She's an Interesting Girl

I was warming up for my Sunday afternoon dart league when a whirling dervish swept through the room. She was barely five feet tall, had a pink pixie haircut, piercings everywhere, and the cutest damn eyes I'd ever seen. She had a tattoo of Scooby-Doo on her ankle.

The football game was on, so there was no music playing, yet she danced all over the place. I finally noticed she had ear buds in and shook my head.

I continued practicing until she walked up to me. "Who are you, new guy?"

"Cal," I answered and extended my hand.

She looked me up and down and said, "Right. Like in Naughton Jr. Shake and Bake, Ricky Bobby."

"Wow! I never heard that one before," I smiled.

She cocked her head to the right and raised a pierced eyebrow taking me in. Then she smiled and said, "That was sarcasm, Sheldon," and bounced away.

I watched her leave me and she looked like she had the body of a freshman boy, but those eyes were something else entirely.

"Hey, Cal!" my boss Steve shouted as he walked in the bar.

"What's up, boss?" I asked as I shook his hand. "I have a pitcher of Lite, if you want to share."

"I'm a Bud man, but thanks," Steve answered. "No one else here yet?"

I shook my head. "Just me. I guess the other two could be at the bar. I don't know who else is on the team."

I was a replacement for Steve's old fourth player. From the little I was told; he was a biker wanna-be tough guy that got sent to jail for his third or fourth DUI. I was new to the area and Steve thought I'd be perfect to join his team. 'Make new friends in a new place,' he said when he asked. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

"That's right, you don't know anyone," he said and looked around.

The bar and slot machines were on the left side of the room with a wall separating it from the right side. On the right were pool tables, dining tables, and dart boards. If you were at the dart boards or pool tables, you couldn't see the people sitting at the bar or slots.

"Come on, Cal. Let's get a shot and see who's at the bar."

We walked over to the bar and the bartender shook Steve's hand. "What's up, Steve? Shot of Jameson and a Bud Light?"

"Yeah, Jimmy, thanks. This is Cal. He's new around here and joined my team this season. What's your shot, Cal?"

"I'll take a Jamo too, nice to meet you."

"Coming up," Jimmy said and spun away with a flamboyant flourish.

"Damn! I was hoping she didn't show," Steve groaned.

I looked where he was looking and saw the pixie who was dancing around the bar earlier.

"Pink hair?" I asked as Jimmy set our shots down.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Jimmy, better get a Malort too. She can sense it when we do shots."

Jimmy laughed and shook his head.

Steve looked at me and said, "Her name's Ro. It's actually Rowan, but do not tell her I told you that. She gets really pissy about it."

"Okay," I shrugged.

"She's the fourth player on our team. We only need three to play, but we need four on the roster in case someone doesn't show up. She always shows up."

"Is she any good?" I asked as I watched Ro talk to a girl at the other end of the bar. Just then, her eyes shot up and she looked at us. Damn! If she wasn't so strange, she'd be cute. I shouldn't call her strange, people are who they are, but she was on another planet.

Her eyes lit up and she danced her way over to where we stood.

"Hey, Daddy!" she purred to Steve. "Did you get me one?"

"Of course," he said and rolled his eyes.

"Here you go, Ro," Jimmy smirked as he set her shot down.

"I can't believe you're drinking that on purpose," I said.

Malort was disgusting. Since I was new to the Chicago area, one of the guys from work bought me one the first time I went out with them. I guess it's some joke they play on non-Chicago people because everyone laughed when I almost puked it up. It tasted like someone vomited lighter fluid and bottled it.

Ro smiled, "I love it!"

We threw the shots back and Steve said, "Ro, this is..."

"Cal Naughton Jr. We already met," she chirped.

I answered, "Well, I never did get your name."

"Now, you know," she giggled.

"Cal's on the team this year. He's replacing Andy."

She frowned and said, "I'd rather you didn't mention his name."

"Okay, sorry," Steve said.

"How about if we throw a bit?" I asked trying to change the obviously bad subject.

"You any good?" she asked as we walked to the board area.

"I can hold my own," I grinned.

She walked over to my table and picked up my darts. I hated that. If she had lotion or something on her hands, she'd get them greasy. "What kind of darts are these?" she asked.

"They are prototype CBs," I said as I took them from her.

"CBs?" she queried. "I know someone who throws CB2s."

"I think these are gonna be the CB3s," I said, then threw all three darts in the bullseye.

