Shards of mid-morning sunlight crept across the polished oak floor of Mark's fourth floor Manhattan loft. They inched up the side of his platform bed, gliding slowly across his face. He greeted the warmth with squinting eyes and a satisfied smile. He reached out with his right arm and stroked Kelli's back.
"You awake, babes?" he asked softly.
"Uh huh," she replied, her voice muffled by the down comforter in which she snuggled.
Mark had met Kelli seven months earlier at the opening of an off-Broadway play he'd co-written. The chemistry between them was instant and electric, seemingly energized by some mystical powers of fate. They made love the same night his play opened.
Mark was six-foot two and one-hundred eighty-five pounds. He enjoyed rollerblading through Central Park and playing tennis to keep fit. Kelli was an investment banker and loved theater, running and gourmet cooking. Her five-foot nine, athletic figure often brought her offers to model, though she only occasionally took one. She worried that too much modeling would compromise her hard-earned MBA. Their friends all agreed they were the perfect New York couple.
In the beginning, they consumed one another with passion and sex. They kissed with a fury, their teeth often clicking together while their tongues intertwined. Although their lovemaking wasn't kinky, it always included varied positions. Many times, they would collapse in sweet exhaustion only after the sun had risen. Their sex was 'ask and you shall receive,' kind of sex, and they both reveled in it. But Mark had detected a subtle change in Kelli's desire in recent weeks.
"You want some breakfast?" he asked.
"Umm...In a bit."
Mark rolled over next to her, slid his hand beneath the comforter and cupped her breast.
"Then shall I find a way to please you?"
She cradled his hand with hers and said, "No, I'm okay. But if you want to..." her voice trailing off in an unfinished thought.
Kelli's disinterest in morning sex troubled him. He sat up, leaned back against the headboard and asked, "Are we okay, here?"
Kelli tilted her head toward him. She scrunched her face in a weak smile.
"You mean...like between us?"
"Well, yes. I'm feeling a little threatened when you turn down morning sex."
Kelli rolled over, leaned against Mark and kissed his chest.
"Oh god, Mark, you don't have to feel threatened," she said. "I love you more than ever. I love having sex with you. It's...well, it's just that lately -- oh hell, I don't even know how to explain it to you."
"Come on, no secrets, remember?"
"You'll think I'm silly."
"If you don't want sex with me in the morning, silly is the last thing I'm thinking. Come on, tell me."
Kelli forced another smile and said, "Okay, you know I love you more than anything, right?"
"Yes. I think we've established that."
"Well, it's just that -- oh shit, this is going to sound bad. Let's just forget about..."
Mark cut her off in mid-sentence. "Kelli, please."
"Well...sometimes I -- uh, think our sex has gotten, well, a little predictable."
Mark puffed his chest, crossed his arms and stared at her in momentary silence.
"Predictable? Are you saying sex with me is...boring?" he asked
"Noooo, of course not. Goddamn it, I knew this wouldn't go well."
Slightly offended, Mark was enjoying watching Kelli squirm her way out of the corner she'd painted herself in.
"So what are you saying, then?" he persisted.
Kelli pulled her knees up, wrapped the comforter around her nakedness and curled up like a moth inside a cocoon.
"I mean, when we make love...it's kind of the same routine lately," she said. "I go down on you, you go down on me, and then we fuck. It's...it's still delicious - but not the same as it was. Don't you feel like...like we lost some of the magic along the way?"
Mark pondered the question for a few moments. Although he'd always enjoyed making love with Kelli, she had a point.
"Let's assume, for the sake of this conversation, that you're right," he asked. "How do you suggest we change things up, short of flying off to Antigua that is?"
Kelli was grinning. Mark couldn't stay mad at her for very long and he knew she understood that.
"I don't know, babes...but you're the creative one here," she teased. "Can't you come up with something?"
Mark returned her smile, kissed her lips and said, "Okay, fair enough. But you can't say no...to anything. Deal?"
"Deal."
