A small bang sounded. A little squeak slipped past Kara's lips. Her husband thrust again. Kara's head cracked against the headboard a second time.
"Clark."
His eyes were closed in concentration. His breathing was ragged. Their pelvises met. Kara braced herself. She felt her hair brush the cast iron decorations above her but she avoided a bruise. She squirmed her ass down the bed as he withdrew in a vain effort to gain a few inches.
"Clark."
He grunted and thrust. Bang.
"Clark!"
"What?"
"That hurts."
"It does?"
She rubbed her bruised crown. "Yeah, can you scoot down a little?"
His face took on a ruddy color. He smiled sheepishly. "Oh."
They wiggled down the bed together. Kara remained impaled. They kissed briefly and then Clark resumed his steady slide, bump, slid, bump pace. Kara's ass edged up the bed with every thrust. The arch of her pelvis was beginning to feel a little bruised. The whole experience was, ordinary.
She moaned to cover her yawn.
With her utterance he groaned too. His thrusts became erratic. He impaled her and just kept pushing before withdrawing and impaling her again. His lips were pulled back in an odd little snarl and the arms that could manage hundred pushups without giving out, trembled. Sweat dripped from his brow.
It landed in Kara's eye. She hissed in pain. She squeezed her eyes shut and they both teared up. A few dozen heartbeats passed.
Clark rolled off her.
"Ow, ow, ow, Clark! My leg!"
"Sorry."
"Be careful!"
"Sorry."
She huffed and climbed out of bed to wash off. His gaze tailed her bare ass. Even though their one-year anniversary was next month, pink tinged her cheeks. Clark sighed when she closed the bathroom door. She ignored it.
Clark left to clean up when Kara had returned in her flannel pajamas. She rolled away from him. She pretended to be asleep. Clark settled in, his back turned to her.
Minutes ticked by. Red, liquid crystal numbers burnt into the retina of Kara's watery eyes. At eleven-eleven, Clark began to snore.
Kara fished her tablet out from her bookshelf nightstand. She played Tetris until the unsatisfied ach between her legs went away.
The next morning was gym, shower, Carharts and shirt for him. Gym, shower, white blouse and blue-jeans for her. Three eggs and toast for him. A bagel with strawberry cream-cheese for her. They kissed. He pinched. She squealed. It wasn't real.
Half way through their second cup of coffee, Clark set down his cup. He leaned towards her on his elbows. "Kara, what's your fantasies?"
Kara's coffee was at her lips. She sipped too much and burnt her tongue. "My what?"
"Your fantasies? What do you think of when we have sex?"
"Really? Clark, is this the time to talk about that?"
"Yes."
She reached over and grabbed his plate. She got up, opened the dishwasher and began to clear the table. Her dark ponytail whipped about her about her with the jerky hast of her motions. "Clark, you got t' go to work."
"Kara, sit down. We need to talk about this."
She ignored his request.
"Kara, please, sit."
She sat. She picked up her cup and hid behind it. "I don't know. I don't really have any fantasies. What are yours?"
"Right now? That would have to be for you to enjoy sex with me."
"I do."
"You do what?"
"Enjoy sex. With you. We had sex like three times last week and once already this week."
"No you don't. You just endure it."
She mumbled into her cup. "Well it is kind o' the same
every
time."
Clark leaned back and crossed his arms. His lips twitched as though he were suppressing a grin. "It wouldn't have to be the same
every
time if you'd just tell me your fantasies."
Kara's cup banged down onto the table harder than she'd intended. Coffee sloshed over the rim. "It would be nice if I could just let go and enjoy it. But how can I?
"I'm always wondering if this is the time I'm going to get pregnant and how we are going to pay for that when we can't afford our mortgage? Or what my mom is doing with that new boyfriend of hers or how dad is just doing. To top it off, I always end up bruised somewhere." She rubbed the crown of her head.
Clark leaned forward and put his palm over her trembling hand. She scrubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse.
"Kara, it's okay. Don't cry, baby. I - I wasn't trying to upset you I just β I β Kara, this is hard for me too."
She sniffed.
"How?" There was a note of derision in her voice.
"I'm sorry. We can talk about this later, if you like."
"I want, I want, I want to have no choice."
Clark drew back. "You mean like rape?"
"No!
Not like rape.
I mean like, like I have no choice but to enjoy it. Like we are the only people in the world. Like there is nothing. Nothing but you and me. Nothing but you loving me. Even when I want it, something interrupts."
"I see."
"
No, you don't see.
How could you? You always
come.
"
Clark chuckled. "That's because you are
so
hot."
Kara shot to her feet. Her chair toppled. Clark caught her hand to prevent her from leaving. She scowled at him.
"Let go!"
"No."
"You're going to be late."
"I've got ten minutes."
Her small breasts heaved. Her breath hissed past her jutting lip and fluttered her bangs. She righted her chair and sat back down.