When I got back from retrieving my darts, she gasped, "You're Cal Bridges?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Holy shit!" she shrieked.

"What's with her?" Steve asked as she danced around the area.

I shrugged my shoulders.

She ran up to Steve and high-fived him. "We're gonna win this season!" she shouted.

Steve smiled, "You told her who you were, huh?"

"Nah, she figured it out. It wasn't gonna be a secret when my name showed on the board anyway."

We laughed and toasted our glasses.

*****

At that time, I was one of the best dart players in the country. I had just qualified to play in an event that would give me a chance to play in England. The pro tour in Europe was where the best in the world played. The World Championship was played in London, and you had to qualify for it. On a whole, Americans weren't even close to the best players on the pro tour. There were a few of us that could get close, but we just weren't there yet.

I worked for a bank in compliance. I'd been trying to get into our suburban Chicago office for a while since it was closer to a lot of the tournaments I played. By living in Chicago, I could cut travel expenses by driving to most tournaments instead of having to fly across the country from Los Angeles where I was born and raised.

Steve was the newly promoted office manager, and when I did my interview with him, he was more interested in my dart career than my compliance career. Long story short, he approved the transfer and I moved to the suburbs of Chicago. He jokingly said playing on his dart team was a requirement of the position. At least I thought he was joking.

Our last player, Joe, showed up and I immediately disliked him. He was shorter than my six-four, wore his hair and beard long, and his clothes looked dirty. He walked up and, without acknowledging anyone, smacked Ro hard on her ass. I saw her face wince and frown, then she smiled and spun around to give Joe a hug. There was no way she wanted that guy to do that, yet she put on a show and acted like she liked it. I didn't understand it.

Steve said, "Joe, this is Cal. He's our ringer."

Joe looked me up and down as I shook his hand. "Looks like a candy ass to me."

I was floored. Who the hell did that guy think he was? I wore jeans and a darts jersey, so it wasn't like I was inappropriately dressed. I knew I'd never get along with him.

"Settle down, Joe. That candy ass is the best dart player in the country," Steve countered.

I let go of his hand and said, "If you want to see how much of a candy ass I am, we can talk outside, poser." He didn't like that and stepped towards me. I looked down at him and said, "Seriously, dude? Are you twelve or something? You're not gonna get in my head."

He snorted and said, "You'd better be as good as Steve says you are. You're replacing my best friend."

I shook my head and went back to practicing. Ro looked at me as if I were Zeus in the flesh, while Steve walked up and said, "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what got up his ass, but he's not a bad guy."

"Clearly," I said and went back to practicing.

A short while later, we were halfway through our match. While Joe and Steve were playing together, I was sitting alone at my table.

"Hey, wanna do a shot?" Ro asked with a bright smile.

"Sounds good," I answered and watched her scamper off to the bar.

"Malort and a Jameson," she said to Jimmy, "on him."

Jimmy looked at me for approval and I nodded. I had a feeling she didn't buy many drinks.

"To victory," she said as she raised her glass. I nodded and threw back the shot. "You're kind of a quiet guy aren't you?"

"Not really," I said and sat at the bar. "I suppose I'm not a life of the party type of guy, but I'm not quiet when you get to know me."

"Do you want me to get to know you?" she purred and touched my upper thigh.

I smiled and lifted her hand off my leg and kissed the back of her hand. "Sweetie, I'm not your type."

I walked back to my table and saw it was my turn to throw a game. It was a singles game, and I was playing against a guy I didn't recognize.

"He's good, Cal. Not your level, but good," Steve warned.

"Okay," I said as I started the game.

It was a remote league played on electronic boards, and the other team was in Kansas City. We start at 501 and try to get to zero first. Since it was a league match, we didn't have to hit a double out, so it was fairly easy for me. Even if it were double out, the match would have gone my way.

When I started with three bullseyes, Ro cheered. I shook my head as it wasn't that difficult of a shot and certainly not hard for me. My next two turns were also three bullseyes which left me 51 to take out.

I looked at the board, saw my opponent's score was at 320, and threw the triple 17 to take out the game. It wasn't a perfect game, but I won in the minimum darts and Ro was excited. Joe fist bumped me, which shocked me, and Steve patted my back.

Ro danced around and said, "He's so good, I might get to play!"

Joe grunted and Steve said, "You know what? You got it. Take my spot in the doubles with Cal."

