder to find anybody she could stand to clash with on more than just a sexual level but god...then she’d met Belly. Humor that was somehow sharp and lazy at the same time, the same kind of wanderlust in her voice that Izzy felt echoing in her own chest. A kindred spirit. Falling in romantic love was a rollercoaster ride Isabel had never had much interest in. But friendship love, oh with Belly she fell hard and fast and never looked back.

They are past the point where they need to text before they show up at each other’s places. Izzy merely knocks at the door with the toe of her boots, her arms busy balancing a large pizza, a brown bag full of tequila and vodka and rum, and a plastic baggy filled with white powder caught in her teeth. Oh they ran together, ran from their problems, ran from their feelings, ran from the empty places inside them. But running with someone else at your side felt a lot less lonely than running all by yourself. When it takes too long for the door to be answered, Izzy carefully releases the bag of drugs to nestle atop the pizza box and knocks her foot against the door louder. “Bitch it’s 4am, I know your ass is awake. This is your make regrettable internet purchases hour. Let me in, I brought you goodies. Because you know Belly, you know the rule. If you start drinking before 5am then it’s not day drinking even when the sun comes up. It’s just continued night drinking.”

Brandon had walked into the bar, ready to get his daily whiskey fix. He had a long day of showing around apartments that he just wanted to relax. However, that was a little hard to do as a few seats over from his regular spot there was a man who was relentlessly trying to pick up the other who clearly was not interested. He huffed out as he made his way to the person sitting at the bar, instead of going to sit at his normal spot. “Hey, babe, you ready to go?” he played along looking at the other. “They’re with me,” he said looking at the man who was standing way too close. “You can go now,” he said, waving his hand before turning to the other. 

Izzy had tried everything to shake this guy. She’d given him a fake number and he’d kept talking. She’d said she had a boyfriend and a girlfriend and he kept going. She’d started talking about fucking vaginal discharge and he was still trying to play with her hair with meaty fingers that smelled like aveeno shea butter lotion. And that was fucking alarming. Izzy wasn’t always good at playing along and understanding subtle cues, but her desperation had her immediately nestling into the man that had come to her rescue. “Hey baby, there you are.” To her relief, the drunken male finally took a fucking hike and Izzy stepped back a little, hand patting her savior’s arm in gratitude. “Shit okay, I owe you a drink. Can we leave this bar though and go somewhere else? The whole atmosphere is fucking tainted now.”