Not Again

Austyn bit her bottom lip before thrusting his tongue into her mouth. Kira tried to push him out with her tongue, but it only spurred him on. Caught between the man’s solid chest and the hard granite countertop, Kira felt both her stomach and the small of her back were starting to hurt. An irrelevant memory flashed through her mind. It was Giana’s birthday. Kira took her out for a meal. They were walking past a row of claw machines when Kira decided to give it a try. She had her eye on a stuffed Pikachu. She inserted a coin, operated the joystick and watched, with bated breath, the claw descend on a yellow Pikachu. Its three iron fingers clamped around the Pokémon’s midsection and started moving up. Kira had silently wished for the claw to clamp down harder. Now she knew how the Pikachu felt. Austyn’s hands were impossibly strong. They were like a 40-cm belt around her 58-cm waist. She wanted to protest. ‘This is domestic abuse!’ But she couldn’t utter a sound. Kira was starting to fee