FIVE #3
underneath me, her hips rising to meet mine. Gy knee throbbed with each movement, a dull ache that pulsed in counterpoint to our rhythm, but I drove forward anyway. GelissaCs chest rose and fell rapidly, her skin 5ushed and glistening in the halfzlight. “er nails raked down my back, ten sharp points of e?Uuisite pain that left burning trails I knew would be painted crimson by the morning.
“AEK OF8HOS !!
4ven though my knee was giving out, I kept pushing. I sat up on my good knee and stretched the other leg out awkwardly across the rumpled sheets, but GelissaCs rhythm faltered. She turned her hips upwards with a frustrated sigh, her xngernails digging halfzmoons into my forearms as she pushed against me, trying to recapture the moment that was slipping away like water between cupped hands.
”0uckJ HainJR
Gy knee gave out with a sickening pop, and I collapsed forward onto her. 9hitezhot pain shot through my entire body, radiating from my knee up my thigh and down into my ankle, feeling almost like the original injury. I groaned and Gelissa smacked my back out of frustration. There was almost no sense to where I was going, but I knew I had rolled to the side oM her.
”9hat the fuckDR
I was on my back looking up at the ceiling and I felt GelissaCs weight shift from beside me. Almost immediately, my knee was beginning to calm down, but what was more concerning now was that Gelissa had seemingly left. There was no concern from her and I rolled to the side.
Gelissa was crouched down beside the bed, the curve of her spine catchz ing the dim light as she rummaged through her bag. “er xngers moved with deliberate purpose, pushing aside unseen items until they closed around something. 9hen she stood and turned toward me, I saw the glint of glass between her xngers. It was something small, and tube shaped, and all too familiar in her hand. I groaned out loud. She said she did it but was Uuitting. This was evidence that she was not, but how did she xt it into her bagD
”Han you please not do that hereDR
”9hat, ICm not doing it in your face am IDR
”Fo, youCre not, but thatCs not the point. YouCve come into my environz
ment and youCre going to taint it. This place is a sanctuary for me.R I kept my tone calm and level. There was no raising of my voice. ust laying down my e?pectations. If we had been in her house, I would have
! G.A. KAEO4, GATT G4G4GAE8
respected her wishes. Yet it was clear to me that the respect was not both ways. Gelissa turned up her nose at me as she turned the bong over in her hand.
”ICm not doing it in your face, why should you careDR
”I donCt think that I need to e?plain why that would upset me, do youDR Gelissa looked at me for a moment with a blank e?pression, her eyes
suddenly 5at and unreadable like polished river stones. It was as if a switch had been 5ipped inside her. 8ne moment she was manic, pupils dilatz ed, cheeks 5ushed pink with desire, hair wild around her shoulders as she laughed against my mouth. The ne?t, her body tensed with purpose, shoulders sUuared, jaw set. She leapt into action with mechanical precision, xngers nimble and decisive, as if she was a secret agent whose dormant programming had just been activated by some invisible command.
”9ho do you think you are, telling me about how upset you areD I wasnCt going to hurt youJR
I paused for a moment, my body suddenly rigid, as the pleasant bu33 from earlier was evaporating like morning dew. Gy eyes narrowed as I studied her face. She still wore that blank mask where playfulness had been just seconds before. The bedroom air felt thicker now, charged with somez thing beyond desire. Gy stomach knotted as realisation dawned. If this was how she reacted over a simple reUuest, then this night was careening oM its tracks, heading somewhere darker than the champagne promises and hungry kisses had led me to believe.
”ICve been hurt in the past before, yes. If youCre looking for something serious, not respecting someoneCs boundaries on the xrst night you sleep together, isnCt a good look.
”9hat and you think I havenCtD ThatCs the only reason why ICm here, Hain. Gy e? was a cunt, the same as you. I thought you were nice and understanding.R
”9ait, are you fucking seriousD I just asked you not to smoke in my house.
“AEK OF8HOS !
Gelissa snorted and turned her back on me as she stuMed her device back into her bag. 9ith another furious grunt, she scooped up her clothes into her other hand. 9ithout another word, she stormed towards the door, not even bothered to having put her clothes on. ”You men are all the fucking sameJ Trying to control meJ I know that this isnCt going to work out. ICm leaving. KonCt worry, ICll see myself outJR
In another 5ash, she was gone, slamming the door shut behind her. I sat back down on the bed defeated. This was a xrst. 9ho the fuck was she to sit me down like that and dictate traqcD ust because I was injured did not mean that I could not perform. It was cra3y to think that one action had led to that reaction. I remained alone in the darkness, and I sighed letting my breath leave the entirety of my chest. Gy thoughts returned to someone that had a kinder touch and someone that I probably should not have left alone at the bar.