What Popp is trying hard not to think about, and failing, is an old conversation about women, and how of course he'd want to get with a sexy babe who did whatever he said. Apparently, in order to get a woman to obey your every whim, you have to be kind of...

"Yeah, but, Rosie, the way you felt about him..."

He closes his eyes and says the next part all in one breath, because he never talks about this stuff. It makes him feel weak and small to admit that it bothers him, and he probably would've let it slip away if he hadn't just had that very specific burst of self-loathing.

"It was kinda like the way I'd feel around my dad right before he'd haul off and hit me."