He set up the change on the board and Ro danced as she threw some warmup darts. "I can't believe I'm gonna play. They never let me play."

I looked at the board and saw her last name was Atkinson. I laughed to myself and decided I had the perfect nickname for her. "Then why are you here?" I asked. "Surely, you can find a team that lets you play."

"I was kind of seeing Andy," she frowned. "I was here anyway, so they just put me on the team to fill the spot."

"Okay," I shrugged. "Looks like I start."

Our game was cricket, where you have to close the 15s through 20s and bullseyes. I threw triple 20, triple 19, triple 18 and pulled my darts. Ro shrieked and hugged me, "This is gonna be so much fun!"

I swear I could hear her piercings jiggle as she threw her darts. She didn't hit anything and got mad at herself.

"What are you so upset about?" I asked. "Do you normally throw like me?"

"No, I'm nowhere near as good as you," she sighed.

"Then why are you frustrated? Just have some fun. You're finally getting to play, remember?"

She smiled and nodded.

It was my turn again and the other team took a point lead, so I threw two triple 20s and a triple 17.

"Nice darts, Mr. Perfect," Joe groaned. Steve was ecstatic. I didn't throw triples or bullseyes every time, but I was on fire and enjoying it.

Ro almost broke our ear drums when she hit a triple 16 on her next turn. She ran back and jumped into my arms. I laughed and asked, "First time?"

She slid down and said, "I'm no virgin, Daddy."

The other team didn't hit anything good, so I took the game out by hitting a triple 15 with my first dart, and three bullseyes with my last two. Ro ran up and jumped on me again.

I laughed and said, "Easy, girl. We're gonna win a lot. Save it up."

She slid down and hit my chest. "I've never won before, jerk."

I fist bumped her and said, "I knew you were a virgin."

She smirked and said, "Take me home and find out," then spun away and started dancing again.

She was a flirty one, that's for sure, and I was single, so I had no issue playing her games. She got to play once more, in my place, in the last game when I told Steve quietly, to play her with Joe. I knew it would upset him, and I was fine with that. He was an ass and deserved some passive aggressive grief.

*****

After we were done, I sipped a Diet Coke while watching the end of the afternoon football games on TV. Ro was still there and hadn't stopped drinking. Steve had left, and Joe was playing the slots. I saw that Ro avoided Joe as much as she could.

After some of the other bar regulars left, she sidled over and sat beside me. "Hey, Cal. Wanna do another shot?" she slurred.

"Nope. I'm done for the day, and you probably should be too. How are you getting home?"

"I don't live that far. I walked here."

I looked outside and saw it was snowing.

"It's snowing," I said. "I'll give you a ride. Let me settle my tab." I hit the auto start button on my fob and signaled Jimmy to settle me up.

"Ooh," she moaned. "Are you going to test my virginity, Daddy?"

I shook my head as I signed the receipt. "What's with the daddy crap?"

She smiled, "I like to have my man take control. I like to be their little girl."

"So, you go around and call any guy you meet, Daddy? Seems like you should be pickier if you're into that lifestyle."

She looked down and said, "It's just how I am."

I lifted her chin with my finger and said, "My car should be warm now. Let's get out of here."

She agreed and followed me. I noticed she didn't have a winter coat, just the hoodie she was already wearing. I wondered what her story was.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "You have an Audi?"

"Yep," I said as I opened the door for her. She checked out every bit of the interior of the car. I turned on the seat warmer and I thought she was going to melt she relaxed so deeply into the seat.

I decided to stop for dinner. I didn't bother to ask her. She didn't seem to be in a hurry to get home anyway.

"Where are we going?" she asked when I pulled into the strip mall. I parked in front of a Sushi restaurant I liked.

"I'm hungry and figured we'd get some dinner on the way home. Are you in a hurry?"

She shook her head, "How do you know if I like Sushi?"

I smiled, "I figured you never had it. That and if you didn't like it, this place has some beef and chicken dishes."

"Why would you assume I never had it?"

I laughed, "You look like you're sixteen. I took a chance and assumed you're barely 21 and haven't left your comfort zone to try new things yet. I bet if I asked what you want for dinner, you'd pick Mexican or Italian."

She frowned but nodded her agreement.

"See. Plus, I bet you think food like Sushi, or Thai, or Pho are too trendy for an individualist like yourself."

