Comfort her

Marcia could barely remember the walk home. The conversation in the park kept replaying in her head. What would make him perfect? That horrible face. Done. That horrible kiss. She had been on autopilot the whole way home, and now that she was here she didn't know what to do.

Eric was still shaken from his dream, but came back to reality when he saw Marcia just standing, dazed, one step inside the door. She was still in her clothes from their date, although Eric noticed that recently her "date" clothes didn't differ much from her "everyday" clothes. When they had started dating, Marcia had gone all out for date nights: clothes that hugged her curves just right, impeccable makeup, and flirting and teasing throughout the night. Eric smiled as he remembered a few times she had gotten him so worked up that they cut the date short. One time they had barely made it in the door, and her dress didn't survive that night.

Take what you want.

The voice jolted Eric from his reverie, which caused Marcia to snap out of her daze. They stared at each other, both shaken and wanting comfort from the other but feeling too unworthy to ask for it. After a long moment, Monica shook her head slightly as she bent down to take off her shoes. Eric gave a small sigh and turned towards the kitchen.

Take what you want.

Eric stopped dead in his tracks. What did he want? It certainly wasn't awkward silences and emotional distance. His mind flashed, bizarrely, to some old sitcom where the man would come home and his wife would squeal with joy as she rushed over and greeted him with a big kiss. That's how it should be when we come home. "No," Eric said, "Do it again."

Monica paused, crouched with one shoe half off. She looked up at Eric, bewildered.

"Go back out the door and come back in. I want to give you a better welcome."

Monica almost laughed, but something in his tone told her Eric was serious. She quickly got her shoe back on, opened the door, stepped outside and shut it behind her. What did he mean by "a better welcome?" Well it can't be much worse than it already was, she thought. She counted to three and opened the door once again.

Eric had his back to the door, and turned with a smile when she opened it. He stepped over to her as she closed the door behind her. Then, to Marcia's shock, he pulled her in and kissed her. And not just a peck, this was like something out of a trashy romance novel. He dipped her, for god's sake! When he stood her back up, bewildered and panting slightly, the only thought in her mind was Where the fuck did that come from?

Eric responded to her unspoken question with a lustful smirk. "It's still date night," he said, "and we can still end this night the right way." He grabbed Marcia's hand and gently pulled her toward the bedroom.

Marcia let herself be pulled for a few steps, but them paused. "Eric, wait. We've had--"

"We can talk later," Eric said, "Right now, I want this."