"You know, the scene where Clark Gable carries Vivian Leigh up the stairs."
They were at dinner, discussing everything from work to politics. Now it was movies. The conversation had just taken an interesting turn.
"I'm not sure which one you mean."
"You know," she said. "If you've seen the movie, you know. Rhett carries Scarlett up the stairs after they've quarreled. Rhett had gotten drunk earlier. He threatens her, then he carries her up the stairs. The next time you see Scarlett she's waking up, stretching, with a smile on her face."
"I remember now," he said. "Wasn't that more like rape?"
"Can't rape the willing."
"She didn't seem willing. If I remember correctly, she was fighting him all the way up the stairs."
"Yes, but she ends up enjoying it."
"But he couldn't have known she would enjoy it. In his mind it was a rape."
"It wasn't rape," she exclaimed, exasperated. "Like most men, you just don't get it."
He could see she was getting frustrated with his arguments. They had been dating for about a month. They'd had sex on the second date, and every date since. She always wanted to, she was even a little demanding about it sometimes. It was never that satisfying to him, though. She seemed to enjoy it, and she had orgasms, but she always seemed a little irritated somehow, even when she came. Maybe he was just being insecure. He was, after all, trying to please her.
"Are you saying you would like a man to force himself on you like that?"
"I think every woman has those kind of fantasies."
"That's unresponsive. I asked if you would like it."
"I'd like it if Clark Gable carried me up the stairs."
"What do you think he'd do to you after he got you up there?"
"That's the point. He'd do whatever he wanted to do."
"What if he did something you didn't like"
"Like what?"
"Like, for instance, anal sex?"
"Why do you have to go there?" she asked. "Why would he necessarily want that?"
They had discussed anal sex. She declared it to be disgusting. He had once lightly run his finger across her anus while they were making love, but she had flinched and he quickly withdrew his hand.
"He wouldn't, necessarily. But if he were forcing himself on you, with only his desires in mind, he might choose to do that.
"I don't think Clark Gable would."
"Look," he interrupted, "What I guess I'm really asking is if you would want a real person, a man you know, if you would want him to do that."
"Slow down, cowboy. I'm talking about a fantasy. Besides," she said. "You're not the type."