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Tipping my head to the side, I assessed her. “Any idea when, Kiera?”
Her brows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I replied. “God, every fucking day that we’ve spent together over the last couple of weeks, going to parties, and spending time with family and friends, and not once have I been able to make love to my wife.”
“Is that it?” she asked.
“What? What do you mean?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything.”
I stood there, staring and completely dumbfounded. Kiera took my silence to mean I was done with the conversation, because she turned around and walked out of the bathroom.
I followed and revealed I wasn’t done. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, my voice slightly raised.
She spun around as she made it to her side of the bed, and as she began to pull the blankets back, she answered, “It’s nothing that you don’t already know, Johnny. It’s the same thing I’m always upset about.”
“Time. You want to spend time with me,” I announced, even though she didn’t need to me say what she clearly already knew.
“Exactly.”
I threw my hands out to my sides, clearly not understanding any of this. “Do you want to make this crystal clear for me, because I’m fucking confused. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the last two weeks. We’ve been at your parents’ place, my parents’ place, at my sister’s house, out with friends, and we’ve even had people over. I’ve been with you for all of that.”
“Yep.”
“Okay. So, how am I not spending time with you?” I asked.
She shot me a look of disbelief. “Are you and I going to have any time together that’s just the two of us? Will we have any time alone with one another to reconnect?”
Now it was my turn to look at her as though she had three heads. Jerking my thumb over my shoulder to indicate the bathroom, I questioned her, “What do you think I was just trying to do? We haven’t had sex in weeks now, easily more than a month.”
“And again, I ask, is that it for you?”
I let out a groan of frustration. “Jesus, Kiera. Could you please stop talking in riddles and just say what the hell is wrong?”
She sat on the bed, the tears welling in her eyes as she shook her head. “It’s like you don’t even know me.”
“Right now, I can’t say I disagree,” I scoffed. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, there’s nothing I can do to fix the problem.”
“I have told you what’s wrong, Johnny. You just don’t listen to me when I do talk. You don’t listen to the things I say, and you certainly don’t listen to the things I don’t say,” Kiera argued.
“I don’t even know what that means.”
More disappointment moved through her. “And I don’t know why that surprises me.”
I started removing my clothes, needing to do something to help quell the budding anger and frustration. Of course, I couldn’t keep myself from speaking, either. “You know what, Kiera? I’m trying. I’m trying my best to connect with you, and it seems it’s not enough. You want time with me, and I’m doing what I can to give that to you, and it seems you’d rather argue with me instead. If this is how you want my attention, you’re going to have to do without, because I’m not playing this fucking game with you.”
She nodded her head, indicating her acceptance, but I knew it was just a front for how she really felt. “Fine. I wouldn’t expect you to want to put in any effort with me. I can’t imagine why I ever thought I’d be worthy of more of your time and energy than your work. How stupid of me?”
Frustrated beyond belief, I lost it and shouted,“What do you want?!”
Kiera jerked back at my unexpected reaction and stared. Once the first tear rolled down her cheek, I immediately regretted how I’d reacted. Just as I was about to apologize, she spoke.
“Nothing, Johnny,” she whispered. “I don’t want anything anymore.”
“Kiera, I’m—”
“Please stop,” she begged.
