She knew it.
Dave was the perfect man. Her sister was so lucky. He brought them pizza every Friday. He’d have to drive all the way out of town seeing as Repo Ridge had zero Italian food. The order was always the same: cheese with black olives. That was Dave’s favorite, so it became Jane’s favorite too. They would spend most of the weekend together, Dave, Ellie and Jane—sometimes Robb would join them—Dave’s best friend. He was always ‘high on drugs’ as her sister put it, and never spoke to Jane.
They would play Nintendo for hours or listen to Nirvana CDs on repeat—seeing as Ellie and Dave were both 21, Jane was getting quite the education from them—not that her parents cared or even bothered to come home unless they needed money. On nights that Ellie worked, Dave offered to babysit Jane. The neighborhood wasn’t the greatest and he told her sister he thought she’d feel more comfortable not having to leave ‘the baby’ alone. In Ellie’s opinion, this made Dave one of the good guys, the best. And anyone who her sister thought was worthy, Jane also worshiped.
Ellie worked most of the evening shifts at the local bar, so sometimes Dave would sleep over. Jane always liked that best. She preferred it when it was just the two of them, when she didn’t have to share his affection with her sister. She was jealous sometimes when she watched them kiss—she wanted to be kissed, too. When she mentioned this to Dave, he took her request to heart and taught her how, just like he did to Ellie.
They also played strange games where Jane would lay down on the couch in just her underwear and Dave would stick strawberries in between each of her toes. He would cover them with whip cream and eat them off, extending his mouth to fit around her toes, one at a time. He would maintain eye contact with her throughout as she giggled at the feeling of his warm wet tongue tickling her feet.
He would bathe her too and afterwards wrap her in a soft towel, put her on his lap and braid her hair before bed. Jane loved this, the feeling of his fingers combing her long tresses—it made her sleepy and relaxed. He would always kiss her goodnight, but never stayed when she asked him to lay down with her until she could fall asleep. She never complained. The last thing she wanted him to do was leave—to reject her.
Dave always encouraged Jane to take off her clothes and dance around naked when they were alone. He would sit, with his legs spread wide, on the dilapidated couch and watch her. After a while he would pat his lap and she would fall on top of him with hugs and kisses. He would wrap his arms around her—his hands sliding over her skin making her feel a tingly sort of pleasure. He never hurt her when he touched her. Jane never felt any pain. Instead when he teased her most sensitive parts it awoke feelings in her for someone much too young to comprehend.
One time, he caught her stealing Ellie’s coveted butterfly clips—she knew she was going to be in trouble with her sister if she found out. She begged Dave not to tell her. He promised her he wouldn’t, as long as she did something for him in return.
He wanted to play a game.
Jane stripped bare, jumped on his lap and began to ride him like a cowgirl. That was what he wanted. She could feel his large rough hands lightly slapping against her bottom, encouraging her to go faster. He was telling her the bad guys were going to get away if she didn’t pick up the pace. She was a cowgirl, she had to catch them and Dave would help her get there, as her trusty steed. The friction of her naked skin against his sweatpants made Jane squeal with delight. She never played a game like this...she could feel the butterfly wings clapping in succession against one another—the sparkling light from the glitter kept catching her eyes as an explosive feeling took over her. She gasped at the new sensation, not sure if something was wrong, but how could it be when this felt so good? Dave squeezed her against them, the wings of the butterflies slowly coming to a stop as she rested on his chest, panting. When he pulled back from her, he was smiling with the most satisfied look on his face.
“You got them, Janey, you got the bad guys,” he whispered, his hands tangling in her hair as he pulled out the clips one by one, “Now go put these back before your sister gets home and we might have time for one more game.”