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A Denied Request
by Rhonda Sue Mize

feel' "I ~ate it when you 'leave like this," she whined. Suddenly
lllg her nakedness, she drew up the stiff white sheet.

oefi ' "I know you do, but you knew what you were getting into
bl o~e anyofthis started, Caitlin." Chris was always so cold and
Si:n whhen it came to emotional discussions; he had been ever

ce t e beginning.
da "But that doesn't make me hate it any less. I hate you ...
sh mn, 1 hate the way 1 care about you ... Why won't you stay?"

e presse? as he stepped into his jeans.
up f ThIs was the way it always happened. Caitlin set herself
W:it~r the fall, consciously leading Chris on. It began so simply-
rn be caress along his shoulder, a tousling of his hair. Then

ay e an exploratory massage to tempt even the most virtuous.
tio ?r maybe they would argue-a lover's quarrel. Accusa-
othns flYlll~ like fists in a street fight, some sliding off the cuff,
shi e~,scuttmg to the bone; this was the nature of their "relation-
st p, Then the shade would be pulled and the argument would
C~~i:nd a ne~ game would begin, a game Caitlin always lost.
all determmed when they would have sex, if they had sex at

r The zipping of his jeans sliced through the silence in the
loom. Rustling bedsheets betrayed her movement as Caitlin
eaned ~?ward him and gently traced the curve of his waist.
you Please, Chris, just stay tonight. That's all I'l~ ever as.k of
sock No one ever has to know." Chris continued puttIllg on hIS

s.
f'h Caitlin could picture the motions in the pitch-black corner
;. her room. First the left sock-he was left-handed-then, the
Igd t one. Then the leather docksides that smelled faintly of
C ear.

c ''You know the answer Caitie. Don't even bother to ask,"
aIme Ch ns. ,.'repnmand. He always knew how to put h er I.II h er
p ace. Childish and manipulated. That's how she always felt.
tr T He moved to pick up his shoes, his unbuttoned shirt
t ai lllg against his jeans. "Tonight you']] want me to stay and
t~morrow you']] want me to marry you. You always want more
ada~ I can give, Caitie. Be satisfied with what you have," he

VIsed as he wiggled his toes into his shoes.
h d Button the shirt and tuck it in, she thought. The scene
h a p.layed a hundred times before in reality, in her dreams, in

er llIghtmares. She struggled to maintain her composure but

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