I saw a look of anger flare over her eyes, but she fought it back. I knew she would hate my stereotyping her. She was the type that hated stereotypes and obviously from her appearance, fought against conforming to societal norms.

"It looks fancy. Are you sure you want to be seen with me here?" she asked quietly.

I answered by opening my door and walking around to open hers. I took her hand to help her out and walked to the restaurant with my arm wrapped around her.

"Ah! Mister Cal," John the owner said from behind the counter. "Your usual table is open." He walked us over to a table beside a fish tank with many beautiful fish. I liked to watch the fish swim, it calmed me after a rough day.

I noticed his frown when he looked at Ro. It irritated me and the next time I came in, I would let him know that. I didn't want to embarrass Ro any more than she already seemed.

"I don't know what to order," she admitted. "How do you know what to order?"

"See that piece of paper there?"

She picked it up and read it over.

"You write how many you want of each in the left column. As to what's good and what's not? That's up to your taste, so only you know what you'll like. Are you willing to have raw fish?"

"I guess. I suppose I'll try anything once. It won't kill me right?"

I smiled. "I tell you what. I'll order a bunch of different things so you can try whatever you want and if you like it, great. If you don't, that's fine too. Remember what you had and the next time you can order what you liked and try some new things. After a while, you'll be an expert."

She agreed and picked up the chopsticks. "Do I have to use these?"

"Yep. I'll show you how."

She frowned but I spent a few minutes working with her. I did the same thing one of my friends did with me, years before. I had her grab sugar packets out of my hand to practice picking things up. Surprisingly, she got the hang of it rather quickly, and laughed and giggled the entire time.

"May I ask you a personal question?" I asked.

"Sure," she said as she sipped her Coke.

"Andy and Joe were abusive to you, weren't they?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Everyone is abusive to me. I like it."

"There's a difference between being abused and liking rough sex," I countered. "I think you may have gotten caught up in something that was out of your understanding."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you calling everyone daddy is amateurish. Your daddy should love you and cherish you. They should nurture you and protect you. They don't abuse you physically or verbally. If you desire to be someone's sub and need humiliation or pain, you need to be with someone safe and be treated properly. Picking up those random assholes in a bar is dangerous."

"And how do you know so much?" she grunted.

"Let's just say I'm familiar with the concepts and leave it at that."

She eyed me warily and the waiter brought our plates of food.

"Holy cow!" she shrieked. "Look at all that food."

I laughed, "I told you you'd get to try lots of different things."

We stayed away from any more personal talk as I walked her through what each of the plates had. She surprised me as she enjoyed them all and said she'd order any of them again.

*****

"Do you think I have too many piercings?" she asked as we walked to the car. "You don't seem to be embarrassed by my appearance, but you seem too clean cut to want to be seen with me."

"Look, Ro. Why does it matter what I think? You wanted your nose pierced for a reason and you did it. You wanted your lip pierced, so you did it. Same goes for your ears, your eyebrows, and whatever other part of your body is pierced."

"I like you."

I sighed as I opened the car door for her. When I sat behind the wheel, I said, "If I asked you to go back to your natural hair color and remove all of your body piercings, would you?"

"I don't know. I've always been a freak."

"Ro, would you want to be with someone that asked you to change who you are?"

She shook her head.

"Have you ever spoken to a BDSM mentor? Someone who knows how to be safe in that lifestyle to guide you."

She shook her head again.

"You can be hurt badly by the wrong people. You have to have a deep level of trust with your partner, no matter if you're the sub, the dom, or any other segment of the lifestyle."

She got angry and shouted, "I'm not stupid, Cal. I'm careful."

I shook my head. "I don't think you're careful enough. I think you dip your foot into a pool that you're curious about swimming in, but aren't ready to dive in. I don't think you're stupid, I think you're naïve and aren't watching where you're going."

I pulled up in front of her apartment and she said, "Thank you for dinner and the ride. I'll see you next week."

"I enjoyed it, too. See you Sunday."

I worried about her. I was no clinical expert, but she had what appeared to me to be self-esteem issues and had no idea how dangerous that was with those assholes she was hooking up with and letting them degrade her. It was obvious to me that she didn't like to be spanked in public, at least by Joe, and that means she had no discussions with him on boundaries. I thought her idea of boundaries was probably only a safe word. Calling every guy 'daddy' meant she didn't know what it truly meant and was just something she heard in a porn scene and turned her on.