The Hard Truth
Sam wasn't a drinker, not really, but something about Kara brought out the extremes in him. Ultra highs or super lows, that's all they'd ever had. The start of their relationship had been blissful, he couldn't remember ever being happier. It seemed only fitting that the end would be the complete opposite.
He threw back his head and downed the rest of his drink, noticing that the alcohol had lost the burning effect it'd had earlier in the evening. Probably not a good sign, but he was past caring. Kara was the only woman he'd ever loved: truly, unconditionally, whole-heartedly loved, but she'd never loved him back.
She had said the words, but she'd never meant them, and maybe that was the hardest part of all. It was if she'd wanted them to be true, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself fall in love with him.
For a long time he'd been stupid enough to believe she would come to love him eventually. It had never happened. If he hadn't been so blinded by his own feelings, he would have seen that a long time ago. Looking into the past the truth was achingly clear.
"Welcome
home," Sam said, sweeping his arm in front of him at their newly
assigned tent. Kara snorted and walked inside, Sam following
closely behind. Apart from the few blankets on the floor and storage
box by the entrance, it was completely empty. "At least it
isn't messy," she stated as she crossed her arms in front of her
chest and looked around the small abode. "Gods, I knew this place
wasn't going to be paradise, but you'd think they could have done
better than this." She gave the box a tap with the toe of her boot
for emphasis.
Sam shrugged and
stepped behind Kara, wrapping his arms around her stomach. "Well,"
he said suggestively. "I can think of at least one thing that would
make it seem more like home." He leaned down and took her earlobe
between his teeth, nipping it lightly. He felt the responding shiver
that ran up her spine. He moved his mouth to her neck, gently
sucking on the spot he knew drove her crazy. Kara started to squirm
in his arms, and a second later she'd turned around so they were
facing each other. She gave him a wicked grin as she pulled his mouth
to hers for a searing hot kiss, while at the same time one of her
hands found its way down the front of his pants. "You think
this might help?" She asked coyly, between intervals of
kissing. "It certainly won't hurt," he replied the next
time his mouth was free. He wasted no time in pulling off her tanks,
making sure she knew exactly what his intentions were. He
needn't have worried. Kara responded by pulling him down onto the
blankets with her. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" Things
progressed quickly and within minutes Sam found himself flat on his
back, watching Kara lower herself on top of him, devilish smile still
in place. Like every time they'd ever had sex, it was hard, fast,
sweaty and perfect. After they'd both found release, Kara
rolled off him, still breathing heavily. Sam watched from the corner
of his eye as she pretended to survey the tent again. "Oh yeah, it
looks a hell of a lot better now," she said in a fake sweet
voice. Sam let out a loud laugh, and within seconds Kara had
followed, unable to hold it in any longer. She rolled up against his
side, muffling her laughter against his shoulder. The moment
her forehead made contact with his rapidly cooling skin, his own
amusement dissolved and he fell silent. All he could think about was
the wonderful woman at his side. She was everything he'd ever
wanted, and more. How had he gotten so lucky? Kara must have
noticed, as she fell quiet and looked up at him inquiringly. "I
love you," he said softly. He hadn't been planning to say it, but
the words had spoken themselves. All traces of happiness in
Kara's face vanished before the last syllable had even left his
lips. He could see a myriad of emotions fighting for dominance:
shock, fear, panic, and for a moment he was afraid he'd made a
mistake. Then, completely unexpected, he heard her barely
audible reply. "I love you too." There was no excitement
or happiness in her voice. He knew that she didn't, not at that
moment at least, but that was okay because she would come to in time.
Someday, someday soon, she would feel the same consuming emotion that
filled him. She didn't love him now, but she would, and that was
nearly as good.
And now it was over. It was almost a relief, knowing that they didn't have to pretend anymore. The only problem with that was that only one of them had ever been pretending.
The End