Chapter 7

                                    

                                          
He felt a cold draught on his back. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, the sheets rumpled around her as she stared at the thin curtains. He wiped his hand over his face, waking himself as he sat up and leaned against his headboard.
                          
"I didn't mean to wake you up." Her voice was a whisper in the still night. "I needed to pee." 
                          
"It's cool." He unlocked his phone, surprised to see it wasn't even past midnight. "Are you okay?" 
                          
She nodded yet her knee continued to bounce against the mattress. "I can't even afford to call an Uber." 
                          
"I'll take you home in the morning." 
                          
The weight of their actions had begun to settle on them. They were to old for illusions and pretence. They wouldn't be snuggling against each other till the morning nor would there be any lingering touches and warm smiles. 
                          
It was just sex.
                          
There were no feelings involved. It was just a release they both craved and once they had gotten it, she had gotten up to use the bathroom and wash herself off. 
                          
He slapped his hand over his forehead. He'd need to wash his sheets... Fuck.
                          
A loud growl proceeded by rhythmic thuds against the door interrupted them. "I need to feed Storm." Is'haaq stood up, escaping the tense atmosphere. He filled the bowls with wet food and biscuits, petting Storm's head as he walked back to the room. She made a marvellous contrast against the darkness. 
                          
The light of the passage illuminated her back and her hair, while the rest of her remained obscured. "What are you thinking?" 
                          
She turned to look at him, shifting closer to the edge as he got into the bed. "It's been a while since I've done this."
                          
"Me too." 
                          
"Was your wife..."
                          
Is'haaq shook his head. "I met a few girls when I came back. What about you?" 
                          
"Ya. My husband was the last. But-" she cut herself off, turning her back on him once more.
                          
"But what?" He settled back down, tracing the curve of her spine with his eyes.
                          
"We were having problems for a while. We hadn't had sex in months." Her words tumbled out all at once, as if begging to be let loose.
                          
"What problems?" he prodded
                          
"He knew I didn't love him." 
                          
"Was it true?" 
                          
She turned back to face him, shifting her whole body to sit cross-legged against her pillow, "I guess so. I liked him but I didn't really..." she shrugged, unable to just say the words. 
                          
"Then why did you marry him?" 
                          
She moved to lay down, turning to face him. "I was lonely." She was ashamed of her feelings. Ashamed to admit that she married the first man she could just so she could have a warm body next to her every night and someone to text when she was bored at work. That's all he really was. Sex and desperate company- not much else. "I just needed to have someone to touch and he was there for that." She hugged her arms around herself, comforting herself. 
                          
"Was he good to you?" 
                          
"As good as he could be given the circumstances." She knew she had been unfair to him. She was distant and closed off from her husband. She had never snuggled him or held him. She had barely ever bothered with foreplay. Sex was sex- she didn't need to kiss him and hug him to have it. all she needed was to be naked for him to want to fuck her and once they were done, she was happy to walk straight into the bathroom to wash him off her. 
                          
"Did you even have an orgasm with him?" Is'haaq didn't know this imposter. Everything about her was cold and closed. She wasn't like his friend anymore. 
                          
"Ya, when I was on top otherwise..." she dismissed it. She didn't really need a full mind blowing, sleep-inducing orgasm every single time they had sex. As long as she gave him a bit of a helping hand, she could get herself off enough to feel okay for a while and that was enough. 
                          
 "I see," Is'haaq turned onto his back, staring at the blackness encompassing them. "I wouldn't make you do all the work though."
                          
"I know." 
                          
"Good." 
                          
He closed his eyes then, listening to their breaths and the stillness that had surrounded them.