While they hadn't moved in together, Mark and Kelli slept together three or four nights a week. Only their varied schedules kept them from enjoying one another nightly. It had been several days since Kelli's 'confession.' Mark heard the door to his loft open.
"Kelli?" he shouted.
"Hi, hon. What are you doing?"
"Making dinner. Come into the kitchen and help me drink some wine."
Kelli walked through the loft, dropping her coat and purse on the sofa, and then kicking off her shoes. Mark was standing at the stove, babysitting a bubbling pot of spaghetti sauce. She walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and peered over his shoulder.
"Umm! That smells good," she said.
He kissed her and smiled.
"I thought a nice, big plate of pasta would get you carbed up for your morning run."
"That'll work. Now where's the wine that needs my help?"
Kelli sat at the large dining table, sipping Chianti from a tall, fluted wine glass. Mark carried two heaping plates of pasta to the table, setting one in front of her.
"There you go," he said proudly. "That sauce is a secret recipe that's been handed down through four generations of my family."
The smirk on his face instantly brought his credibility into question.
"Four generations?" Kelli quizzed.
"Okay, I got it from my Mom...but I'm sure someone else in my family invented it."
They both laughed.
Mark knew the wine and homemade dinner would relax Kelli.
"I've been thinking about what you said the other morning," he said.
"You-you mean that thing about our...sex life?" she asked. "Look, I don't know why I even brought that up. I-I'm sorry I said..."
Mark shook his forefinger from side to side.
"Ah, ah, ah! I happen to think you're right."
"You do?"
Mark left the table and walked to his computer desk, saying, "I've done some research on sex therapy and it's not uncommon for sex to become a little stale between otherwise happy partners. But I think I've found a remedy for our problem."
"Mark, honey, we don't have problem. I was just, you know...kind of thinking out loud, that's all."
He picked up a file folder and returned to the table.
"Pornography!" he exclaimed. "That's what some sex experts recommend to restore the spark."
"You mean you want me to watch pornography with you?" Kelli asked. "I don't know, Mark. That's a little weird. I-I don't know if I can get into watching porn with you."
"Oh no! We're not going to watch it," Mark laughed. "We're going to star in it!"
Mark watched Kelli's face grow suddenly serious while she tried to grasp his meaning. He handed the folder to her.
"What's this?" she asked.
"I guess you could call it a screenplay. Read it."
Mark studied her face with anxious delight as she read his script. Her eyebrows arched and relaxed repeatedly. She would smile, then emit a soft gasp or cover her mouth with her hand and giggle.
"Oh my god, Mark. Do you really expect me to go along with this?"
"You did asked me to get creative...and besides you agreed that 'no' was not an option."
"But what about these props? Sexy costumes, vibrators? And...and flavored body oils? I don't have any of that stuff."
"Don't you worry your little head about it, my dear. Come with me."
Mark took Kelli's hand and led her across the loft and into the bedroom.
"Oh... My...God!" she muttered.
Three tripod-mounted video cameras, with lights, were stationed along the sides and foot of the bed. Devoid of any top covers, the white, silk sheets and pillowcases were covered with bright, red rose petals. On the corner of the bed sat a gloss black, open-topped gift bag. Mark handed it to Kelli and said, "This is for you. Well, actually, it's for both of us."
Kelli sat on the edge of the bed and began sorting through the bag's contents. She pulled out a bundle of red tissue paper, placed it on the bed and unfolded the multiple layers. Inside was a baby blue teddy. Holding it between her thumbs and forefingers, she lifted it in front of her and said, "Mark, it's beautiful."
"It has a matching thong," he was quick to add.
"Hmmm...what else is in here?" she asked, fishing through the bag again.
Next, she held up a shiny, chrome tube. It was nearly seven inches long with a bullet-shaped tip and about two inches around.
"Talk about feeling threatened," she said.
"Twist the knob on the bottom."
The tube sprang to life, emitting a whirring noise and a high-speed vibration. Kelli rubbed it along her forearm.